• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Sound level is too low after bouncing in Pro-tools

J

JaneBass1

Jul 23, 2008
69
0
#1
I did all the mixing of a song and ready to bounce.

I bounced and convert to wav. When I listen to the song and compare to a regular CD, my song sounds too low.

If I say (example) the Metallica CD sound level is normal at 3. Mine I have to pump it up to 6 (On a scale from 1 to 10). At 3 I don't hear almost anything.

Also I have a problem with the bass. On Protools I can hear and can fix the sound level of the bass and it's ok. After bouncing the bass sounds way to low and have to go back and forth to check if the bass is correct.

Maybe this is what mastering is about? Or I just have to increase the gain of my song before the bouncing?
 
#2
Ya, the final level is supposed to happen in mastering once everything is down to one track.

It's actually better for recording, when tracking to keep the volume levels relatively low.

The final master is to boost the overall volume.

My guess with the bass is, that if you have multiple instruments, you didn't do any negative eq'ing.

To make bass show up in mix without turning it up too loud you need to take some bass off of guitars and kicks and any instrument that is hogging the bass frequencies which aren't really bass orientated.

To get it the master to the level you want just do a side by side in a program that shows you the level of the track of another album. Then match it to the other.
 
#5
While the final volume is better saved for a mastering engineer, there is nothing wrong with throwing a Limiter plugin on the master fader when bouncing down for personal use. Some examples are Waves L2 and Digidesign Maxim.

If you don't have a Limiter plug, it's possible to use a compressor instead by using a high ratio such as 10:1 or more.
 
#6
You are not David Hampton or Chris Lord-Alge. You do not have access to $10,000 in software packages. Do not expect your mixes to sound like a post-AFJA Metallica mix.

On the other hand, if you're going to be radio-friendly, you have to compress everything to hell. And then you're probably going to comp and limit a bit more on the master bounce. Compression is what allows you to turn up the mix inside the box without getting distortion. If you want loud mixes, learn your comp plugins like the back of your hand.

Oh, and make sure you've got the master fader set so that the mix hits the red here and there, but never let it peak to 0dB - that's where the limiter comes in.
 
#7
I think you're giving the wrong idea to the guy! Compression is not just going to make it louder, although that's what it sounds like to everyone obviously! Compression just turns the volume down on loud parts and turns the volume up on quiet parts, meaning no dynamics at all if completely crushed! Yes, nowadays everything is crushed to the maximum, that's the evolution of things, people prefer to listen to something that seems extremely loud and beefier, with no range of dynamic at all
 
#8
If he's comparing his mix to a commercial CD then, yes, he needs compression. You can still bring the volume up without crunching it completely. If you can't go the mastering route, insert a compressor (such as Maxim) on your main bus and slowly lower the threshold. You'll get much more apparent volume with your mix compressed a bit. Just be careful not to compress too much or you will hear the comp "pumping" with transients like the kick drum. A good mastering limiter works great too. A good free one is HERE
 
#9
Yes you've got a good point Bardley! Do you know any free compress/limiters plugins for mac? Those ones only work on ProTools.

Btw, what do you think about having a computer just for home recording, should I go with an iMac or a desktop PC? What I like about macs is Logic, although I think I work better with Cubase, and you can get much more free plugins and other plugins through "some other ways". But I also do like the macs workflow a lot! what do you thin?
 
#12
Sptz said:
Wow!! I was really looking for a limiter like that!!! Nice find thank you! Do you by any chance know any other indispensable plugins free for mac? What DAW do you use? Logic?
Click to expand...

You are welcome. That website has a lot of free plugs on it if you can use VST. I work in Pro Tools and I don't have a VST wrapper, so I can't use them. I do mess around in Ableton and FruityLoops from time to time, so I always go there when I am in need of a certain type of plugin.

I have yet to use them, but I hear(read) a lot of good things about the plugins from developer Invalid Link Removed. Blockfish is suppose to be one of the best free compression plugs out there.
 
#13
I have an update on my original posting.

I tried subtracting frequencies and read a couple of articles to make sure I am Eqing correctly.

I was able to get a couple of monitors and hooked them up to the mbox. And I hear the bass fine, actually all the instruments sound pretty good.

When I bounce and listen to the songs on my laptop (no external speakers attached), the bass is gone, the guitar sounds too loud, pretty much the sound is not the same as the original.

This is really a pain as now I have to go back and forth, and start increasing the bass level out of proportions to be able to pickup the bass on the laptop speakers.

I moved the song to an ipod and now the bass sounds a little bit too loud.

I imagine that the majority of users that go to myspace browse with laptops and don't have good external speakers where they can hear the song good.

I appreciate any advise on this.
 
#15
JaneBass1 said:
I have an update on my original posting.

I tried subtracting frequencies and read a couple of articles to make sure I am Eqing correctly.

I was able to get a couple of monitors and hooked them up to the mbox. And I hear the bass fine, actually all the instruments sound pretty good.

When I bounce and listen to the songs on my laptop (no external speakers attached), the bass is gone, the guitar sounds too loud, pretty much the sound is not the same as the original.

This is really a pain as now I have to go back and forth, and start increasing the bass level out of proportions to be able to pickup the bass on the laptop speakers.

I moved the song to an ipod and now the bass sounds a little bit too loud.

I imagine that the majority of users that go to myspace browse with laptops and don't have good external speakers where they can hear the song good.

I appreciate any advise on this.
Click to expand...

Don't mix or master on your laptop speakers. Get something better. Preferably with flat frequency response. Get several somethings, in fact. High-end speakers, flat speakers, low-end speakers. You have to hear it in several scenarios to be sure you're catching it all.
 
#16
maxgrant said:
Don't mix or master on your laptop speakers. Get something better. Preferably with flat frequency response. Get several somethings, in fact. High-end speakers, flat speakers, low-end speakers. You have to hear it in several scenarios to be sure you're catching it all.
Click to expand...

+1. I listen to my mixes on a set of Yamaha HS80Ms, Klipsch KG-2s, old-ass Polk Audios, iPod headphones and a car radio before I even think about doing final EQ, comp and other mastering touches.
 
#17
JaneBass1 said:
I imagine that the majority of users that go to myspace browse with laptops and don't have good external speakers where they can hear the song good.
Click to expand...

Get your songs sounding as good as they possibly can. mix with multiple speakers, or check on many systems, and adjust accordingly.

don´t worry about the end-users´sound systems. they could anything from laptops to massive high-end stereo, fm radio to pimp-my-ride-car-audio (with 16 bazooka sub units).

a good mix works on anything.
 
#18
kalle74 said:
a good mix works on anything.
Click to expand...

IME good mastering makes a good mix work on everything.

If you dont have decent tracking, you cant get a decent mix (it is compromised), if you dont get a decent mix then a mastering engineer (yourself maybe) cant get a really good master.

However the end result is more than the sum of its parts.

Are you saying that you listen to the mix in the DAW. It sounds fine.

You bounce down and the result then sounds weak on the exact same system?

That would sound to me like a rubbish DAW.

Try Reaper!
 
#19
51m0n said:
IME good mastering makes a good mix work on everything.
Click to expand...

I would change that to acceptable on everything. No one mix or mastering is going to work for everything especially these days where people are mainly listening on MP3's and iPods and other devices of limited sound quality. Back in the past people were really into good sounding systems so one mastering could work for most situations, but in today's world of "good enough" and small and portable being more important than good sound you have to master for your main target and/or do multiple masters. broadcast, CD, TV, film, club.
 
#20
I have protools with Mbox2. I thought that was an industry standard.

Should I then make a good mix and hope it will sound just ok in all hardware?

Or make different versions for all of these:
- good mix with my monitors
- a laptop
- car radio
- ipod

If so, then I need to buy monitors for all of these and start hooking them up to my box? This seems like a pain.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back