levels seperate tracks, is there a basic rule

krachtwerk · Post by **krachtwerk** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:53 pm

hi brothers,

as the title says, is there a basic rule of the volume each track should have?
for example kick and snare -10, bass -8, leadsynth -6?

would love to get some advice from you guys

david

krachtwerk · Post by **krachtwerk** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:19 pm

anybody?

krachtwerk · Post by **krachtwerk** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:21 pm

anybody?

laird · Post by **laird** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:56 pm

there is no rule.

its all relative.

You gotta use your ears, not look up numbers.

solacerodgers · Post by **solacerodgers** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:27 pm

might want to look into some basic mixing concepts.

nbinder · Post by **nbinder** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:16 pm

Good mixing is when it sounds nice. There are no rules, it all depends on genre, sound, track....

If you are in doubt listen to tracks that you really like and try to figure out what you like about them and how the channels are levelled there.

timeline85 · Post by **timeline85** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:55 pm

Don't listen to these guys they're obviously nubs.

Kick -24db
Snare -3db
Hihat -16db
bass +4db
Guitar -96db
keys -81db
vocals +24db

That should get you started, but make sure to put a "general purpose" compressor on each channel to get a reference point. I usually go with:

Threshold -48db
Ratio 24:1
Attach - 1ms or less
release - as long as possible (1200ms is best)

After that you can add regular compressors to get your pump n vibe.

Also make sure when using EQs to boost the good frequencies as much as possible, you only want to cut if you're using high or lowpass filters.

oh and if you can, you should bus your compressors whenever possible, and put your reverbs and delays as inserts.

solacerodgers · Post by **solacerodgers** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:12 pm

timeline85 wrote:Don't listen to these guys they're obviously nubs.

Kick -24db
Snare -3db
Hihat -16db
bass +4db
Guitar -96db
keys -81db
vocals +24db

That should get you started, but make sure to put a "general purpose" compressor on each channel to get a reference point. I usually go with:

Threshold -48db
Ratio 24:1
Attach - 1ms or less
release - as long as possible (1200ms is best)

After that you can add regular compressors to get your pump n vibe.

Also make sure when using EQs to boost the good frequencies as much as possible, you only want to cut if you're using high or lowpass filters.

oh and if you can, you should bus your compressors whenever possible, and put your reverbs and delays as inserts.

How can you have "general" levels when you do not know the source material? Also using a general comp per track is not really a great idea, its a tool used for specific purposes and those settings could cause issuses for some sounds as it will effect the transients of some audio and could cause pumping in others, even at that high of a ratio ( which is basically a limiter now ) I cant even begin to understand how anyone would suggest using eq's to boost first and cut second lol.

The bottom line is there is no "color by numbers" guide to this it is far better to listen to mixes and observe mixes you like and try to work from there. Im not trying to make fun of you for trying to help but this is really bad and misleading information.

krachtwerk · Post by **krachtwerk** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:15 pm

okay

thanks anyway guys..

krachtwerk · Post by **krachtwerk** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:17 pm

solacerodgers wrote:
timeline85 wrote:Don't listen to these guys they're obviously nubs.

Kick -24db
Snare -3db
Hihat -16db
bass +4db
Guitar -96db
keys -81db
vocals +24db

That should get you started, but make sure to put a "general purpose" compressor on each channel to get a reference point. I usually go with:

Threshold -48db
Ratio 24:1
Attach - 1ms or less
release - as long as possible (1200ms is best)

After that you can add regular compressors to get your pump n vibe.

Also make sure when using EQs to boost the good frequencies as much as possible, you only want to cut if you're using high or lowpass filters.

oh and if you can, you should bus your compressors whenever possible, and put your reverbs and delays as inserts.
How can you have "general" levels when you do not know the source material? Also using a general comp per track is not really a great idea, its a tool used for specific purposes and those settings could cause issuses for some sounds as it will effect the transients of some audio and could cause pumping in others, even at that high of a ratio ( which is basically a limiter now ) I cant even begin to understand how anyone would suggest using eq's to boost first and cut second lol.

The bottom line is there is no "color by numbers" guide to this it is far better to listen to mixes and observe mixes you like and try to work from there. Im not trying to make fun of you for trying to help but this is really bad and misleading information.

i think he was joking.. i mean
-96db

solacerodgers · Post by **solacerodgers** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:30 pm

lol you never know i cant hear that low but ...............

hopefully it is but now i feel bad for this guy and the original poster lol.

nbinder · Post by **nbinder** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:44 pm

timeline85 wrote:...

I normally hate those answers where somebody is just making fun of the original poster, but this one was just amazing.

I started thinking about a "how to totally ruin every track" thread...

timeline85 · Post by **timeline85** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:44 pm

No really, I used those settings on my latest collaberation with Persian Funk

you can hear the awesome results here

I have a session with all those settings preloaded, I replaced my ableton shortcut with a shortcut to the session so that I have everything ready to go every time.

laird · Post by **laird** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:39 pm

All in favor of kicking timeline85 out of the secret-to-instant-mixing-success-club for violating Rules #1, 7, 15A and B, say Aye.

Aye.

(prepares the boulder of shame)

timeline85 · Post by **timeline85** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:16 pm

The first rule of fight club is....