good video but minute 4:25
i use gainstaging like it would do a gainrider not just pushing overall level up or down..
i change the level for the different parts individually on timeline envelope, before using any compression

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i love gain staging ...many ways lead to rome...
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here is a completely new approach to me

 

Last edited: Aug 27, 2019

how do u use it ? or do you just keeping overall levels good and use compression ?

 

I'm a metalhead, so I just keep everything at -6db, guitars at +12 dB.
Oh, and a multiband compressor to tame the palm mutes lows so it won't clip...

 

Look along the top of the meter. There are three number options: 14, 18 and 20. The one you want is 18, which corresponds to -18dBFS = 0 vu. The meter has two red areas one in the middle and one at the end. There are two lit up signals, one a whole block lit up, which corresponds to the VU or RMS power in the signal and which should only just clip the middle red area. Then there’s a little light all on its lonesome which is the peak signal and should only just clip the far set of reds. That ensures your signal should average -18dB RMS loudness with -6dBFS of peaks.

Used on each of your tracks it ensures several things. Your fader throw is logarithmic, and this ensures the body of the signal will lie in the central control area and not shunted to the bottom or top of the fader. It ensures the signal you send to quality plugs is at exactly the loudness they are designed to operate optimally at, and it ensures you have enough headroom to mix without popping your master buss.

Remember no audio amplifier can amplify more than 21 bits of digital sound, because the quiet bits end up in the noise floor of electrons travelling through metals. Look at the spec to the most expensive digital converters in the world. You never get better than 121dB above noise floor. That’s 21 bits. All you’re doing by pushing loud is losing bits.

-18dBFS=0vu. You often must choose between maxing out peaks or maxing out RMS. So, for example a really plucky acoustic guitar could peak out way before the body of the loudness hits 0vu. That’s when you use a glass ceiling limiter. With a Waves L2 you set both faders to -6dB. Nothing goes above that, and you push the body of the sound up to 0vu. Imagine a really droned organ. It hits 0vu but the peaks never get anywhere near -6dBFS. That’s what droned is. No worries.

 

anyone using automatic gain staging? something like this :
https://www.hornetplugins.com/plugins/hornet-vu-meter-mk3/

 

In principle what Futsey Plange said. In addition to that I try to make sure I already have a balanced rough mix before i handle a fader. Object-automation is edit, so another topic.

 

I kinda don't get wtf Fab Dupont is doing - prolly PT ignorance; or rather why it's different from just moving master fader up and down? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Is that bad? (I always knew him as Footsie Plunge myself, @Sinus Well =)

 

there are vocal rider from waves...tb audio has gain rider and vocal rider

but i think when you to it the by youreself hard way its much better...and even then i put autovolume from melda on it after sometimes .....

autovolume from melda is great

 

well i think its a really good coder maybe but it seems he should work together with an pro engineer...his eq thirdy one i had high hopes in but i didnt like it...but i heared many like his tape plug

 

All Meldaproduction plugins have automatic gain compensation. It's very handy, though I haven't tested this throughly.
It's the peak what it compensates, like No avenger said.

 

very interesting

 

Last edited: Aug 27, 2019

Perhaps we're talking about the same, like I said I haven't tested properly this feature.
Like the guy in the first video says, there's a lot of more important things to learn and I barely know them.

Edited: or perhaps you're talking about the MAutoVolume plugin. That is a beast but it goes far beyond loudness/gain/volume/whatever compensation

 

sorry ..yes i meant this one...

i think i will , no i must look into it more deeply by time...

 

The thing is, I rather deal with individual volume's at the end of the mixing process
(Still might be pre-fx volume)
Since I'm known locally for Hip-Hop productions, I generally deal with rap vocals. there, gain staging pre-fx before dealing with mixing puts constraints on the vocal overall esthetic.
think about what it means for Noise-gating and de-essing with bad mics, acoustic issues, inexperience mic placement or lack of an shockmouth Etc.

 

The DuPont bit is purely preference, nothing revolutionary; overall, it's one more step that seems largely unnecessary to me. That being said, mixing, despite all of the rules, does have a lot of guidelines, which are much more flexible than rules. Basically, run with it if it works for you and isn't breaking any hard & fast rules.
(I do get frustrated when tutorials that advertise on a mountain top--not that DuPont does--that they have found some groundbreaking new way to mix music that will flip your world upside down. Haha, really? )

Are you talking about a lite, overall compression for the track to glue it together? Or, are you talkng about individual compression to actual tame stuff? I only ask because, as much as I like to use some utilitarian EQ before compression to make the compressors job easier (and nearly always add an EQ afterwards,) I have never found it to be a good idea to add anything but summing compression after volume leveling. Now, if you just mean utilitarian volume leveling to make the compressors job easier, then that makes sense.

...*and, they spelled "proper" incorrectly!!
Haha, I can't bash you for nit-picking, as this is a technical field and you're technically correct, but I think they just worded it poorly. It is good to clear that up for anyone pouring over this for info, though.

Also, TBProAudio's Gainrider is nice, but similar to Melda, a lot of people tend to forget about them, even though they aren't unknown.

 

We are lucky to have digital mixing in the box, so we don't have to pay attention to levels that much, as in it won't influence the quality of the sound at all. However, there are multiple reasons why gainstaging ist gut. First of all, you will not have to watch the master channel constantly, turning it down after every track you add, so you can focus on doing music. Second, your perception of the mix will be better because a lot of DA converters of lower quality will start to clip even before you reach digital 0, usually at about -6dBFS up, actually. Third, it will be easier to dial in the right sound with plugins that are calibrated for -18dB input.

In the end, it is always easier to boost the volume later, than to keep turning it down. It doesn't really matter because of what I said in the beginning - we are doing it in the box where noise doesn't exist and the dynamics is excellent, so you don't have to keep tracks as loud as possible to minimise the artifacts. Remember that every track you add to the mix will boost the overall volume of the track, so when you start, put those drums and bass at -18dBVU, and build from there. Drums and bass, plus vocals, will be the core of the mix usually, so if you keep those down, then everything will fit in nicely and you will end up with a nicely sounding mix that doesn't clip. I personally usually end up with a mix that goes up to about -6 to -3dBFS peak. Perfect for limiting afterwards, if needed.

Cheers!

 

Last edited: Aug 27, 2019

It's true, though they're improving his GUIs are bad. But so are Reaper's... in fact, I bet Justin frankel (Reaper's creator) would like a lot Melda plugs.

They even have a great number of quite functional free ones.

 

Guitars!!! I only want loud angry crying guitars!!!