Re: master levels

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On Mon, 2 Feb 2015, Brent Busby wrote:

Len Ovens <len@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
6db down is one bit of 24... to go to 16 for a CD means cutting off
bits on the bottom (maybe adding some noise) so -6 is safe.

Wow, I never would have imagined that.

So, I could mix to -6db in Ardour and still use most of the headroom on
a CD?  Is there any advantage to keeping your peak level that low on the
master in the digital world?  Or, put another way, if I *could* get the
whole track to behave itself and not go above -1db at loudest peak, is
there a reason not to?

I do not know if there is something in ardour to do this, but if you import the final wav file into Audacity, it is very easy. Once you have imported the track, there is an "Effect" dropdown menu and the first effect is called amplify. If you select that, the default amplification will be the amount needed to set the highest peek to 0db.

However, as I (and Ralph) meantioned in passing and Atte went into much more and better detail. It does depend on the audience. What is technically best may not be what is best for your application. If what you are recording will be played along side other people's work, you pretty much need to follow the same guidlines as they have with reguards to levels and compression. What sounds best to most people is what they are used to hearing. So mixdown to -6 peeks or so for your private master to archive, then tweek it for the finished product to what is commercially viable in your sittuation. After doing all the tweeks, you find you wish to change the mix to work with the tweeking :)

This speaking from a strictly Amateur POV. I have a lot to learn about mixdown and mastering and so in mastering I find the need for remixing to make my mastering work. Lots to learn.


--
Len Ovens
www.ovenwerks.net

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