you finished tracking, ok now lets mix

Hi

ok, after i followed the advise of recording to the 0 dBu reference of my interface, my recordings improbved a lot.

now i have another question... how do you start mixing? do you set any track as "untouchable" and se4t the other levels around it? what is the best method to use?

I like to build from the bottom up:

Set up the drum kit balance

Add in the bass (you will need to adjust after the rest of the tracks are up, but get in the ballpark)

Rhythm instruments (guitar and piano comps)

Lead instruments/vocals

Special effects and "ear candy"

Same rule applies, watch your levels, and stick with a 0db reference on your master fader with it at 0 and no plugins.

I like Phil toss up the faders and get a general feel, then usually start with drums, specifically with oh's and room mics, then add bass and rhythm guitars, and build the rhythm section. From there it can go anywhere.

Crutial is keeping your monitoring levels low. I keep a Rad Shack SPL meter in front of me at all times, so I know how loud I am monitoring. Volume can creep quickly without you realizing, changing the way you hear the mix.

Also, take frequent breaks. I also keep a small kitchen timer in the studio, and when I'm mixing, I set it to go off every 2 hours, and no matter what, I get up and walk away for at least 10 minutes.

So i should keep a, lets say, -18 dBFS rms in my master fader with the master fader at 0?

Because that is my main question. I mean it has happened to me that the voice is to loud, so i pull down the fader. after a while of editing and every thing i realize the voice is too loud again because i starter pulling down everything else and of course my main level is to low.

for example a friend of mine says that he puts the kick drum to shoot to -8 and never touch it and he builds around it.

Nominal -8dbfs is way too hot.

Target your nominal level to the 0db reference of your converters. Since most master faders do not have pfl, keeping your master fader at 0 and no plugins on the master fader is the only way to accurately monitor what is going into your mix buss.

Thanks... but i said -18 but i got it.

So the "make it as loud as possible" proccess is for the mastering stage. I used to mix with the l1 maximizer in my stereo buss.

Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe I think Where was responding to this part of your post: for example a friend of mine says that he puts the kick drum to shoot to -8 and never touch it and he builds around it. And I agree - starting with a kick at -8dBFS will probably - almost certainly - make things way too hot and require you to have to pull down your master fader... which is something I recommend aganst. If you tracked at your 0 reference on your converters - IOW, somewhere around -18dBFS to -15 dBFS, you should have no problems with doing the mix with the individual channel faders at reasonable levels (of course, where they get placed is entirely dependent on what you're going for balance wise) while still being able to leave your master fader at 0. The only other thing you should watch out for is processing, such as EQ boosting and compression - both of which can significantly increase the level of the signal at the outputs. There's usually a gain control so you can trim things up so that even with the EQ or compression active, you can get unity gain - IOW, so that when the plug in is bypassed or active, you get the same levels. This is also important IMO for doing comparisons of the track with and without the processing. Most people, when doing comparisons of IDENTICAL recordings will pick the louder one as sounding "better", even if they are otherwise identical... so if you have the processed and unprocessed signals at the same level, you're more likely to make comparisons and decisions based on what the processing itself is doing, instead of having a volume difference influencing your decisions.

Thanks phil, great advices indeed.

Yeah the "louder is the better take even if they are indentil" has always amazed me. 100% of my friends i've done that test with picked the louder as better sounding but they where really the same.

I never worry about my mixes being too quiet (on the monitors, I mean) because I usually start with my master fader down 10 or 15db anyway. Then I mix, pull down when something is too loud... then when it's near finished, I can pull everything back up on the master fader...

Like I always say - volume is the mastering engineers problem, not mine

This is a very very bad practice. You can easily be slamming the mix buss and not know it, since the mix buss meters are post fader....not leaving them at 0, you have no idea how hard you are driving into the summing amps.

Start with your monitor volume lower if it's too loud, not the master fader. You'll be amazed at the difference in the sound of your mixes.

Sorry, so are you saying that the individual channels could be overloading because the master volume is down?

I'm just trying to save my ears and give myself some headroom in the mix.

Where was referring to the Mix Buss, which essentially sums the individual signals. You could be overloading this and not knowing it if you pull the Master Fader down. What he said is exactly correct.

Then turn down your control room monitors, not the master fader.

If you have all your individual track faders up hot and your master fader down 10db, you could easily be slamming the {censored} out of the mix summing, overshooting 0dbfs, and basically killing your mix without knowing it, since master fader metering is post meter.

Leave the master fader at 0, target your nominal mix level to the 0dbu reference of your converters (somewhere in the -18dbfs range) and to adjust your listening level turn your monitors down, not the mix.

Basic audio 101.