more than 90percent of the time i use plugins to do mixes. what my question is...
say i put a limiter on a track, so the levels stay below clipping, but on the compressor that is also on the track, is clipping. does this matter? should i try to also keep my compressor under clipping level even though the main track is not clipping? thank you.
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Most plugs use floating point maths internally so they won't act
Most plugs use floating point maths internally so they won't actually clip your signal.
But its still not a good idea. You're going to have to drop the gain anyway as mixing several full scale channels together will raise your master levels too high, so you might as well drop the gain at the front end and work with a sensible amount of headroom.
IIRs, post: 370485 wrote: Most plugs use floating point maths in
IIRs, post: 370485 wrote: Most plugs use floating point maths internally so they won't actually clip your signal.
But its still not a good idea. You're going to have to drop the gain anyway as mixing several full scale channels together will raise your master levels too high, so you might as well drop the gain at the front end and work with a sensible amount of headroom.
Yes, keep your master bus RMS levels around -18dBfs (roughly 0VU) and your peaks hitting somewhere in between there and -12dBfs. Never allow any signal on any channel to go above -6dBfs. I can almost guarantee you will see an immediate improvement in the quality of your work. You've got around 120dB's (144 theoretical) of dynamic range in 24-bit audio and there's absolutely no reason to ever approach full scale, ever.
I'd also like to add that all processing should be auditioned at the same perceived level as the original recording to make sure you are not simply been dooped into thinking something sounds better when it's really just louder. This is a common trap that many fall into.
Cheers :)
Why are your levels anywhere near clipping?
Why are your levels anywhere near clipping?