Question About Peaking...

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TraKKingz

FOLLOW Me @iAmKingzz
When i mix i make sure no instrument is peaking is that correct?

whats a good value to leave the master volume at?
 

TraKKingz

FOLLOW Me @iAmKingzz
i use FL the hardest thing for me right now is to have my bass an kicks stand out cause i peak them every time, im guess its because im not putting a EQ on it an taking out the high end..

i dont wanna turn things to low cause then when you turn it up on speakers or head phones sometimes it sounds dull if the instruments are to low
 

Formant024

Digital Smokerings
ill o.g.
Here's a simple trick

Turn your speakers all the way up,
Hit up a kick processed n well around -5db
Shits fucking loud now, turn the level down till its loud enough.

^^^ Most people fuck up by compensating with eq, comp/limiting due to wrong monitoring conditions.

Also... you want to take out bits of the low end in order to gain amplitude.
 

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
i dont wanna turn things to low cause then when you turn it up on speakers or head phones sometimes it sounds dull if the instruments are to low
True, but it's also good to have sounds that sound nice to begin with. Garbage in, garbage out - I try to avoid.
 

Formant024

Digital Smokerings
ill o.g.
i dont wanna turn things to low cause then when you turn it up on speakers or head phones sometimes it sounds dull if the instruments are to low

You have to question yourself, is it really dull or does it sound dull at your place. If you think its dull then compensating your crappy monitoring condition occurs.

Leaving the faders low means you leave headroom for instruments to breathe or blow up withouth going into distortion.
 
Here's a simple trick

you want to take out bits of the low end in order to gain amplitude.


Yes, you need to cut below 30hz, completely, the sound you cannot hear, but its still actually there will make your level peak and can leave you scratching your head wondering why its peaking.
 

TraKKingz

FOLLOW Me @iAmKingzz
im use all these tips for the beat im working on today an @2GooD Productions theres been plenety times where i swear i got everything lvled an theres always one thinking making it peak! now just to make sure i got everthing right

on my bass cut the high frequencies out on my kicks cut the highs out an an some of the lows?
i use isotopes EQ


ima be st8 up honest with yall lol, i've been making beats for like 3years now an i still never understood the EQ chart on were to cut certain instruments off, usally look at al the visual graphs like in isotope if the instrument is not playing in the highs i cut all the sound an look at it again if its not playing in the low i cut that area out also until basically i got the instrument isolated an its not affected ....this is probably i bad technique


if so i know i see a post some were on were to cut some instruments so they want leave un wanted sound to cause peaking


i use KRK Studio Monitors Roket 6 royal blue
 
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Formant024

Digital Smokerings
ill o.g.
Higher frequencies dont take much energy in your mix, the low end does so boosting that eats headroom.
Thats why you cut @ 30/50/60 hz because often there is no significant material in an instrument which wins you headroom in the mix.

So a rookie mistake is often to boost low end and/or amplify a kick or bass in order to try and give it more presence in a mix while the opposite should be done. You cut out the insignificant energy so you can amplify the signal, cutting more means creating room in the mix for that signal to become louder (basicaly transfering the energy you cut out and using that what you gained in headroom dB to the instrument).

Yes there are charts, they can be useful but you should consider them as a guide and not written rules since there are so many exceptions to the rules.
 
on my bass cut the high frequencies out on my kicks cut the highs out an an some of the lows?



With basslines id say cut below 30-40hz completely(inaudible sound), lower but dont completely cut 280hz - 420hz << This is the muddy area.
I wouldnt suggest completely cutting above 300-400hz because there is some definition to the bassline that can be heard in the higher frequencies, leaving some definition allows the bassline to come through on speakers that dont go all the way down into the low bass.


With kicks used without a bassline, Id say treat the same as a bassline.
But with kicks used with a bassline(sharing the same space) Id say cut completely below 50hz-60hz < this allows the low end bassline some room to breathe. Also drop above 300-400hz but allow for the same definition in the higher frequencies, for the same reason as basslines.
Because basslines and kicks have to work closely together sharing a limited range on the frequency spectrum , in my time getting to grips with mixing, I have noticed that its a fine balance and takes some getting used to and practice to get right.

There is a similar balance when it comes to mixing snares to vocals as they share the same freq range, and hi hats and vocals because hi hats can mask some essing in a vocal, but Id recommend de essing a vocal first instead of masking it.
 

2infamouz

Mad Beats, No Angry Vegetables
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 10
Bass is always going to eat up a good chunk of your mix, just the nature of low frequencies. Also you can have all of your individual tracks below a clipping level and still see your master bus hit the red with them all combined together (assuming there's no limiter applied). But yeah you don't want to be clipping. The digital world can sometimes be a little more forgiving in regards to peaking, and a lot of ppl do get by with pushing the meters to their limits, but it's good practice to stay down a little lower. If you're producing instrumentals, you've gotta consider that there will be additional amplitude added to the mix with the addition of Vocals.

Side Note: Cut out room w/ eq rather than boosting things that are too quiet, subtractive eq always results better in my experience.
 
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