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Originally Posted by uptoolate  I've been reading alot about keeping the input and channel levels lower (around -6) to get cleaner, better mixes.
Has anyone found this to be tue? I for one, am a believer.
My question is this though: When doing "do it yourself mastering" ITB on a 24 bit file, is it still desirable to keep everything lower?
I basically use EQ,mulitband compression and the L2 plug to punch it up, but do I just accept that it will be more quiet?
Or, since this is the final stage, is it ok to go ahead an take it close to zero?
I know the real answer is "dont master it yourself", but for some of my clients, pro mastering is out of their budget.
Thanks! |
Ok, or not, my view is that in the digital domain the converted signal is already so messed up in terms of harmonics and frequency response that a little too low signal will become a problem sooner or later depending on the context. Since a track can be recorded in so many ways focusing too much on the peak level can make the song pretty harsh sounding in the end if you forget using your ears and taking care of other more important sound parameters. I focus more on attack and duration (track and mix based) to make sure these parameters are optimized in the context. I also want to make sure there are no peaks on individual tracks damaging the headroom of the whole mix, often found on kick and vocals. So I think these three parameters are more important than knowing whether the ceiling should be set on -0.5dB or -1.4dB... I also find it more important to use a good peak meter and calibrate it correctly.