Production look at this compression/limiting....

[danielRR]

I'm assuming anybody who has a DAW will know what they're looking. This is a cross section of 4 tracks as follows from top to bottom:

1: Adam Beyer - Dactyl
2: Moonface - Futurized Fears (Guy J remix)
3 me - shitty track with compressor @ 2:1 and Limiter at +6db on the master bus
4: me - shitty track with no processing, peaking around -1 or -2 on the master bus.

http://i55.tinypic.com/ndwt3n.jpg

Even comparing my track with the processors, the Beyer and Guy J tracks are just so dense you can see it.... there's barely any sound that isn't pushed all the way up to 0db.

[diegoff]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

hardware does its job!!!!
if you push too hard a tracl with a plug in, youīll have lots of distortion...
btw, there are some nice plug ins for compresion, kind of mastering.
I have an old dbx stereo opto-compressor, it works really nice, but I only use it for recording

[danielRR]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

Are you suggesting that sort of density comes from using hardware instead of plugins ?

[diegoff]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

yes... if you have a chance to listen to a good compressor, youīll see it.
thereīs a nice plug in for mastering, it works very very good, and it uses a lot of processing power, too. Do you know T-racks III ? try it!

[danielRR]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

Thanks I'll check it out. I think a friend recommended those to me before, saying they're really high quality like Waves but not nearly as expensive. Thanks mate !

[jeffrey collins]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

I would never try to make my track look like that when finished. I like dynamics, and when you push tracks that hard, you lose dynamics.

[kassios]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

How much gap do you guys leave on the output before mixing and mastering...i think -3db or even less? gives you enough space for more processing options...

[diegoff]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

less than -3db, cause in digital mixing, i.e. in Logic, the mian output goes up to 6dB, that is our real 0dB

[kassios]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

^^ will search into that ,...For mastering if you don't have some really good hardware i think it's best to send it to a pro studio and get it done.

A local studio here costs 200 euros an hr though!!!!!

[jeffrey collins]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

I do all my mixing and mastering at the same time after I'm finished recording. So I don't do what you are saying, with leaving so much level for extra processing. When I finalize my mix I usually try to use a limiting compressor, but I don't use it too much to where everything looks smashed.

[danielRR]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

less than -3db, cause in digital mixing, i.e. in Logic, the mian output goes up to 6dB, that is our real 0dB

could you please elaborate ?

[danielRR]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

I would never try to make my track look like that when finished. I like dynamics, and when you push tracks that hard, you lose dynamics.

I agree, dynamics are good, but if you take any track from a respected producer of house/techno they all look to be processed in the same fashion...

[diegoff]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

I agree, dynamics are good, but if you take any track from a respected producer of house/techno they all look to be processed in the same fashion...

Generally, the record label is the one that decides in the mastering. The max and min RMS of the album, the max RMS difference between two contiguous tracks, and a final eq, that is particular in each label (I don't know in edm, but listen to many records from sony music, or from warner music, and you'll find something similar in all their releases).
The decision of pushing hard in the mastering process it's not related to musical concepts, but commercial....

[jeffrey collins]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

^^^I seriously doubt that. In this world of independent labels. I have heard ones that were over limited and ones that could have used some.

And unfortunately looking from old tracks to the new ones. You CAN see that most of the new stuff is over limited. Go listen to your old house and techno and you will hear a considerable difference. I am usually always reminded of old Peace Division tracks.

[diegoff]

Re: look at this compression/limiting....

^ it's true what you say about old records.
I don't know how edm records work (said before), but in the mayor labels, they decide the compression level of the mastering. I saw one of the info sheets sent to a mastering studio, and it included all that info.
Tracks that will go to the radio (pop generally) are very compressed, so they sound louder that the track played before. There are some albums that are mastered to -6dB peak (some Madonna's, Red hot chili peppers - don't remember which ones) so that the compressor at the end of the audio chain in the radio doesn't affect them... But, even with -6dB peak, the RMS was still as high as other albums.
All I wanted to say is that, in most cases, mastering is decided for commercial ends.
I suppose that mastering in edm is related to the sound in a club, keeping the dynamics.
I'd be nice to bring back the dynamics in the albums