Clipping

[dilshan89]

Hi guys,

My master track is clipping at about 3db. Would it be best to turn EVERY track in the mix down together so that it isn't clipping anymore? Would this be affecting the mix in some negative way?

[dilshan89]

any ideas guys?

[fishmonkey]

you can either pull the master down, or adjust all of the channels that are feeding into the master.

many people, myself included, would suggest that it is better practice to learn to mix to a set master level though (the second method).

[regretfullySaid]

IMO all the faders should be set at -12 as default. Eventually I just have made it that way saving as template. For the most part when the mix is full it'll go past 0 a little bit sometimes so I just have a utility in the master channel to bring the level down a bit so the peak level is closest to 0 by the time it's ready to master.

Just remember that not all the levels on each track have to go up to 0.

[bastien]

Yes, turn down all the channel faders, don't be afraid to go quite a long way down.

Also, if you shift-click each channel heading to select them all at once, you can pull down all the faders at once while keeping their relative levels the same.

Seriously, leaving plenty of headroom on the master is the one top tip for making Live sound 'good' and 'not crunchy'.

[andydes]

Ok, other than "good practice" and "the way you mix on a hardware desk", is there any benefit to using the individual track faders and not the master.

I usually aim to keep master fader at zero (ish). But if I'm happy with the relative levels of my tracks and just need to adjust the overall level a little , then I do it with the master.

If you render the output with no mastering effects and do that as a separate process, is there anything actually wrong with that?

[bastien]

Ok, other than "good practice" and "the way you mix on a hardware desk", is there any real reason not to just the master fader.

Well, if you want to put any plug-ins on the master channel, say a limiter, you'll need to put a utility first and drag the level down so the limiter can catch the incoming peaks.

Great, but then you find yourself adjusting your bass channel down a bit, then your Utility up a bit, then your bass channel up a bit... And so on...

It's just another thing to keep on top of, so I guess that falls under 'best practice' .


(edit - I did once manage to have so many loud channels going that the master channel fader was so near the bottom I couldn't even tweak it. Again, easily fixed with a Utility plug, but still, what a twat... )

[andydes]

Cheers. That's a good point.

I've always rendered (to 24bit file) without master effects, then taken that file back in to do my mastering (or rather armaturising) separately. So I assumed master fader position wouldn't matter to much in my case.

But maybe that's not the best way to work either. I should read up a bit more.

[bastien]

Cheers. That's a good point.

I've always rendered (to 24bit file) without master effects, then taken that file back in to do my mastering (or rather armaturising) separately. So I assumed master fader position wouldn't matter to much in my case.

But maybe that's not the best way to work either. I should read up a bit more.

As they always say there aren't any hard rules, but believe me things have been easier since I picked one and stuck to it!