Mixing/mastering questions

[gunslinger_burrito]

I read through an old thread on here about mastering (the one jfrey posted a long whiles back) but I still wonder if anyone can help a fuzz-brotha out.
Questions:

-How do I get my tracks as loud as something I hear that has been "professionally" mixed and mastered without compressing the bejeezus out of it? I HATE compression. I LOVE volume dynamics. I HATE when I have to turn the volume up like 15 notches to get my song to be as loud as something "professional." Is this just one of those things that I can't have both ways? Sometimes I'll send one of the tracks to a send track and modify the volumes accordingly. It makes the overall sound louder, but I can't tell if it's a dumb way to solve the issue.

-Does anyone have a good set of tips or tricks to make tracks an even volume? I feel like I get marginally close, but they're still noticeably off, I think. You know how you can look at the tracks you have running, and the master volume, and they're all at a certain volume, and then you go to another song you have with everything more or less at the same levels, but the song sounds quieter or louder than the other? That frustrates me. I do realize that bass tones seem quieter and mids and highs seem louder, but I'm having trouble finding the middle ground, I think.

-I record using monitor headphones to avoid mixing issues, and yet when I mix down and export tracks it's often-times really overpowering. I try to use a graphic EQ to see where those tones are and drop them accordingly, but is there a more effective way of dealing with this?

Thanks dewds. You rock.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

yea i think you need compression/maximizer if you want to particpate in the VOLUME WARS. otherwise you will just clip really hard and probably sound really crappy.

there are ways to compress w/o losing all your dynamics (or atleast tailoring them better). parallel compression, multiband compression

for #2, theres probably a bunch of different ways to do this, some programs even offer an automated leveling type of dealie. and there is also normalization.
but I always use the spectrograph or whatever, it shows you the frequencies on the x axis, and the volumes on the y-axis.

to get a good reference point on the spectrograph,
i broke the frequency spectrum into like 4 or so different parts. (low, lo-mid, lo-high, high)
then I played some songs from artists i like or music that I want to sound similar too (atleast in terms of punch, volume, overall sound kinda deal not necessarily style)
and note where the different peaks typically max out at and also where they typically average.

then I go to my track that I am working on, and try to match the levels to my reference points approximately.

hope that helps! like i said theres probably a lot of different ways to do this.

[Noise Supply]

When mixing in digital you have a ceiling (0db) that you can not go over and that is as loud as any sample can go. All audio peaks are no louder than this whether done by a professional or amateur. However, most mixes are perceived louder because they use compression to bring up the RMS (average) of the waveform up. In essence the peaks can't get louder, but the lower parts can get closer to the peaks. Because the way your ear works, the compressed audio will sound louder, because although the peaks will be the same the RMS is higher.

So as you've already guessed it is compression/limiting that make these "pro" mixes sound louder. The problem for you, is that it can be difficult to get good compression, especially on a budget. This is one of the reasons we have mastering engineers - in addition to making your mix sound good and compatible across many listening platforms, they also have great compression tools at their disposal. As Dr. Sherman mentioned parallel and multiband compression are techniques used to get things sounding louder without sacrificing the perceived dynamics as much. Also the quality of the compressor/limiter and the person dialing it in is important - they are not created equal. You can have 2 compressors going and giving you the same gain reduction - you may not be able to hear one working because it works so well, while the other sounds like it's squashing or pumping.

My advice would be: If the project is not too serious, just do the best you can with what you have. Try using a cheap multiband compressor plugin (often included with some recording software with some decent defaults great for starting points) and perhaps follow it with a limiter (not working nearly as hard as the compressor). Play with it until it is as good as you can get with your ability. If it's a serious project that you want to sell, I'd start contacting/auditioning mastering engineers within your budget. Professional mastering can be anywhere from $25-$100 a song to $10,000 or even more for an album. If you're budget is tight and you're looking at working with the cheaper mastering engineers, definitely do the research and compare their work against each other as well as those "professional mixes" that you mentioned you wanted to sound as loud as. On the cheap end of the spectrum, there are a lot of people out there passing themselves as mastering engineers when they really have the same level of gear and perhaps even ability as you - so be careful.

[gunslinger_burrito]

thanks guyz!

Can either of you give me a better idea of what parallel compression is? I know multi-band, but I haven't yet messed with or heard of parallel.....

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

basically compression w/ a dry/wet blend or separate dry and wet volumes. sometimes referred to as NY compression.

[Decibill]

Also mixing thru headphones only is going to skew your bass frequencies. It is really hard to gauge what the bass will sound like if you don't mix thru some kind of other monitors. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I think that overpowering feeling you have is a result of the headphones lying to you. Headphones and monitors have very, very different ways of communicating space. A lot of mixes i have heard done thru headphnes only tend to sound claustrophobic. It all also depends on your gain staging and how the mix levels are being dealt within your DAW. Most plugs are calibrated to around -18 and that's what they "want" to see. If you are hitting them a lot harder or softer than that, your gain staging is off and your mix will suffer, and by suit the master suffers as well.

[gunslinger_burrito]

Guess I have to learn about gain staging now, too

I have been mixing through studio/monitor headphones. . .

[Decibill]

Guess I have to learn about gain staging now, too

I have been mixing through studio/monitor headphones. . .

Yeah, gain staging can make or break a mix. There's a really good (albeit long) thread about it here:

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much- ... tored.html

Luckily I've been doing a lot of things right in my workflow, but there were definitely things that I needed to correct. Once I did adjust things it made a big difference...!!

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

yea gain staging is definately key!

i used to HATE mixing in headphones. EVERYTHING sounds so GOOD and upfront in the mix.
then I would play it later on my monitors. sounded TERRIBLE. like I was seriously high on something.

BUT, I think w/ anything, if u get used to how they sound, AND how they translate to the mix. you can do eeeet.
i've had the most luck w/ the crappiest pair of headphones I had on hand.

[Vuvuzela]

In order to really get your mixes loud it's gonna take compression, eq, limiting and more.
Even though there are ways to master at home/project space,
i tend to leave mastering to mastering engineers.

fortunately we have a guy we go to a lot for our work and he's amazing.
Collin Jourdan at the Boiler Room. (Chicago, IL)