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Hello,

Just had a little question on mixing down tunes on Cubase. Whenever I mixdown one of my tunes on cubase I always make sure that the fader is down so my output doesnt spill over the 0db mark to avoid clipping.

But when I mix it down and play it, it seems a good few db quieter then any professional tune.

I know there is a simple answer to this problem. How do I make my tunes the right volume (same as every other dance tune) without it clipping?

Thanks

make a better mixdown. Tho its also mastering

First off you could try mixing down without pulling your master fader down it takes time to get good at mixing shit down but ya kno..practise makes perfect etc. alternativly you could stick a gain plug in on the master.

if ive mixed a tune down and im sending it to djs to test in clubs then i put a 3-5db limiter on the master. if im sending it to get mastered ill usually do another mixdown from scratch, take off the limiter and get things peaking at about -3.

It's to do with compression. Look up rms. Your track is peaking at 0db but it sounds quieter because the rms is lower in your tunes to the other tunes. I've had two pints at lunch so i won't go into details but you can search it out yourself.

I have wavelab. Would it help mastering my songs there?

Grix wrote:I have wavelab. Would it help mastering my songs there?

No. You could use twenty different audio programmes and the outcome would be the same. You need to learn about compression and limiting and about rms and it's effects on your perception of loudness. Another piece of software is not going to help you, with the quality of most modern software the weakest link will always be the user and not the software itself.

mixers have gain knobs for a reason
no need to smash the fuck out of your dynamics and transients if you don't know what you're doing if it's just a basic mixdown

Didn't think this would be so complicated. My mixes sound even and pretty good. The only problem is that they are too quiet. I have had a little search on RMS power levels but havn't found much usefull information.

Can anyone direct me to a tutorial or something, I am still feeling very confused.

Thanks

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/masterin ... level.html
this might help you

it's best to leave loudening and such to an ME imo unless you really know what you are doing
like i said mixers have a gain control for a reason (read this djs)

Grix wrote:Didn't think this would be so complicated. My mixes sound even and pretty good. The only problem is that they are too quiet. I have had a little search on RMS power levels but havn't found much usefull information.

if they really do sound even and pretty good, then just stick a limiter on your master output. adjust it so it's removing something like 4 or 5 dB from the biggest peaks, and hopefully you can't really notice the difference in sound when it's active (apart from volume). then when you're playing it out, maybe nudge the gain on the mixer up a bit. as far as home mastering goes, that's all you really need to be doing i think

read the sticky on gain structure- ALL of it--- and then get to reading about mastering.

Steinberg (Cubase and Nuendo) have something built into them that won't let them distort if they go over 0db apparently.

i don't watch the master in cubase, some of my tunes are peaking +12db over 0... but as long as i don't hear it distorting, its all good.

just listen man, best technique, push it and listen closely.

or chuck a limiter on the master before you start writing a track.

gaston_UK wrote:Steinberg (Cubase and Nuendo) have something built into them that won't let them distort if they go over 0db apparently.

Cobblers

Classic Master Limiter baby. This will boost the volume a lot and doesnt effect the dynamics too much. I stick it on ever one of my mixdowns and it works fucking well...

http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com/classic-master-limiter.php

Macc wrote:

gaston_UK wrote:Steinberg (Cubase and Nuendo) have something built into them that won't let them distort if they go over 0db apparently.

Cobblers

as demonstrated by a well known dubstep producer, i was sceptical till i saw too...

gaston_UK wrote: as demonstrated by a well known dubstep producer

Then it must be true

All you're seeing is that clipping is sometimes more transparent than you think. It's just clipping. I'll happily demonstrate this - scientifically - if you wish

Even if your shit isn't distorting in Cubase (I use 4) and they have something that makes it transparently not distort, I'd assume you might be squashing some transients still. If your mix isn't balanced right won't that attitude make it lack a lot of punch and have this mess of flat sound? I'm assuming when a company makes a DAW they have their own programming and definition of what makes something clip? Reason might clip at different stage than where Cubase might clip? I hope I'm making sense? Or am I? What?

the same little gremlins that open my garage door for me keep my cubase mixdowns from clipping when i push the red

Deadly Habit wrote:the same little gremlins that open my garage door for me keep my cubase mixdowns from clipping when i push the red