Mixing issues, or perception of certain sounds higher?

[podonnell]

I've got a project with a bunch of instruments down, and one of them is really crushing the others in the mix -- it's a synth lead. I've had to turn it all the way down to 28% in the mix, but it's still pretty powerful. Is this normal for really punchy leads to have to be mixed this low?

I am also seeing clipping on my master track, but not on any individual tracks. What would be causing that?

[TrevsAudio]

Hi

Try gain staging first.

With the main slider set to 0 db (double click it), go to the Mixer tab, hit the gear icon and make sure 'Gain' is selected. You can control the initial volume from there, checking the level of the individual channel. Good practice to do this with all tracks as it gives maximum amount of adjustment on the sliders themselves.

Gain Stage.png (228.42 KiB) Viewed 1829 times

[podonnell]

Hi

Try gain staging first.

With the main slider set to 0 db (double click it), go to the Mixer tab, hit the gear icon and make sure 'Gain' is selected. You can control the initial volume from there, checking the level of the individual channel. Good practice to do this with all tracks as it gives maximum amount of adjustment on the sliders themselves.



Gain Stage.png

Hi,

Thanks for showing me this -- I haven't played around in here much yet.

Should I be adjusting the gain up and down instead of the sliders at the bottom? I typically have been mixing with those -- which are also shown to the left on the timeline view.

[TrevsAudio]

Hi

A video can say so much more than mere words

Check this one out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI-6oRK ... l=Mixcraft

[podonnell]

Watched this and will try out a few tips I saw in it.

In my case, all my tracks are MIDI recordings with VST instruments -- no live vocals or instruments. It seems like this may help out that style a lot more.

I think the thing I want to understand most is why my master track is showing clipping, but none of the individual instruments are. How could I go about finding out the cause of that?

[TrevsAudio]

Remember, your master track is the sum of all other tracks... So, while the individual tracks may be at a reasonable level, the total of all tracks may be pushing the master too high.

[podonnell]

In this case, is it best to lower my overall master track, or should I go fine tune all the other tracks?

I'm sure this doesn't have a simple answer, so maybe let me rephrase that --

When I am experiencing the clipping on my master track, what's the best place to start?
How helpful would applying EQ to the individual tracks be?

[TrevsAudio]

Hi

Clipping on the master happens because the combination of all your tracks are 'too hot'. I'd start by addressing each track. Play the whole song in the mixer view, keeping an eye on the track levels, and see which tracks may be going into the red or are obviously louder than the others. You can then adjust those levels as I explained before, but this of course would upset the overall balance of the whole mix and the other tracks may have to be lowered to compensate.

EQ should only be applied to get the 'sound' of the instrument or voice as you want it. In its simplest terms, think of it as a cut or boost to the bass, middle or treble frequencies. But also remember, if you're going to be boosting in EQ, the track level will be boosted slightly too, so keep an eye on those levels.

[cactus-head]

Just a note on stage gaining: The gain knob isn't a track volume control like the main track fader. It's basically an input signal control. Keep in mind, because of the signal chain order in Mixcraft, effects come AFTER the gain is changed on the mixer. That means the tone of the input coming into the effects can change - especially in the case of a guitar or synth running into an Amp Sim or overdirve etc. If you are using VSTis and MIDI, control the OUTPUT or volume on those at the instrument level first before you do any gain staging, mixer fader movement etc.

Most synthesizers have some kind of master volume and if they don't, you can control it from the instrument selection screen. But the volume on the input selection screen also will effect the tone - so it will be a balancing act between the inputs (gains) and outputs.

instrument volume.JPG (35.76 KiB) Viewed 1415 times

A very general loose rule of thumb when it comes to Mixer settings is if you are turning a knob, slider or setting all the way up or down, something is wrong either with the intial recording or the input. Most of the time, the Mixer settings are tweaks up a little or down a little to get an ideal sound or starting point. Later, when you do the actual mix of all the tracks, you may have to be a little more extreme to get a good balance between instruments, but generally tweaks should be just that: tweaks.

And for what it's worth, for me I usually set my faders on the mixer to about -6 to make sure my instrument tracks peak at about -18 on the stereo meter. The Master track fader generally shouldn't be adjusted and should remain at 0 and should peak at about -9 maybe a tad higher. That gives plenty of head room. Later I may adjust my instrument faders up a little bit but at -6, I've got plenty of room for balancing things out without killing the master or clipping. My final mix usually peaks somewhere between -3 and -6 on the stereo meter before I mixdown before mastering. That still gives me a little headroom for mastering. I'm by no means an engineer, but these settings work best for me at the stage I am at.

[TrevsAudio]

Thanks Cactus for your input and help on this topic. Much appreciated

[outteh]

After I have tweaked all tracks to the tone and sound I want I reduce them all to 40% and begin to adjust the overall mix keeping any increases from kicking the master volume into the red.

[cactus-head]

Trev, I think you nailed it with the stage gaining. I appreciate your appreciation I'm definitely no expert on stage gaining. I've found the tone changes when spinning dials and knobs and then looked up the signal chain in Mixcraft to try and understand what was happening in the past. That's what made me think of mentioning it here.