Controlling Volume on a single track (Clipping Issue)...& How to fatten up my tracks

[sjs94704]

I have pre-recorded music I sing to. Each instrument is on a separate track.

I'll do my best to get all the details here as best as I can.

In my projects I have what are called 'drum kits', meaning all the parts of the drums are wrapped up into one track. I use a little EQ to draw out each of the individual parts, but my issue is now getting the volume I want.

Right now I am playing one of my songs and the drum kit is at the volume I want, but, it is clipping at about only +1.5 to +2.1. But it is clipping.

I've also been just experimenting with a plugin that I have never used before so my settings might be way off. It is the JS: Stereo Width plugin.

Just playing with it, I have the Width Boost at 6.0 & the Center Boost the same at 6.0 on the drum kit track. Like I said, these may be way off and too much (or not enough), but, I do like the sound I'm getting with these settings.

There is also the Blue Cat's Gain plugin and it is set to -9.50 (I may not need this at all since the Stereo Width plugin has a gain setting already on it)

I saw Kenny Gioia in a video about avoiding clipping and he is using the JS: Volume/Pan, but, in his example he is using it on the MASTER track.

Here is the heart of my confusion about how to do this .....

I like the volume of the drums I am getting right now, but, I just don't want that track to clip and am just not sure what plugin or some other method I can use to maintain the volume I want without clipping.

The other part of this is that I want to learn how to get that big fat loud volume out of each track without clipping. I've seen enough videos about mixing to know that achieving that is possible. Since my instrumental tracks already come with most of the mixing treatment already I want to simply focus on fattening them up and get them sounding loud without clipping.

I learn best by watching videos. Can you suggest any on this topic?

Thank You!

[ashcat_lt]

IF you are listening to the drums in solo, and you have to crank them up to clipping in order for them to sound loud enough at your ears, then you should probably just turn up your monitors.


OTOH IF you are listening to the full mix, and you have to crank up the drums to clipping in order for them to sit in the mix where you think they should, then you should probably turn all the other tracks down.


THEN you look at the overall dynamic range at the Master meter. This is the difference between the loudest peak and the average (RMS or LUFS) of the whole mix.



IF that number is bigger than you want (it probably will be), then you need to control the dynamics of the drums. Compression, limiting, even deliberate distortion.



The point being that volume on its own is meaningless. You can turn it down to not clip and turn up your monitors and it sounds the same except without all the clipping.



Context in the mix, and then dynamic range.

[sjs94704]

Before anyone says. "it depends on the sound your going for", the answer to that is I don't yet know for sure and am looking to experiment with things that you all have found that you like using so I can try them out to see if they will work for me too!

There is a lot of talk about keeping the volume of individual tracks at between -18 to -15 on the meter to leave enough headroom for adding VSTs and making other adjustments, etc.

My question is, in my particular case, there is not much in the way of VSTs on the MASTER track, so where should I be on the meter there?

Should it also sit at the same levels despite the fact that I will most of the time only have a GAIN and an EQ on it?

And, are there any other VSTs that I should think about using on my MASTER track on almost every project that I just might not have considered yet?

[xpander]

Originally Posted by sjs94704

There is a lot of talk about keeping the volume of individual tracks at between -18 to -15 on the meter to leave enough headroom for adding VSTs and making other adjustments, etc.

My question is, in my particular case, there is not much in the way of VSTs on the MASTER track, so where should I be on the meter there?

Are you are doing this mostly for your entertainment, rather than intended for some public release? You have stated that you are new to audio engineering and not wanting to go too deep into technical things. This is not made any easier by the fact that there are several different level standards depending on the release platform...yet even professional audio people are still arguing about what the levels should/could/would/must be in each case.

With all that in mind, people can't really give you hard set numbers to target for. As a basic principle, keep your master peak level at or below 0 dBFS maximum. In other words, not clipping. As for the average level (RMS, LUFS or whatever metering standard you use), that depends on how dynamic your material is and how loud you want it to be. You must have a specific idea about how and where you are going to release your music to get more specific reference numbers.

Originally Posted by sjs94704

Before anyone says. "it depends on the sound your going for", the answer to that is I don't yet know for sure and am looking to experiment with things that you all have found that you like using so I can try them out to see if they will work for me too!

Ok. True peak level at -1.0 dB max. and LUFS integrated at -21. It might or might not be too quiet for your needs. Go for -18 LUFS or higher if that is too quiet compared to your references. Mind you, these are my final mix levels, I haven't mastered audio in ages anymore.

Ultimately the answer is still the same, you'll have to find the sound you are going for AND the release platform you are targeting for. Also, at some point you would benefit from calibrating your monitoring levels. Doesn't need to be a professional setup, but could make it easier to adjust your levels when you can actually hear properly what you are doing and not relying totally on meters either.

Originally Posted by sjs94704

And, are there any other VSTs that I should think about using on my MASTER track on almost every project that I just might not have considered yet?

Proper metering for your personal use, be that Reaper meters or something else, nothing else to start with. Limiting is usually my next and often the last stop.