lowering the master volume fader, bad?

Superchibisan · Post by **Superchibisan** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 5:11 pm

i heard once in a far away place that reducing the volume using your master fader, results in a loss of resolution of the audio.

this is not my personal experience, but i was just checking.

Tom Void · Post by **Tom Void** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:44 pm

I might be a bit in the dark here, but if you are thinking of the Master Fader as the one in Ableton, it does not afaik affect you resolution quality.

the culprit could be if you had a "lower end" semi-pro soundcard which uses digital meters for volume control, changing volume there physically could, depending on the model, result in compression of the resolution as it ramps down the audible signal by digital means only, and not as a analog process.

Again it could be wrong so keep scouring.

System6music · Post by **System6music** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:55 pm

In the past, leaving the master set to 0DB was a must, but I think with digital audio, and especially if you are going to do any personal mastering, it won;t matter as long as the levels are good and consistent.

(I mean not way quiet to almost peaking, but I am not referring to over compressing and limiting either.)

solacerodgers · Post by **solacerodgers** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:31 pm

This is a cool little article i read awhile back about the faders in a DAW.

http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/pdf.php?th=9722&0/

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:56 pm

My general practice is to leave the master fader to 0 and adjust all other faders so that the overall mix is around -3db, to output for mastering.

I use the master fader only during live performances to fade out or make adjustmets for volume in a house PA.

For mixing and production, I always leave it at 0db.

leisuremuffin · Post by **leisuremuffin** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:09 pm

that's how i work too. but only out of habit because i learned how to mix on actual mixing boards.

there is no reason not to put the master fader wherever you want it when you're using live.

.lm.

serge_a_storms · Post by **serge_a_storms** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:11 pm

nebulae wrote:My general practice is to leave the master fader to 0 and adjust all other faders so that the overall mix is around -3db, to output for mastering.

I use the master fader only during live performances to fade out or make adjustmets for volume in a house PA.

For mixing and production, I always leave it at 0db.

+1

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:12 pm

^ agreed, more out of habit from hardware mixers and unity gain and all that shit...

but good habits aren't a bad thing...I never really worry about the level of my mix when I leave the master fader at 0 and mix to -3

serge_a_storms · Post by **serge_a_storms** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:12 pm

leisuremuffin wrote:that's how i work too. but only out of habit because i learned how to mix on actual mixing boards.

there is no reason not to put the master fader wherever you want it when you're using live.

.lm.

...and this is why I probably work this way

mholloway · Post by **mholloway** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:19 pm

Superchibisan wrote:i heard once in a far away place that reducing the volume using your master fader, results in a loss of resolution of the audio.

this is not my personal experience, but i was just checking.

I looked this up a while back, too. The general consesus was that you won't be effect the quality at all. Go ahead and drop it. You'll be making life easier for mastering time.

leedsquietman · Post by **leedsquietman** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:35 pm

I leave my master fader at 0dB although as Neb, it goes back to the old analog mixer days. But there is no reason to deviate from there for me, turn down subgroups or track channels instead.

However, you should always aim to have your channel faders not above the master channel fader if possible. This is well documented and can cause overload in the mix buss. Bobby Owsinki's 'The Mixing Engineer's Handbook' highlights this, and is confirmed by representatives from other DAW companies such as Digidesign.

If only one or two channels or subgroups are above the master fader, that's not a big issue, but if several are then you are degrading the sound quality.

freshdrumma · Post by **freshdrumma** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:02 pm

i think that anything that you do to a sound involves some calculation in the digital domain, meaning it's teorically true that you loose quality, or better " change " quality

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:19 pm

I'm hoping to have a nice Henke essay to shed some light on this topic.

Mr Man · Post by **Mr Man** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:30 pm

I always thought it reduces bit depth no?

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Fri Jan 23, 2009 9:34 pm

Mr Man wrote:I always thought it reduces bit depth no?

I think that your final output should be as close to 0db as possible, or it will hurt your bit depth. But if the mixing and calculations are all done in the 64-bit bus, even if it's low, and you select the Normalize option in your export box, you shouldn't lose any bits.

So the trick is to record as close to 0db without going over, and then to mix as close to 0db without going over.

lowering the master volume fader, bad?

lowering the master volume fader, bad?

Re: lowering the master volume fader, bad?