hey guys

i have an arrangement going

intro
verse
chorus
etc

but it seems i'm frustrated with what the levels should be for each section and if i should be aiming at RMS levels or LUFS or what? and also peaks is another issue i see.......

can you tell me your process? how do you go about it...

what u're aiming at for each section?

and what about peaks that show on top of RMS..how do you deal with those?

 

I ignore them. All of them . I wish in the age of 32 bit they would finally introduce a mixer with an option to hide all metering except the master bus . Because most of the time all it really does is create confusion as you can see here.

 

Last edited: Dec 4, 2021

End all on volumes.

 

Depends on the genre but for the mostly orchestral pieces I make I usually go for a slow buildup in terms of volume. I suck at actually starting tracks so the low volume approach works for me, kind of.

More importantly, what do YOU want it to sound like and what does the finished song sound like in your head? Whenever I get idea for melodies, beats, songs, etc, I can more often than not kind of "hear" them in my head.

.. i'm not a schizo, i swear

 

You're going to have to keep listening to your mix over and over again until you feel everything is balanced. If you need to treat volume levels use the vol fader and maybe compression if you thing it's too unbalanced for volume fader automation so the compression will automatically knock your volume down or up if it breaches over or under its threshold.

If you need to treat peaks, then use transient shapers because some compressors will tame/kill your peaks.

Mixing is where you are boss and get to say which tint your painting or photo will have after you are done retouching it. You make the rules on what the levels should be.

If you're aiming into a certain genre then there might be some rules to follow to get certain results but generally you set the levels and if you think something should be in front of something else then there is no one to tell you otherwise but also know similarly people have the option to not like or understand your artistic vision. Be reasonable but put things in front of your mix if you think it needs to be a main element.

Mostly the only general rules I follow are that vocals have to be up front as a main element with everything else supporting it. Drums have to cut through and have enough strength as well as bass, but that's easier because bass needs it's own dedicated space with nothing obstructing it. Everything else doesn't need much other than leads to be more up front when it's their turn.

This all depends because you were way too vague about your questions or what genre you are aiming to make because it differs heavily for other genres.

 

And i'm not a furry but...daayum.

I'm with Donut on this one, you just have to tune it by ear, at least in this stage.

That is pretty normal tbh, no need to worry about that unless you hear something's wrong.

 

Rule of thumb, level is good, no level is not good.

Seriously, all that you mentioned doesn't matter. I've never ever measured or compared these values for the different parts of a song. What for?
It's about arts, emotion and sound.
Whether you start mixing with the intro or the chourus is solely your decision.
Obvios (and serious) rule of thumb, the chorus, especially the last ones, is/are the loudest.

And don't worry, peak happens.