My Quiet Recordings

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 1:04 pm

Hey guys.

Im not part of a pro studio or anything. Im just trying to get the best recording i can out of my home setup.

So this little irritation of mine is when i record and get a decent mix, but you play another studio qualiity song and the volume levels are way up its just really in your face compared to mine.

Can anyone point me in the right direction about how to fix this....i have a feeling its in the mastering process but i just dont see how i can get it lounder with out clipping.

thanks =)

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 8:48 pm

Yes, to a very large extent, it's part of the mastering process.

Quote:

but you play another studio qualiity song and the volume levels are way up its just really in your face compared to mine.

So if you go to a studio with a professional staff, track and mix there, then go to a professional mastering facility with a qualified engineer, you can be that loud too. Assuming the arrangements and core sounds allow it.

Making professional recordings doesn't happen by accident.

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 1:32 pm

of course he says that you have to have it mastered... he runs a mastering company

now, he's absolutely right. pro recordings dont just Happen. but the average hobbyist isnt willing to spend hundreds of dollars to be a little bit louder.

what can you do? you'll probably take some of the life out of your tracks, but you could use some compression.

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2008 2:40 pm

compression eq reverb

Moderator Joined: Sep 12, 2002 Posts: 1849 Location: NYC

Roidster wrote:

compression eq reverb

Huh? reverb?

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:14 pm

Yeah...reverb...

Geez Mike - you don't know how to make your tracks louder with reverb??

Okay, this is how you do it:

Take your raw tracks and put it in an empty track in your DAW.

Patch the output of the DAW to an Aux Buss. We'll call this buss "Reverb" so as to avoid confusion...

On this reverb buss, put your favorite reverb plug in on and set it with the wet signal at 100% and the dry signal at 0%.

Now, here's the crucial part...Crank the gain on that bad boy up to 40 or 50 and keep your Aux faders at unity.

Now THAT's what I call a lush, full mix!!

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 2:30 pm

Roidster wrote:

compression eq reverb

I suppose that one deserves the "Yoinks!" award of the day...

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:14 pm

okay so im thinking im gonna have to sacrifice a little bit.

what exactly do they do at a mastering studio to get it loud?

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:21 pm

I'm not a mastering engineer either. That's why all I will say is:
http://recording.org/ftopict-37287.html

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 11:11 pm

xX5thQuarterXx wrote:

what exactly do they do at a mastering studio to get it loud?

Whatever each individual mix requires - IF it can handle it. Although the tools and experience of the engineer are obviously important, most (how do I put this...) mixes done by "less seasoned" engineers will never attain those sorts of levels no matter who might be at the controls.

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:16 am

For the loud part, can't you just turn it up?

If you turn your mix up so that it's just as loud as the professional mix, is it ok then? If not, then the difference is in the mixing and mastering. Which takes practice.

Compression is some of it but not all of it. Clarity is some of it but not all of it. Separation and non-separation are some if it but not all of it. Recording technique is some of it but not all of it.

Where I'm going with this is it's not just one thing. Sure you could put a compressor on the mix buss and slam it all together. It'll be loud, and may be in your face but it will probably suck the life out of the music and sound like ass.

Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:59 pm

what......you guys dont use a little bit of reverb on your drums Rolling Eyes

Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 2:18 pm

lets say i wanted to get 1 track mastered. how much money would it cost? just curious as to what they charge?

and im thinking that mastering isn't something that i could just pick up in a few months and do it myself am i right?

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 3:03 am

Well, regarding the money question, it still depends on where you get the job done, and who's gonna do it.
It could be from 100$ to 500$ per song...
Check with the facilities near you...

Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2008 11:25 am

Roidster wrote:

what......you guys dont use a little bit of reverb on your drums Rolling Eyes

Certainly. But don't you think that would be better applied during the mixing session instead of washing the whole mix in reverb? Not exactly what would be done during the mastering session (well, the occasional bad edit or cut tail perhaps, but it's pretty rare otherwise).

Quote:

and im thinking that mastering isn't something that i could just pick up in a few months and do it myself am i right?

I don't think I've ever done this twice in the same thread...

But let's make something perfectly clear again -- Mastering is NOT ABOUT MAKING EVERYTHING REALLY LOUD.

Just because it happens to be the stage where this happens to occur, it is NOT the goal. The goal is creating a compliant production master for replication that will translate to the widest possible array of playback options.

The "loud" part is an (unfortunate) afterthought.

As far as "learning it in a few months" -- I'll leave that to the horse.

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