[ddots-l] Re: Response to posts

0 DB is the loudest level that can be shown on the meter. However, if
you use a compressor with a peek limiter mode, and turn up the gain,
then you're squashing the maximum level without applying any sort of
compression curve. The track will get much louder. The Sonitus
compressor has 30 DB of output gain, so can crank up your mix as loud as
you want it.
 
Of course, beyond a certain amount of gain, you'll start to hear
distortion artifacts. Besides that, the track may start to sound
unnatural, as the ambiance of the room begins to sound abnormally loud.
 
If you are hearing artifacts, and you still need your track to be even
louder (such as with some dance jenras), then you need to use the peek
limiters on individual elements, instead of the entire mix. This means
that you should separate out the drums on to a bus, and peek limit that
as much as you can before distortion. Do the same thing for synths that
are grouped on to another bus. Put the vocals on another bus and squish
those on their own. In this way, you apply the maximum amount of
limiting that each component of the mix will stand. Then, finally, you
peek limit the master bus. Although, after limiting all of those
individual elements, the master bus won't be able to take much limiting
at all.
 
Go ahead and go wild with this. By all means, squash everything flat.
Crank it up! Get a good taste for what it sounds like. It will be loud,
but it will also make everything start to sound muddy. Your kick drum
won't even punch with accents anymore. It will be very difficult to get
bass to stand out in the mix. It will sound like you can hear every drop
of spit in your vocalist's mouth as their tongue moves. There will be
massive amounts of body noise from the guitars. There is, therefore, a
limit to how much of this you would want to use.
 
Bryan

________________________________

From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Stacy Blackwell
Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2009 5:01 PM
To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [ddots-l] Response to posts


Of course Bryan's essay was awesome.  Did you expect less?  I am saving
it to read over and over again.  I have also enjoyed reading the last
couple of days posts because they have offered me some good advice and
suggestions.  Thanks to all.  And Darren, you are very talented in your
music.  I'm more of a classic rocking guitarist and country singer, but
I was very impressed by your arrangements.  It made me appreciate that
style of music even more. 
Back to the vocal peaks, maximum db levels, and compressors that have
been mixed in and out of posts, are you guys using compressors to, for
instance, "smush" a -1db mix down to say a -6db, and then using the
compressor's gain to bring it back up to 0db?  I know Gordon mentioned
headroom and such, but I cannot get my recordings to be as loud as
commercial CD's.  Even though my songs may sound okay, the main comment
I get is that they aren't loud enough.  In looking at my Master bus's
output level, it will be just under 0db, and my associated buses are way
below that.  I do have a compressor and EQ inserted into the Master bus
which provides a smooth boost I think.  Do you guys think that if the
song is pumping out at 0db at the Master bus that this is the way it
should be, or am I to adjust something like the buses output volumes?  I
guess what I am trying to ask is do your recordings match other
commercial and other studio recordings in overall volume?  If so, how
are you achieving this?  Maybe I'm not using the Sonetus compressor to
its greatest potential.  Sorry for this confusing posts, but I would
like to get the best sound at the maximum non-clipping volume.  Any
comments?       
 


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