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I'm a new when it comes to all this so i have a question. I've always had my kick coming in at like -6db, my snare at -5db, bass at -3db. Someone told me this is all WAY WAY to hot, that my drums should be coming in at like -9db or -10db...this makes sense since i've always struggled to not make everything peak. and people have told me my songs seem like they have little headroom when they are done.

My question is this:

How do i eventually raise the volume of everything without actually bringing the amplitude up? say i don't want to use a lot of compression?

Your tunes "should" be peaking between -3 and -6 db. For like loudness, to put on your soundcloud or hand to DJs or shit, it's fine to put a limiter on it, just don't completely squash that shit. And remove the limiter if you want to get the tunes properly mastered.

I generally mix as I go. The finishing touches stage includes a lot of mixing, but I try to mix as I go. That's because if I focus primarily on composition during the creation process, then when I finally do mix down, I won't be happy with the entire track, because when I EQ and compress etc it will slightly or sometimes drastically change the tone of some of the aspects of my tune (for example - once I have both my kick and my sub laid down, I will make sure they work together immediately, because if I leave it to the end and decide to lowpass my kick and highpass my sub, then the tone of the kick and the sub will both change, completely altering the track).

chaotix wrote:I'm a new when it comes to all this so i have a question. I've always had my kick coming in at like -6db, my snare at -5db, bass at -3db. Someone told me this is all WAY WAY to hot, that my drums should be coming in at like -9db or -10db...this makes sense since i've always struggled to not make everything peak. and people have told me my songs seem like they have little headroom when they are done.

My question is this:

How do i eventually raise the volume of everything without actually bringing the amplitude up? say i don't want to use a lot of compression?

When all your arrangements are finish and you are done mixing, your track should most likely be peaking around -3dB to -6dB. Then comes the mastering stage where all the loudness will be added to it.

legend4ry wrote:Ive got into the habit now where I mix as I go along so naturally that by the time the composition is done its just a matter of simple filtering and compression tweaks to finish the mix.

Couldn't have said it any better!

IMO the mix down should be something that you are doing as you go along, and constantly tweaking and re-tweaking. Although that is not to say that a final overarching mix down is not necessary—that's why most DAW's have tools like the Utility plugin which allow for controlling the gain of each track proportionately to whatever volume automation you have created during the composition.

BA.

IMO the mix down should not be done as you go along. Constantly tweaking and re-tweaking elements of your mix during the writing stage will just confuse you regarding what parts you still need to write, and how they should sit in the mix. Sound design is a stage that might overlap a lot with composition, but mixing isn't sound design. During the writing of the tune, you should decide what elements you need to occupy what spaces, and write your parts bearing in mind what the focal points and accompaniments are. Then when you're done writing your sequence, you can print it and mix it without messing around with the compositional aspects, and your focus is undivided during each task. That's also why most DAW's allow you to adjust your buffer size -- a low setting for llow latency during midi performance, and a high setting to allow for more CPU-intensive processing with mix tools.


TD.

little bit of both, i bring things up or down as i go, just so it doesn't distract me from what I'm trying to do after moving on, and then really dive into it, once I've finished the arrangement

Things have changed really. the term 'mixdown' doesn't mean the same thing it used to as music creation has evolved since the term's original inception. With how centric sound design is to the creative process you're going to be applying processes technically applied by the mixing engineer in a traditional production process. So that sub-section of what could be defined as mixing should obviously be applied on a situational basis. Though I believe it's still important to not get too hung up in that head space and focus a lot more on melody, groove and other musical elements, I.E. create the track first, draw a logical line and leave everything that falls over it until you've finished all the elements of the tune, got the progression sorted and otherwise have a 'tune' in as much as a group of musicians would have enough takes and have placed them such to have, 'a tune'. Then begin actually mixing down, applying the heavier aux-centric FX, EQing elements in relation to each other, applying corrective compression, sorting out the panorama, mid/side processing and so on.

There are, at least in my opinion, 2 over all aspects of mixing, the former shouldn't really be called a mixdown even though it has evolved as a by product of the processes and techniques used in a traditional mixdown setting, the latter, is the mixdown, and should be the time that the more traditional post processing applications are performed. It's important to understand the distinction between the two, subtly different, yet fundamentally separate areas of production and treat them both accordingly. I think confusing the lines between these can hinder the creative process. Not doing so and you may end up spending way to long focusing on very minute aspects of timbral relations and lose the wider perspective of the groove or melodic flow e.t.c.

^ pretty much covered all our bases there, i'd say

mixdown as I go, final adjustements at the end. A total nightmare to mixdown at the end, and it would not sound so good up until that point.

bassinine wrote:yeah, i mix as i go too. however, i think it causes me some problems - personally.

i get so wrapped up in mixing an 8 bar loop, that i lose the vibe of the track. and by the time i'm ready to phase out of mixing that loop, and phase into the creative stage again.. i'm always at a loss of where to take it.

^This!

grooki wrote:mixdown as I go, final adjustements at the end. A total nightmare to mixdown at the end, and it would not sound so good up until that point.

This^

I roughly mix as I go. Then I perfect it at the end.

I used to do it at the end but I find I work a lot better doing it as I go and tweak at the end.

I put all effects, eq's, compressors, and such as i go. Thats just because im a mess when it comes to the mixer, i dont label anything :/

I would have to agree with the consensus, i find it helps with the overall vision of the track if you mix as you go, maybe not so much on the effects i tend to leave the majority of this 60% or so on the final completed Mix. Also its useful to identfiy problems in your mix, if you move one stage at a time instead of working backwards to fix issues you encounted.

chaotix wrote:I'm a new when it comes to all this so i have a question. I've always had my kick coming in at like -6db, my snare at -5db, bass at -3db. Someone told me this is all WAY WAY to hot, that my drums should be coming in at like -9db or -10db...this makes sense since i've always struggled to not make everything peak. and people have told me my songs seem like they have little headroom when they are done.

My question is this:

How do i eventually raise the volume of everything without actually bringing the amplitude up? say i don't want to use a lot of compression?

What you're talking about there is known as mastering. A combination of EQing, compression/limiting, widening on your master. It's a bit of a dark art to be honest, which is why there are professionals out there that will offer their mastering services. I'm shit at mastering, but I find I can get good results with Izotop Ozone 5. At least master my tunes good enough to play out.

is their any money in mastering these days? and i know some wanka is going to say its a passion not a job or something so dont im just asking.

ehh, depends how good you are, and what you charge