Audio Advice

[Rubs90]

Easy guys, need some advice on audio and mixing in general as I am completely clueless in this area. Theres this track im probably not gonna finish, but theres something pissing me off for a while; the song is quiet itself (in level comparisons to other tracks I play on my computer), but if I turn the output up it starts clipping. Should I adjust all the levels individually in each channel? What can I do next time to avoid having a generally quiet track? I dont wanna crank the levels up to avoid distortion..

Another thing that pisses me off is the fact that in the mixer the output levels are reaching red, whereas in the individual channels their all at average levels. I only have one bus at the time and its to apply EQ to the kicks. As I said I am completely clueless about this so I have no idea where this is coming from

[ApeCat]

While each individual instrument might not sound overwhelming on their own, add them up and together they'll make a lot of noise.

The thing is to EQ everything. It's a hassle at first but you'll get into it and maybe even start enjoying it, I know I do and I don't even think my tracks come out very good, it's just something I like tinkering with, like when I was into Warhammer 40k as a kid; I'd never actually play the game, I just enjoyed chopping up the figures, putting them back together in my own way and painting and modelling and shit.

Basically what you need to do is to go through each instrument - or group of instruments by way of bus'ing - and cut out all "excess" freqs. You kind of have to kill your darlings here; the sounds will sound much "better" when they're playing across the whole spectrum, especially when you play them on their own, but this crowds the mix and makes your chunes prone to distortion. When you've stripped each sound down you'll probably be able to turn each of them a little louder without the master levels reaching the reds.

Keep in mind that the master should stay well away from the reds at all times, leave what's called "headroom" in the industry, [look at me all big time producer down with the lingo an' ting!] even if you're not going to have your tracks mastered it's a good habit to get into, IMO.

[Rubs90]

While each individual instrument might not sound overwhelming on their own, add them up and together they'll make a lot of noise.

The thing is to EQ everything. It's a hassle at first but you'll get into it and maybe even start enjoying it, I know I do and I don't even think my tracks come out very good, it's just something I like tinkering with, like when I was into Warhammer 40k as a kid; I'd never actually play the game, I just enjoyed chopping up the figures, putting them back together in my own way and painting and modelling and shit.

Basically what you need to do is to go through each instrument - or group of instruments by way of bus'ing - and cut out all "excess" freqs. You kind of have to kill your darlings here; the sounds will sound much "better" when they're playing across the whole spectrum, especially when you play them on their own, but this crowds the mix and makes your chunes prone to distortion. When you've stripped each sound down you'll probably be able to turn each of them a little louder without the master levels reaching the reds.

Keep in mind that the master should stay well away from the reds at all times, leave what's called "headroom" in the industry, [look at me all big time producer down with the lingo an' ting!] even if you're not going to have your tracks mastered it's a good habit to get into, IMO.

That was really really helpful mate, thanks for taking the time to explain it!

[ApeCat]

No prob. I'm no expert but I'm really nerdy when it comes to mixdowns, if there's anything, feel free to ask.

[ShirPan]

you might consider this as well: http://www.dnbscene.com/article/88-t...te-eq-tutorial

its quite helpful when it come to the idea of mixing imo...

[Rubs90]

you might consider this as well: http://www.dnbscene.com/article/88-t...te-eq-tutorial

its quite helpful when it come to the idea of mixing imo...

That was such a good read

[discover]

you will have to uninstall the driver for audio and reinstall after downloading the right one for your motherboard

[jimjimjim]

you will have to uninstall the driver for audio and reinstall after downloading the right one for your motherboard

wtf ?

[ApeCat]

Please ignore the bots...