Hi
I been working on track recently with a limiter over the master.When the limiter was off it was clipping so I pulled down the trim a little on the master. Is that a good way or should I have pulled down all the track levels instead to prevent clipping ?? I've just added a fat kik and snare and surprise surprise,its clipping again lol. It sounds ok with the limiter on ,so this time I havent touched the trim on the master. Is this a bad way to work ?? 
Kev
 

 
Hi Kev.
 
I've just listened to your Big Band Mix and your World Mix and I hear Mixes that sound clear as a bell !
Very nice Music! I will definitely listen to the rest as well. Great stuff!!!
I personally always leave the master trim or fader in one static position. If I see clipping I usually quick group all track volume faders and move them down till there's no clipping.
But what ever you did on the tracks I was listening to, it was the right thing. Fantastic music!!!
 
All the best

The Big Band Mix and the World Mix sound good to me as well. When I have clipping I use a clipping repair preset that comes with Sound Forge Pro 9-11 and it works quite well. Also, Izotope Ozone 5 Pro does it automatically when you use it for mastering. There is a sequence I follow when mastering that is pretty typical for most mastering experts, not that I am one, but it does seem to work and it goes as follows: preparation of all tracks, noise reduction of all tracks, enhancements desired of all tracks, compression of all required tracks, clipping repair of all tracks, limiting of all tracks as required, and finally referencing the final mix to similar songs like your working on to see if they are comparable to other song in the same genre. Also, there is always a purpose for final mastering of a song to consider, and they are as follows: Final check, consistency, enhancements, album flow and finally formatting that you are looking for. These are the standards that I know about and consider myself, so I hope they are helpful for you and others as well. I think that as long as the final output is what your looking for (as a home studio and not as a professional) a finished product and sounds good to your ears, then you have done the best you can do. The next step would be to take it to the pros if your looking to sell your music. What you have do so far sounds just great. Nice stuff!!
 
Peace and Blessings, John

Hey Noisy Neighbour ,cool name :)
I'm glad those mixes work for you !! I guess thats all that counts at the end of the day,what the ears are telling you,rather than the meters.
But ok,say I do want to add extra elements to an already full mix....what you're saying is its better to bring down the faders on individual tracks then adjust the master ? I'll give that a whirl then :-)
Many thanks for you input,
Kev
 

Personally I mix to give myself some headroom, i.e. no clipping, for when I come to finalise a track.
 
However as noted the track big band mix does sound clear even if it is hitting the end stops most of the time.
 
As noted by one wise mastering engineer there is such a thing as a volume control on most playback devices.
 
Thanks for sharing.

 

theguitarplayer
The Big Band Mix and the World Mix sound good to me as well. When I have clipping I use a clipping repair preset that comes with Sound Forge Pro 9-11 and it works quite well. Also, Izotope Ozone 5 Pro does it automatically when you use it for mastering. There is a sequence I follow when mastering that is pretty typical for most mastering experts, not that I am one, but it does seem to work and it goes as follows: preparation of all tracks, noise reduction of all tracks, enhancements desired of all tracks, compression of all required tracks, clipping repair of all tracks, limiting of all tracks as required, and finally referencing the final mix to similar songs like your working on to see if they are comparable to other song in the same genre. Also, there is always a purpose for final mastering of a song to consider, and they are as follows: Final check, consistency, enhancements, album flow and finally formatting that you are looking for. These are the standards that I know about and consider myself, so I hope they are helpful for you and others as well. I think that as long as the final output is what your looking for (as a home studio and not as a professional) a finished product and sounds good to your ears, then you have done the best you can do. The next step would be to take it to the pros if your looking to sell your music. What you have do so far sounds just great. Nice stuff!!
 
Peace and Blessings, John

Hi John
I'm glad you like the mixes,thats encouraging to hear. I dont have Sound Forge or Izotope,but I've heard a lot of good things about them.It does sound like they come with some useful tools.
What you say about mastering makes total sense,particulary the referencing to other CDs. You defo can learn a lot this way.
I should of really posted this in Technique lol. What a dingbat lol. Thanks for your ideas
Kev