Rendering stems and clipping

[hipdeejay]

Does it matter if the master is clipping if I'm exporting stems? Will it affect the stems? I'm preparing to send my stems off for mixing & mastering does it matter if the master is in the red inside the project? The individual stems are not clipping but because of the amount of them playing at the same time it clips the master a little bit just wondering if this will affect the stems or if I should turn everything down before exporting?

[jestermgee]

Yes it matters.

You need your master WAY down if you want to have it mastered. -6db headroom I believe is what you should allow yourself. Clipping on the master is prob the number 1 thing to avoid

[TLW]

Ask the mastering house/engineer what peak levels they would like to see on the master and set it accordingly. And don’t let the master get into the red under any circumstances. Channels are pretty much impossible to digitally clip even if in the red (though plugins can sometimes clip horribly), but if the master goes into the red expect digital clipping to start - which unlike analogue clipping isn’t a smooth transition into slight distortion but a noise like someone throwing a van full of drum kits downstairs.

[hipdeejay]

Yes it matters.

You need your master WAY down if you want to have it mastered. -6db headroom I believe is what you should allow yourself. Clipping on the master is prob the number 1 thing to avoid

Ask the mastering house/engineer what peak levels they would like to see on the master and set it accordingly. And don’t let the master get into the red under any circumstances. Channels are pretty much impossible to digitally clip even if in the red (though plugins can sometimes clip horribly), but if the master goes into the red expect digital clipping to start - which unlike analogue clipping isn’t a smooth transition into slight distortion but a noise like someone throwing a van full of drum kits downstairs.

I'm exporting the stems to be mixed so I don't have a master. The individual stems are not clipping but when played as a whole the master clips a little. Obviously the engineer will be adjusting the levels I just need to know if it matters if it's clipping at the current exported levels

[wearemindflux]

Does it matter if the master is clipping if I'm exporting stems? Will it affect the stems? I'm preparing to send my stems off for mixing & mastering does it matter if the master is in the red inside the project? The individual stems are not clipping but because of the amount of them playing at the same time it clips the master a little bit just wondering if this will affect the stems or if I should turn everything down before exporting?

Yeah it really matters, this could cause problems.

Just grab all your faders and pulll them down until the peak in the master is -6 to 10