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-- Fader levels for kick,bass, and leads
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quote:

Originally posted by derail Well, the world does need more cowbell, especially in these troubled times... But my guess is palm is talking about the faders on the Reason mixer. This discussion is about the dB level of the sound after the fader. Yes, if you're using a sample that peaks at 0dB, then setting the fader to -6dB will mean the kick is "hitting at -6dB". But if the sound coming in is less than 0dB, then it's a little meaningless to talk in terms of pure fader levels. Reason doesn't provide the actual dBs each channel is reaching (only little LED level bars), so you'd need to rewire Reason into an application which does have dB readouts, if you wanted to try this sort of method with greater precision. But yes, in Reason it's not as important to ensure a strong signal flow - you can just set the level of the incoming instrument to the level you want it, there's no noise floor being added since it's a closed system. Having said all that, I'll just reiterate what a lot of people have already said - yes, you can use these settings as very rough starting points, but if you adhere strictly to them you'll get extremely unmusical results. You don't want to be in the position where you're thinking "hmm, the kick sounds a lot better at -10dB, but this rule tells me it should be at -7dB, so I'll set it to -7dB, even though it sounds way too loud there". If you're looking to turn the "art" of mixing into the "mathematical rules" of mixing, you'll need a lot of luck to produce music that sounds good.

+1. Mixing should be infused with an artistic angle, some think they need to dwell on everything technically, when ultimately what you hear and feel is king, and often that might not be technically perfect. I like a technical framework but artistic approach to mixing. Needs more abstract. Burial's brilliant mixing on his 'Untrue' album is a great example of this.

quote:

Originally posted by Storyteller Really good producers export at +15dB. I only get it up to +8dB now though. I'm halfway to real good. Really.

If your producing at that level then i would say that your track will sound very distorted and can damage speakers and ears if producing for a long period of time.

is this not the case?

quote:

If your producing at that level then i would say that your track will sound very distorted and can damage speakers and ears if producing for a long period of time.

lol. Hes joking with you.

On a more serious note. Just do what sounds good. there are no rules. i have never started a project and set ANY element to a specified level. I just bring in the drums first and mix them so it sounds good to me. If the master is slightly clipping, just turn it down a bit. Most hosts work in 32-bit float so you have got a hell of a lot of headroom anyway.

As an example, get a drum loop or whatever, push the volume on its channel fader until you get nasty digital distortion. Turn the master fader down by the exact amount that you turned up the individual fader. Export this file and perform a null test with the original loop. It cancels out when i try this in cubase, Proving you can ride the levels and compensate by just turning down the master.

As long as the mix doesnt clip it doesnt matter.

Next!

quote:

Originally posted by DJ Robby Rox WTF?! -6db for the kick? Mine always peaks at 0db, at -6 you can barely hear it. Matter a fact, most my channels peak around 0db, including my master.

Ouch!

quote:

Originally posted by G-Con If this works for you then great but I'm really curious to know how you get all your channels to peak at 0db without the master clipping?

He's probably strapping a compressor on the master bus... which is really amateur, BTW. Sadly, there's a lot of FL demos that mix in this fashion, which totally deteriorates the philosophy of proper mixing and later mastering.

my mixes is +100dB, as stated in the previous post, the fader is at 100. its not integer as someone sayd its dB - pure soundpressure. this is out of 127dB avaliable at max so im leave 27dB so that my neighboors wont attack me (also to save me ears). also the mastering engineer have 27dB to work as they are in sound-proof rooms they can really use it. poor ears of those engineers though i would claim to earn more out of bad working environment, imagine 127dB 8 hours a day...



this thread is so garbage.

quote:

Originally posted by dannib lol. Hes joking with you.

Real analog goes above 0, digital sub zero. I use moar analog!!!111


2

Oh.... dear.... GOD!

You rule-based music-monkeys, what's wrong with you!? you are making music, it's supposed to be a fucking ARTFORM! rules do not apply. you make things sound the way you want them, that's the whole idea behind making you own music in the first place!

Obviously setting the lead to -40dB or +25dB won't sound great, but just use your instinct. If you don't have instinct then you shouldn't be making music in the first place...

lol

lol

quote:

Originally posted by Low Profile Oh.... dear.... GOD! You rule-based music-monkeys, what's wrong with you!? you are making music, it's supposed to be a fucking ARTFORM! rules do not apply. you make things sound the way you want them, that's the whole idea behind making you own music in the first place! Obviously setting the lead to -40dB or +25dB won't sound great, but just use your instinct. If you don't have instinct then you shouldn't be making music in the first place...

There's a lot of formulatic EDM music that can stick to technical patterns. Most trance songs feature a kick, bass, clap, and leads... after a while you begin to see a pattern of loudness ratios coming into play. Then you begin to see where art meets science.

The numbers that are initially discussed, especially eluding to Cybernetica's post, are 'guideline' numbers that are basically ratios for the loudest sounding mixes that stay below a comfortable ceiling that is below 0db.

Writing commercial trance is a lot like writing 3-paragraph essays in gradeschool. It almost becomes a mundane science unless you really start digging into the thesauri and dictionaries. Nevertheless, what sounds good and what doesn't sound good in terms of stereo image can be translated, mutated, twisted, reworked, and recycled into other genres of music. Once again you will begin to see where art meets science. Songwriting is art... mixing is the bastardized cybernetic form of your right brain.

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