Mixing so as not to go hot

[wilcox Profile Website]

hey just curious

when you are making your tracks, do you use the kick as a reference to mix the others channels? ie - im doing something now and turn the kick so it comes in at -8db thoughts? is there a better way to keep stuff from going hot?

[thescythian Profile Website]

Kinda crazy, but if you turn your outboard amp all the way up, you give yourself a shit-ton of head room. Now, depending on what you're using, (I'm assuming software), when you export the final product, the resulting wave will be barely visible. you can just amp up the entire wave in any sound editor just below clipping.

Probably rather assanine by most standards. I have lots of assanine ways of doing things.

Really though, what it comes down to is watch your meters. Red=Bad

[Gormo Profile]

Really though, what it comes down to is watch your meters. Red=Bad

shame a lot of professional dj's fail to recognise this. even if they're not clipping in the mixer it'll still sound shit because they're going to be hitting the rigs limiter hard.

[thescythian Profile Website]

Really though, what it comes down to is watch your meters. Red=Bad

shame a lot of professional dj's fail to recognise this. even if they're not clipping in the mixer it'll still sound shit because they're going to be hitting the rigs limiter hard.

I've seen this quite a bit. Even have been guilty of it. Alot of times, the problem can come down to nervouse club owners. They have systems with all this power, but only let the DJ's use so much of it. The DJ naturally wants to rock the fuck out, and given the outboard setting of the club system, the only viable option is to max the shit out. Not good of course, but I think alot of those DJ's, if given the proper headroom, would make the right decisions in their levels.

I'm sure you would have a couple douchebags though that would still screw shit up.

Another note on mixing to the kickdrum. Not always the best idea for quite a few reason. The sound and shape of the actual kick drum in any given production, versus the sounds and shapes of the surrounding tracks provide WAY to many variables to just use "mixing to the kick" as a rule of thumb.

Every sound you use is going to be different, and therefor needs to be mixed differently.

The best way to do is, of course, give yourself lots of overall headroom, either through your master, or your outboard gear. As you introduce and/or create each new part, mix accordingly, so everything sits well together.

When it's all said and done, you'll have a little less work to do as far as mastering goes.