master bus question

troven wrote on 2/22/2005, 8:53 AM
after mixing my 3 bus project and adjusting both the individual track levels and the bus levels, my master bus shows a peak of around -6.5db. my question is if i make up the lost gain by raising my master bus up 6.0db so i'm peaking at around -0.5, what does this mean with regard to the resolution/ SNR? am i just adding a bunch of noise? is this not what the master bus is for?

am i getting a much worse mix doing it my way or do i need to redo everything?

the song is 40+ tracks and has been an absolute bear to mix so unless i'm gaining a lot i'd rather not remix.

--t

Comments

jyoun wrote on 2/22/2005, 9:15 AM
You don't need to redo anything. Leave it as is until the mastering stage, otherwise go ahead and use that master fader.

If you're worried about resolution, mix to 24-bit and remember to use dither. You'd then be safe if the mix peaked at -12dBFS, probably even lower - anyone care to explaing the safe zones?
troven wrote on 2/22/2005, 10:16 AM
i always mix to 24/44.1 so, assuming that i'm getting these tracks mastered externally, i should just leave the master fader at 0 and have my mix sounding quiet? hmm...i'll certainly not be dithering it prior to mastering it either. i'll give 24 bit undithered files to the mastering house, but my question is - is making up the gain in vegas using the master bus better than having the mastering house make up the gain? or should i remix?
drbam wrote on 2/22/2005, 9:10 PM
>>but my question is - is making up the gain in vegas using the master bus better than having the mastering house make up the gain? or should i remix?<<

No! Leave it alone and let the mastering engineer handle the final levels. There's no need to remix unless you are unhappy with the mix itself. Your levels are fine for a 24bit mix. In fact, most ME's ask that the loudest peaks be around -6 db as it gives them plenty of room to work with the dynamics. That being said, you certainly could render a 2nd mix with the levels increased for your own listening – or with a mastering compressor/finalizer plug of some sort to make it sound closer to what the final one will be. Just make sure to give the ME the original mix.

drbam