[carol m]

I'm trying to get a song with several tracks to get each one's max volume without clipping, but once it clips how on earth do you reset the red out of the volume read-out so you know if you've reduced it enough when you play it back again? I try changing the vols up or down and back to what I want, or opening and closing the fx panel, or muting and soloing, or try ignoring it and doing something else for a while, and sometimes when I go back to it, it's reset but sometimes not. It's driving me

And the same for the mixer vol window. GGrrrrr!! Help please, I'm going insane.

[OldG]

Left clicking on the red part of the meter should reset..

[carol m]

Thankyou, thankyou, Old G (again) - what should have taken 30mins has taken me 3 frustrating days!

I like your signature, he had a good line in 'wisdom' didn't he?

[carol m]

That reset feature certainly simplifies life! But (standby for incoming ignorance) why do the numbers (db) at the top of each channel in their Mixer slider and the master all have different levels? Those levels are lower in exactly the tracks that are always going 'over' into red?

And, does anyone have any tips on how to mix/fx a vocal track(s) to bring them more to the front, instead of bland, ho hum all the same kind of mix? I've so far added a bit of reverb and slightly increased the mid range in eq.

PS. I realise now that by going thru and systematically slightly reducing the vols where a track goes slightly into the red, I've lost a lot of the dynamics. I did this to try to bring the vol level up but without clipping, cos it sounded flat and quiet and too far 'back' compared with other mp3's I played at the same playback volume to see how it sounded.

Playing, recording, even singing is easy compared to mixing/making it sound ok.

[carol m]

And...I clicked 'env' in Mixer so I could fine tune the mix vol in parts of the master track.....but can't see/find it anywhere.


And...in the manual the Master track examples all have a space above it where all the eq's and fx's are displayed - I don't have one - and would quite like one.

This is one learning curve - but it's not going to beat me!

[carol m]

Those db levels at top of the mixer track window/slider keep changing! So I go through and reduce vol in the bass track to reduce the overall vol without affecting the mid range and it's ok, but when I play it through next time, the upper limit in the mixer window has changed and it clips again - Aaaaaaahhhh!! somebody shoot me, please!

[skinnybloke]

BANG!

Originally Posted by carol m

PS. I realise now that by going thru and systematically slightly reducing the vols where a track goes slightly into the red, I've lost a lot of the dynamics.
Playing, recording, even singing is easy compared to mixing/making it sound ok.

Carol you could try compressing the tracks that are clipping, set the compression level just below the db it clips at...then turn the vol up. It's clumsy, but it might work.
There's a couple of threads on compression in the recording forum.

[skinnybloke]

Originally Posted by carol m

Those db levels at top of the mixer track window/slider keep changing! So I go through and reduce vol in the bass track to reduce the overall vol without affecting the mid range and it's ok, but when I play it through next time, the upper limit in the mixer window has changed and it clips again - Aaaaaaahhhh!! somebody shoot me, please!

Those red db numbers indicate the highest db level on the track, if the highest db level on the track is below 0db they are not red.
You need to turn down the vol for that track.....or try the compression mentioned above.

I never touch the master track during mixing. I make all adjustments on the individual tracks.

The manual isn't up to date fully yet.

[skinnybloke]

Geez you ask a lot of questions

[carol m]

Hee he - a voice from the dead, (or maybe you missed?)

I have succeeded!!! I can hardly believe it - and (ahem) I'd like to point out that Reaper didn't beat me, I just took an alternate route........I imported the files into Apple's Garageband and rendered it to mp3 from there - no clipping, no clicks. and no problem.

Now if I can get soundclick to talk to me I can link it so you can see what I came up with.

Thanks for your help skinny, battle with Reaper might be resumed at some point in the future when my sanity returns.

[OldG]

Easy way to consistent levels would be to add a limiter as an effect on each recorded track - a limiter does exactly that... it limits the peaks to whatever you choose.

Add eventhorizon2 (found in the JS/stillwell effects list) and set the ceiling to 0.1 for example, and then adjust the threshold to increase volume,punch and also unwanted distortion if you overdo it.....

Fine tune to suit with track volume sliders, and unlike Skinnybloke I like to use effects on the master to glue the mix together... try a gentle eq,maybe a touch of reverb or even something like this (free from Bootsie)...KVR: KVR Developer Challenge 2009

[carol m]

Thanks Old G, I'll try that next time, meanwhile I got soundclick to talk to me, well half of me anyway - I posted the track in member's recordings. Now I need to play guitar and give recording a rest for a while.

[eddiez152]

Now I can hear and see what this was all about. I certainly came out as a surprise.

[carol m]

That link to the KVR Developer Challenge is interesting - all those plugins and apps are free. Have you tried any Old G?

[OldG]

I really try not to download too many free vst's these days - I have too many already!

The link should point straight to Bootsy's Ferric TDS - a tape simulator with limiter and lots of other goodness to make your digital sound more musical and less harsh to the ear. Ideal on the master track to blend and enhance the mix...

In fact anything Bootsie has released is a must- have (imho), especially his Epicverb and BootEQ.

linkage >VST effects « Variety Of Sound

Download link at the top of the page...