everything is so quiet

Awesome · 10th May 2008

Im not really sure where this belongs but this forum seems to be the best bet. All my mixes are quiet compared to other stuff I hear, and I cant really turn up the sound much more because it will cause clipping. I am running sonar 7 producer with a motu 8pre. Can someone please give me some advice, I would really appreciate it.

Jonstudio · 10th May 2008

Major Label records are mastered by the like of Bob Ludwig and other such golden ears, with all of their incredibly beautiful gear, namely EQs and Mulitband compressors. Multibands are more expansive and have a much higher learning curve than a regular limiter/compressor. I would recommend the Massey L2007 Limiter. I am not familiar with Sonar and am not sure if it will work within the Sonar world, but you can download a fully usable demo from the Massey Plugins website. And if you did want to buy it, it's less than a hundred bucks. But if you combine that and a good EQ you will be on your way there. Don't try to get it as loud as anything from a Major Label. You will just be shooting yourself in the foot.

Jon Schmitz

noiseflaw · 10th May 2008

If you are new to mixing and you want to increase the overall level of your mixes, it is worth considering a few options:

Compression.
One way to increase the volume of your mixes is to compress and sometimes very heavily, the instruments in your mix. What this can do is to even out the overall volume and help reduce the peaks that can trigger clipping. Compression also affects the tone and character of your instruments.

Putting a compressor on the 2 Bus can also smooth the peaks, thereby increasing headroom.

EQ
Paying careful attention to the frequency content of your mixes is extremely important for many reasons, but regarding volume you will need to isolate those frequencies in your mix that may also be causing clipping - do you have a build-up of energy at a particular frequency range that is causing you problems when trying to raise the volume.

Mix Levels
Is your mix well balanced?, is the snare too loud or is there too much low frequency content causing reduced headroom?

Limiting
This is where a lot of volume and damage can be achieved! It is not uncommon for some music to be limited at levels on or around -6gb gain reduction. Of course there are negative artifacts with this...

Try seeing how far you limit your mix without noticable effects.

Just a few things to consider - others will chime in, I hope they are of some help.

p.s. You have to remember that the skills and expertise of the engineers creating those mixes and masters and the equipment they use is incredibly high - it is not just a piece of cake to match that quality.

Master Tang · 13th May 2008

Gotta wonder if the economic recession has had a negative effect on db values.....

Awesome · 14th May 2008

Thanks everyone for your help.

Amun Ra · 15th May 2008

I find that the quieter the monitors are in the room, the louder my mixes
get. It seems as if monitoring quietly makes me enjoy the sound of
compression more, or at least it doesn't sound as unnatural to me as when
I'm monitoring at medium/loud levels.

Try monitoring at lower levels. I think it's a great way to force yourself
into using more limiting/compression.

10th May 2008	#1
Awesome Gear Head Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 41 Thread Starter	everything is so quiet Im not really sure where this belongs but this forum seems to be the best bet. All my mixes are quiet compared to other stuff I hear, and I cant really turn up the sound much more because it will cause clipping. I am running sonar 7 producer with a motu 8pre. Can someone please give me some advice, I would really appreciate it.

10th May 2008	#3
noiseflaw Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: London Posts: 1,921	If you are new to mixing and you want to increase the overall level of your mixes, it is worth considering a few options: Compression. One way to increase the volume of your mixes is to compress and sometimes very heavily, the instruments in your mix. What this can do is to even out the overall volume and help reduce the peaks that can trigger clipping. Compression also affects the tone and character of your instruments. Putting a compressor on the 2 Bus can also smooth the peaks, thereby increasing headroom. EQ Paying careful attention to the frequency content of your mixes is extremely important for many reasons, but regarding volume you will need to isolate those frequencies in your mix that may also be causing clipping - do you have a build-up of energy at a particular frequency range that is causing you problems when trying to raise the volume. Mix Levels Is your mix well balanced?, is the snare too loud or is there too much low frequency content causing reduced headroom? Limiting This is where a lot of volume and damage can be achieved! It is not uncommon for some music to be limited at levels on or around -6gb gain reduction. Of course there are negative artifacts with this... Try seeing how far you limit your mix without noticable effects. Just a few things to consider - others will chime in, I hope they are of some help. p.s. You have to remember that the skills and expertise of the engineers creating those mixes and masters and the equipment they use is incredibly high - it is not just a piece of cake to match that quality. __________________ . "There's no correlation between creativity and equipment ownership. None. Zilch. Nada." Hugh MacLeod ~ peace ~

13th May 2008	#4
Master Tang Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 172	Gotta wonder if the economic recession has had a negative effect on db values..... __________________ No way I'll wreck this... It's a beer truck eh? www.iacmusic.com/fozzieandjack

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10th May 2008	#2
Jonstudio Gear Head Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nashville, TN Posts: 50	Major Label records are mastered by the like of Bob Ludwig and other such golden ears, with all of their incredibly beautiful gear, namely EQs and Mulitband compressors. Multibands are more expansive and have a much higher learning curve than a regular limiter/compressor. I would recommend the Massey L2007 Limiter. I am not familiar with Sonar and am not sure if it will work within the Sonar world, but you can download a fully usable demo from the Massey Plugins website. And if you did want to buy it, it's less than a hundred bucks. But if you combine that and a good EQ you will be on your way there. Don't try to get it as loud as anything from a Major Label. You will just be shooting yourself in the foot. Jon Schmitz

14th May 2008	#5
Awesome Gear Head Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 41 Thread Starter	Thanks everyone for your help.

15th May 2008	#6
Amun Ra Gear addict Join Date: May 2008 Location: Sweden Posts: 312	I find that the quieter the monitors are in the room, the louder my mixes get. It seems as if monitoring quietly makes me enjoy the sound of compression more, or at least it doesn't sound as unnatural to me as when I'm monitoring at medium/loud levels. Try monitoring at lower levels. I think it's a great way to force yourself into using more limiting/compression.