Mastering Levels

[bluemt]

What is the best method for acheiving consistant overall levels for all songs destined for a record. I must be missing something or am not monitoring levels correctly with my PT 24 (non-mix) set up because I don't know what to use as a amplitude reference while mastering. The original tracks were well produced and are very even in terms of level consistancy. After have saved each song (2 trk/16-bit mixer)into individual sessions, I've applied processing across the master bus on each tune/session. It's not intuitive to me where I can find a reference point between each of the sessions as I'm going along so that they remain pretty much equal in volume. I know I can normalize at the end but it seems I should keep levels as consistant as possible between all tunes during the stages of mastering. How is this done? Many thanks.

[putney]

If I understand you right, you are happy with the volumes as they are now and you want to normalize them without changing each tracks relative position. Am I right ?

If this is the case, import all tracks into one session and select all regions to use in audiosuite at the same time. Audiosuite looks for the over all peak so the individual tracks hold their position.

Also Waves makes a spectrum analizer that comes in handy.

[bluemt]

Not exactly, I'm very happy with the levels of the original 2-trk DAT mixes. However, now that I've used mastering plug-ins and have altered the levels of each song independently, the levels of each tune vary more significantly. I was wondering if there was a method to use while altering levels of a song with plug-ins and faders, for finding and monitoring a "good" output level for that song, taking note of that output level, and then making the output level of all other songs consistant with that level. Or is that unimportant considering that I will normalize all the song's at once as the final process?

It seems to me that maintaining consistant levels for every song prior to normalizing would be important. Is my thinking correct here and if so, what are the methods used to acheive consistant levels while mastering and prior to normalizing? Thanks again.

John

[blairl]

Don't just NORMALIZE every song and call it good. All the songs on a CD need to maintain a relative overall AVERAGE sound level so you're not constantly turning the volume up and down on playback of the final disc. If you normalize every song individually then that will mess everything up. You have run into one of the best secrets of the best mastering engineers out there, "How to maintain a good overall level". That's one reason the mastering engineers get paid the big bucks!

[Gerê Fontes]

If the Software did what you want, I think that we could be a specimen in extinction. Software can't feel a "good" level or the relation betwen songs. I think it's a felling job.

[Joris Vincken]

Gerê, software can make a good level balance between songs. Steinberg's wavelab does a very good job at this. Very handy for those quick jobs.

[melvin_ray]

Hey, I've been working in the DAW mastering arena for a number of years now. My life got a lot easier when I bought a TC Finalizer. I don't recomend seeing more than 4 or 5 dbs of reduction on any band, but it is a great tool for evening out mixes. It is also much better sounding than the masterX plug-in. Not to mention it is a lot more user refinable. Last week I finished two "Babes in Toyland" live records for release in the U.K. All the source recordings where cassette tapes..... ouch. But my buddy the old TC.... Tamed even the most radically unballanced songs. I'd love to hear the DBX quad-band box.... Anyone?

[This message has been edited by melvin_ray (edited 10-11-99).]

[This message has been edited by melvin_ray (edited 10-12-99).]

[COCO]

Anyone heard the C4 into an L1 yet?

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-COCO