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EQ/Master levels for simple mixes so they sound even

Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2018 2:12 pm
by hermace
I am a DJ and use Ableton for making bootlegs, mashups, mixtapes, etc. One issue I have that takes waayyyy more time than it should is getting everything at the same volume. I get my tracks, instrumentals, and acapellas from all over the place so they are all mastered differently and have different quality, bitrate, etc. For example, you can imagine the discrepancy on volume levels when mixing a classic rock song from the 70's with a current EDM track. Even if the mix sounds right on Ableton when I export it it is all out of whack...vocals are louder or softer and tracks come in too hot etc. I understand you lose quality when exporting but I'm talking about how tracks sound in relation to the other tracks in the mix not how they sound independently. I am not looking for anything too in depth on mastering just curious is there a plug-in or device in live that can help me adjust the gain to get everything at the same level. I don't even want to get into adjusting highs/lows/mids just something as simple as should I adjust the gain +1/-1. Thanks.

Re: EQ/Master levels for simple mixes so they sound even

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 10:58 am
by wearemindflux
Hi, you don't lose any quality if you get the elements right in the first place.

When importing the tracks, match the volumes, so nothing peaks over -6dB.

From there EQ to stop clutter of frequencies.

Now level again not going over -6dB. (Do not adjust the master)

Now export.

Bring the pre-master into a new session and put a limiter on it and increase the gain a bit.

Re: EQ/Master levels for simple mixes so they sound even

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 6:50 pm
by hermace
Good advice thank you

Re: EQ/Master levels for simple mixes so they sound even

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2018 7:34 pm
by Tarekith
If you can find a cheap LUFS meter, that would be the easiest way to get them all at the same volume. If you're on a Mac, Myriad is a batch processor that can set the levels of all tracks to the same LUFS value in one go. It's not free, but pretty cheap and really useful for multiple reasons like this.

Re: EQ/Master levels for simple mixes so they sound even

Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2018 7:36 pm
by hermace
wearemindflux wrote:Hi, you don't lose any quality if you get the elements right in the first place.

When importing the tracks, match the volumes, so nothing peaks over -6dB.

From there EQ to stop clutter of frequencies.

Now level again not going over -6dB. (Do not adjust the master)

Now export.

Bring the pre-master into a new session and put a limiter on it and increase the gain a bit.
So I should export then bring the wav file I exported back into a new session?

Re: EQ/Master levels for simple mixes so they sound even

Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:12 pm
by hermace
Tarekith wrote:If you can find a cheap LUFS meter, that would be the easiest way to get them all at the same volume. If you're on a Mac, Myriad is a batch processor that can set the levels of all tracks to the same LUFS value in one go. It's not free, but pretty cheap and really useful for multiple reasons like this.
This is exactly what I'm looking for thanks!