UKRuss wrote:If you really can't afford external mastering and are forced to do it yourself, focus on the mix so that you retain around -3db to -6db headroom, render as a 24bit stereo file.
Import the stereo file into a new live set and use Lives native plugs to 'master' it yourself. Live now has a multiband compressor and EQ8 is pretty transparent anc can work well as a mastering EQ for this type of job. Then bang the limiter on the end of your chain set the ceiling to just under 0db, say -0.1dbfs or -0.2 dbfs and crank the input to get your loudness.
Import one of your favourite pro track into another track in the same set and bypass the mastering chain of FX, set the master meter to read RMS rather than Peak and get a feel for where this typeof track sets on average meter readings. Re-engage your mastering chain and your own track and adjust the limiter to match the RMS area you identified for your genre.
If you can splash out some cash, try a different limiter such as Voxengo's Elephant or T-Racks singles.
There is a deal on at the moment for the shell, metering and classic EQ on T-Racks. The metering is worth the price alone as it has everything you need in one window.
With a tad of practice you can get pretty close to your fav tracks loudness just using the RMS comparison and adecent limiter. If you need to tweak EQs to match you pro track EQ8 will do the trick and for any compression needs on the stereo file, Lives multiband compressor will see you right.
once you're happy, render while dithering to 16bit.
can we do this, but skipping the part when you export the song to get a .wav file ?
Can you just do this in the same Live's project directly without rendering anyting and leaving the master channel level at 0 ?
this is what I've done so far and I wonder if it's "right" .
