This is how I go forward with my music - the real story from November 2017 and towards the album release but it took Volume 2 to get the whole way there. Creating, editing and mixing music is a complicated effort but loads of fun.
For all you who wa...
Interestingly, he says that a great recording shouldn't have to be mixed, a great mix at the right level doesn't need to be mastered. So when he mixes and masters his own material, he tries to mix it so well that there is no need to master it. Hm...
1. Grab a limiter with a anttenuation window and put it on the end of the chain of the stereo out bus (Protools - Maxim)
2. Drag the ceiling down to between minus 0.5dB and -1 db
3. Press play on the loudest part of the song and start to pull the threshold down. That will raise the overall volume of the mix upwards.
4. LISTEN for the volume level increasing and LOOK in the attenuation* window to notice the gain reduction. (*Can be called GR for "gain reduction".) If you see gain reduction kicking in on the loudest points like the kick and the snare or bass then you know you are squashing your mix too much. THE GOAL IS TO GET THE WHOLE MIX LEVEL WITHOUT SQUASHING THE LIFE OUT OF IT. You are going to have to turn down some of the peaks a bit. But he reasons that turning down the loudest peaks in the song up to 1 dB won't hurt with a limiter.
Here is his video on how to master in 60 seconds from Graham: Awesome!
When you have about 5 dB left in headroom but cranking the volume more will make it clip every once and a while, then using a limiter on your mixed bus or stereo output as the last plugin can help you bring up the total amount of volume while reducing the occasional peaks created by the kick, snare and other instruments that pop out every now and then at the loudest points of the song.
On any limiter you have a "ceiling" or "margin" value - it shows the loudest part/point you want this mix to get. Set at at least -0.5 dB. Then you know that nothing will clip when your mastered filed is translated back into analog (in speakers for example).
Now that you've set the ceiling its time to adjust the threshold. At zero = no compression. Push play. As you bring the threshold down it will eventually touch some of the loudest peaks. As you bring it down to the volume level of your song, then the limiter is going to kick in. But as you bring down the threshold to that point and beyond, you are going to hear that the mix starts to get louder. The makeup gain is strictly tied to the threshold in a limiter - thats's why.
As you turn the threshold down you automatically increase the volume but the tops are clipped. What is the right level to stop at? A gain reduction of about -3 or 4 dB. See it for yourself for all the details!
Plugin Tips
Never ever buy a plugin at full price! The SSL is on sale for $99 now if you have the money. (I don't.) The Mixcentric is on sale for $39 and the SSL channel is $99. If you wait until Black Friday the deals on separate plugins and whole bundles are amazing. My advice it to wait until then if you can, save up your money and hit the golden deals when they go on sale.
Free loudness meter plugin: Get it herehttps://youlean.co/youlean-loudness-meter/ Haven't tried it but saw that it was recommended by professionals on a FB page.
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Marketing Music in the Noise
More about the jungle...I saw this today from Hypebot. It makes you understand how little you and your music are compared to the amount of transactions, interactions and searches that are done on the Internet every single minute. This is why every indie musician has to think about marketing. It is not enough just to get your music "out there". No one will find it. Building your base goes slowly. But you can survive this if you do great music and have a strategy to get it heard not just out there.
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Mixing
This week I continued to work on automation of the vocals as much as my eyes and ears can handle. I have a cold and it makes computer work a bit difficult. I took two days off and now I feel much better. Life is a rollercoaster.
I have a reflection that maybe I need to do more like Graham Cochrane (top video). Work faster and mix from the mix bus and then the individual tracks. Until now I have swamped myself down from the individual tracks to the mixed bus I will ever be learning.
I learned how the L1 Ultramaximizer limiter from Waves works. It was interesting to bring the volume up so easily. Just as in the video above, but with the limiter that I have available through the Waves Gold package.
Tip for Musicianaries
Because of the above chart it is important to know what you Unique Core Message is and build your fanbase from that. http://www.incubatoronline.com/ - free 29 minute + of mentorship if you do music that is not worship oriented or mainstream. No, I do not endorse them. I am just beginning to look into them for help. The first three modules are interesting the second three are enlightening and helpful. I'm looking forward to hearing more.
