I was wondering how you guys are matching the volumes on the two differennt channels when mixing..?

I have separate VU-meters for each channel, and I visually match them as close as possible but many times one of them get either to loud, or it's not enough...

I try to match them in the headphones also, setting both channels on cue, and turn the headphone entirely to Cue...I still can't get it perfect...what the f*ck is wrong? Should I just sell my decks and try ballet instead?

What are your tricks when matching the volumes as good as possible?

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1.use gains.
2.know which records are loud or quiet in general.
3.when you bring in the new track and aren't sure if it going to be too loud or soft, then bring it in a low level, from there you should be able to determine whether or not you have to adjust your gain + or -.

caleb

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I know it's not the best way to do it (for your eardrums sake) but what I do is set my headphone level equal to the monitor level. I adjust the volume of the cued track accordingly to the one playing live and it always works. Like I said though, it's hell on your ears.

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I mostly just rely on my VU-meters.. it seems to work for me..

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Try this:
If your cue on your mixer has a stereo mode where you can play both tracks cued in the headphones at the same time, set it to the middle (if it has this setting). From here, adjust the gain on the incoming track so that both tracks sound equal volume in your headphones. This will give you an appoximate volume level match. Don't rely on the VU meters too much because I think they only show whatever frequency is the loudest (peak), but not the average volume (if you know what I mean).

If we're talking about a club environment here, then using your headphones as a solution might be difficult - judging volumes from a headphone, while the club speakers are blasting away - is just a bit challenging I would say.

If not then disregard the above.

quote:

Originally posted by mikefasssy 3.when you bring in the new track and aren't sure if it going to be too loud or soft, then bring it in a low level, from there you should be able to determine whether or not you have to adjust your gain + or -.

This is an awesome piece of advice, and is what I find to be the most effective technique. In general, you can set the gain on your incoming track to a "medium" level, then as you bring it in, you'll notice that it's too loud or too soft, and you can adjust accordingly.

Remember - channel volumes are not "fire and forget"! (meaning you set them before you bring in the channel, then forget about them)

Think dynamically - you should be constantly on the alert to be adjusting the sound level of your mix at all times. Thus mikefasssy's #3 advice should be quite natural after you get used to this style.

quote:

Originally posted by Alccode If we're talking about a club environment here, then using your headphones as a solution might be difficult - judging volumes from a headphone, while the club speakers are blasting away - is just a bit challenging I would say. If not then disregard the above. This is an awesome piece of advice, and is what I find to be the most effective technique. In general, you can set the gain on your incoming track to a "medium" level, then as you bring it in, you'll notice that it's too loud or too soft, and you can adjust accordingly. Remember - channel volumes are not "fire and forget"! (meaning you set them before you bring in the channel, then forget about them) Think dynamically - you should be constantly on the alert to be adjusting the sound level of your mix at all times. Thus mikefasssy's #3 advice should be quite natural after you get used to this style.

yeah good advice from both of you.

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I use Vu Meter and sometimes i level volume in headphones both working with gain.
But it's very hard to determine the same volume between two tracks, it's also a problem of equalization and structure of the two tracks.
So it's important to work costantly on gain and eq during a mix, think dinamically (like Alcoode say) and to do it to put the volume of cued track at a lower level (like mikefasssy say)works good.