Veg Audio Levels vs Commercial

CClub wrote on 7/6/2009, 6:29 AM

I just completed a concert production, and I rendered mp3 and mp4 versions for iPod/iPhone. When I listed to the music on my iPhone and then listened to a commercial song, my music was much lower in volume.

When you are editing music in Vegas, what are most of you watching for as an average Master Audio level? I was always going with -12 db as average volume, but that seems low relative to commercially produced music.

Comments

craftech wrote on 7/6/2009, 6:40 AM

I have mine at -3dB for most.

John

Chienworks wrote on 7/6/2009, 7:11 AM

-12dB is way low. Rip a few commercial CDs or load some commercial MP3s into Vegas and take a look. Not only do most peak at about -0.1dB, but most pop music is also highly compressed and has an average level around -6 to -2dB.

CClub wrote on 7/6/2009, 8:37 AM

I don't know why I was going with -12dB on this one. I have in my own notes from DSE's http://www.sundancemediagroup.com/audiomaster.htmAudio Mastering article[/link] to mix audio "to a level not exceeding 0dB, and not less than -6dB at peaks." Got off track somewhere... thanks for getting me back to the basics.

musicvid10 wrote on 7/6/2009, 9:06 AM

"I was always going with -12 db as average volume,"

Actually, -12dB average (RMS) is not too bad for commercial, non-rock music.

-12dB peak volume would be way too low for any normal listening situation.

Make sure you make the distinction. It is an important one.

I've found that peaks between -0.1dBFS and -1dBFS and RMS between -6dB (for rock) and -12dB is right in the pocket, unless you are a metalhead, in which case you are on your own.

Learning to use the compressors and WaveHammer in Vegas is as much an art as a science, and it's easy to overdo it. For the type of work I do (also live stage productions), less is usually better. Generally I aim for about -16db RMS for the orchestra, and -12dB all the way to -6dB RMS for the vocals, depending on the content type. These are just rough numbers.

reberclark wrote on 7/6/2009, 9:33 AM

Keeping your sources under -3db or at most 0db allows "headroom" that is used during mastering (a separate process - I use Sound Forge to master).

The mastering step in audio is where I maximize the overall volume.

For years I couldn't understand why others' mixes were up to volume and mine weren't. I was balancing the sources just fine but not until I was advised to then move the final mixed track into a mastering program did I get the results I was looking for in terms of overall levels.

I am no expert, but I hope this helps.

Christian de Godzinsky wrote on 7/6/2009, 9:36 AM

Hi,

And make sure you are not falling in this trap, as many have:

This has been the reason for (too) many people to produce DVD's with low volume... But you might know this already,

Christian