can i just thank you??? like 1000x's serously thank you youre so easy too understand its a talent to be able to teach the new comers!! a lot of teachers miss this by a long shot.
This is a very good and informative video. Most important, your comment that your recorded signal should fall between -14 dbfs and zero. However, I had heard that you should attempt to be within a -18 dbfs to -6 dbfs range.
@@socialinterior Thanks for the response. So you're saying, if I record a guitar (yes I use 24 bit 48 kHz) and use the Pro Tools Sample Peak meter, peaks between -10 dbfs and -20 dbfs should be fine and in no danger of clipping?
@@fredmanteghian5913 That should be enough headroom. The main thing is to get the talent to play through the track while you are in input monitor and look at the peaks to see where they fall. If the mic is very close the levels will jump around more than if it is further back. You just want to make sure you avoid any red clip lights while you are recording (you won't see them afterwards on playback) and that your level is up so that the highest peaks are reaching above -10dBfs or so. That would be optimal. In reality 24 bit recording is very forgiving of level but no system will handle clips. That is distortion at any resolution.
Firstly, thank you so much Julian for your videos on mastering in pro tools, they are by far the best I have seen! I have a question though - my sessions include many samples from sample packs, or I have taken them from cds in my collection and other sources. What I find is that their level/dbfs can vary greatly, so I have usually resolved this by simply using volume automation directly on the file to adjust in the mix. However, I've been told I should be gain-staging to ensure all samples come into the mix at around -12dbfs. Should I be doing this? I can do this by using the gain plug-in in the pro tools audiosuite (I'm using pro tools 11.3). - David
Thanks for this info. If i want to turn down the level of a reverb on a reverb plugin ... do i look at the numbers on the left on the send fader ... or do i look at the numbers on the right on the send fader? Thank you.
If you’ve set it up as a send/return (recommended) then just use the fader on the return. It’s not so much about what levels you see but rather what it sounds like.
How come all the sudden my master fader isn't showing the volume lvl as a number. It just says vol 0.0 instead of showing me the lvl. My individual tracks show the number... Never had this issue before. Can't figure it out for the life of me
The metering info is great, but is -0.4 enough headroom for a master? I was instructed to send my song at -6.0 to a mastering house in New York. Thank you for your time in advance.
You definitely want to give the mastering engineer enough headroom and at -0.4, they would probably send it straight back. -6.0 is a good rule of thumb
Thanks Robert. To be honest, it doesn't really matter how much headroom you have, as long as you don't clip. The mastering engineer will gain the master up or down before it goes through their chain in any case. There is no such thing as a required headroom level. I've never heard of anyone worrying about it because its just one stage of clean gain that all MEs have at the beginning of their chain anyway.
Nice video...Which is better to gain stage an instrumental when recording a rap song? A wave VU meter..or simply looking at the highest signal peak level on Pro Tools channel meters?
Thanks Shaun! The highest sample peak reading on the Pro Tools channel metering is what is most relevant to recording (and avoiding any clipping)/ VU meters don't really show you peak levels. They are much slower and work across broader time windows. Hope this helps!
@@socialinterior Thanks! Are you familiar with Pro Tools color break high and color break low in the metering tab? If I set my color break high to -12dbfs and color break low to -20dbfs .is this my true input recording level Pro Tools showing me on the meters? Its in setup... preference ...metering. Thank You!
@@shaunblack3142 The colour breaks are really only for people who want to change their view of what 'hot' level is within the full range of possible level from minus infinity to 0dBFS. That's really a question of taste. I leave all mine set to default colour breaks. I then use sample peak metering when tracking and then K14 for mixing, although that's mostly useful on my master bus. I find K14 to be an excellent, meaningful meter for master bus level when mixing. In addition to that, I usually also use a dedicated metering plugin, such as Metric AB or SPL Hawkeye to get my loudness profile sorted. I sit that open on another monitor in the later stages of mixing. The only thing that really matters when you are recording/tracking, is sample peak and your ability to see it clearly. That's the peak dBFS level that is hitting your converters. It shows you precisely how much headroom you have before clipping and its response is instantaneous and it's very clear what your peaks are up to. This is why I normally recommend people setting their meters to 'sample peak' when they are tracking. After you've finished tracking then it's not that important which meter system you use when mixing, as long as you can see both your peak and average level at the master bus. I haven't felt compelled to change any of the colour breaks because they all seem pretty good to me. Hope this helps!
Julian, I've been recording songs for the last 7 years... after being retired for the last 25 years. I thought I did everything perfectly. Now everything I have done has gain-stagging issues. I am using Pro Tools Studio 2022 and my meter is set to Digital VU. Some of my drum tracks were averaging -20dB and were peaking at 0? There shouldn't be such a drastic swing? I heard Pro Tools Classic Meter is better to use, but the part that is not explained really well is that all of these meters seem to be really different, so depending on which one you use you can have different results. Which is the best meter in Pro Tools to use? Thanks
Thanks for watching. VU metering is very slow and shows average level over a longish time frame. It’s not very useful for digital recording for reasons you have discovered. I would use sample peak on mixer channels. That shows absolute digital level. That’s what you want to avoid clipping when you are recording etc. I use K14 on my master fader for reasons that are a bit complex to go into here. You can’t go wrong with sample peak.
@Julian Knowles - all things music production thanks, Julian. I had switched to Pro Tools Classic before I got this message. I though everything was adjusted to -18 average. When I switched back to Sample Peak I can't tell where my average volume is. I think I'll check every track with a regular VU Meter like the Klaghelm and see where I'm at. Thank you
@@socialinterior Julian, you're right on the money with the sample peak setting. My question now is I have the headroom issue solved, but if you want your average dB to be -18 and an instrument hits -3 peak 2 times but has an average volume of... lets say -25, where does that put us? I have a few times on my OHs that this occurs. My thought is ultimately isn't the peak volume most important? I know they say that most plugins are geared to work best around -18 average. Thanks, bud!
@@OfficeofthePacific That's great. For source mixer channels, the most important thing is to see is if you are clipping on record. Then the master fader is important to see how you mix level is building. You can set the master fader to a different metering standard than the regular mixer channels, which is useful.
can i just thank you??? like 1000x's serously thank you youre so easy too understand its a talent to be able to teach the new comers!! a lot of teachers miss this by a long shot.
Thank you so much. Very kind.
Man, this is really dope you saved me a lot of time really. I use SPAN on the master to gain stage a mix session.
Thanks Kenny!
Brillant, Thank you very much! Pre Fader Metering it was..
I love you for making this video! thank you!
Really glad it helped!
Very good video 💯👌🙏
This is a very good and informative video. Most important, your comment that your recorded signal should fall between -14 dbfs and zero. However, I had heard that you should attempt to be within a -18 dbfs to -6 dbfs range.
@@socialinterior Thanks for the response. So you're saying, if I record a guitar (yes I use 24 bit 48 kHz) and use the Pro Tools Sample Peak meter, peaks between -10 dbfs and -20 dbfs should be fine and in no danger of clipping?
@@fredmanteghian5913 That should be enough headroom. The main thing is to get the talent to play through the track while you are in input monitor and look at the peaks to see where they fall. If the mic is very close the levels will jump around more than if it is further back. You just want to make sure you avoid any red clip lights while you are recording (you won't see them afterwards on playback) and that your level is up so that the highest peaks are reaching above -10dBfs or so. That would be optimal. In reality 24 bit recording is very forgiving of level but no system will handle clips. That is distortion at any resolution.
Firstly, thank you so much Julian for your videos on mastering in pro tools, they are by far the best I have seen! I have a question though - my sessions include many samples from sample packs, or I have taken them from cds in my collection and other sources. What I find is that their level/dbfs can vary greatly, so I have usually resolved this by simply using volume automation directly on the file to adjust in the mix. However, I've been told I should be gain-staging to ensure all samples come into the mix at around -12dbfs. Should I be doing this? I can do this by using the gain plug-in in the pro tools audiosuite (I'm using pro tools 11.3). - David
Thanks for this info. If i want to turn down the level of a reverb on a reverb plugin ... do i look at the numbers on the left on the send fader ... or do i look at the numbers on the right on the send fader? Thank you.
If you’ve set it up as a send/return (recommended) then just use the fader on the return. It’s not so much about what levels you see but rather what it sounds like.
How come all the sudden my master fader isn't showing the volume lvl as a number. It just says vol 0.0 instead of showing me the lvl. My individual tracks show the number... Never had this issue before. Can't figure it out for the life of me
If you have previously hit 0.0 on your master meter, it will hold that value until you clear it. Just double click on the number to reset it.
The metering info is great, but is -0.4 enough headroom for a master? I was instructed to send my song at -6.0 to a mastering house in New York. Thank you for your time in advance.
You definitely want to give the mastering engineer enough headroom and at -0.4, they would probably send it straight back. -6.0 is a good rule of thumb
Thanks Robert. To be honest, it doesn't really matter how much headroom you have, as long as you don't clip. The mastering engineer will gain the master up or down before it goes through their chain in any case. There is no such thing as a required headroom level. I've never heard of anyone worrying about it because its just one stage of clean gain that all MEs have at the beginning of their chain anyway.
my pro tools 2019.6.0 dont have any number on the meter just only the white "ticks" how can i change
it to the numbers ??
Hi Conti. Make sure you are looking at the mix window and not the edit window
Nice video...Which is better to gain stage an instrumental when recording a rap song? A wave VU meter..or simply looking at the highest signal peak level on Pro Tools channel meters?
Thanks Shaun! The highest sample peak reading on the Pro Tools channel metering is what is most relevant to recording (and avoiding any clipping)/ VU meters don't really show you peak levels. They are much slower and work across broader time windows. Hope this helps!
@@socialinterior Thanks! Are you familiar with Pro Tools color break high and color break low in the metering tab? If I set my color break high to -12dbfs and color break low to -20dbfs .is this my true input recording level Pro Tools showing me on the meters? Its in setup... preference ...metering. Thank You!
@@shaunblack3142 The colour breaks are really only for people who want to change their view of what 'hot' level is within the full range of possible level from minus infinity to 0dBFS. That's really a question of taste. I leave all mine set to default colour breaks. I then use sample peak metering when tracking and then K14 for mixing, although that's mostly useful on my master bus. I find K14 to be an excellent, meaningful meter for master bus level when mixing. In addition to that, I usually also use a dedicated metering plugin, such as Metric AB or SPL Hawkeye to get my loudness profile sorted. I sit that open on another monitor in the later stages of mixing.
The only thing that really matters when you are recording/tracking, is sample peak and your ability to see it clearly. That's the peak dBFS level that is hitting your converters. It shows you precisely how much headroom you have before clipping and its response is instantaneous and it's very clear what your peaks are up to. This is why I normally recommend people setting their meters to 'sample peak' when they are tracking. After you've finished tracking then it's not that important which meter system you use when mixing, as long as you can see both your peak and average level at the master bus. I haven't felt compelled to change any of the colour breaks because they all seem pretty good to me. Hope this helps!
@@socialinterior Thank you! I subscribed to your channel and hit the bell so i get notify when you post. Thanks again.
Why is the channel meter rack not popping up on my pro tools 10.3?
It's hard to say. That version of Pro Tools is from 2015, so it is 8 years old now.
I still can’t find it
Julian, I've been recording songs for the last 7 years... after being retired for the last 25 years. I thought I did everything perfectly. Now everything I have done has gain-stagging issues. I am using Pro Tools Studio 2022 and my meter is set to Digital VU. Some of my drum tracks were averaging -20dB and were peaking at 0? There shouldn't be such a drastic swing? I heard Pro Tools Classic Meter is better to use, but the part that is not explained really well is that all of these meters seem to be really different, so depending on which one you use you can have different results. Which is the best meter in Pro Tools to use? Thanks
Thanks for watching. VU metering is very slow and shows average level over a longish time frame. It’s not very useful for digital recording for reasons you have discovered. I would use sample peak on mixer channels. That shows absolute digital level. That’s what you want to avoid clipping when you are recording etc. I use K14 on my master fader for reasons that are a bit complex to go into here. You can’t go wrong with sample peak.
@Julian Knowles - all things music production thanks, Julian. I had switched to Pro Tools Classic before I got this message. I though everything was adjusted to -18 average. When I switched back to Sample Peak I can't tell where my average volume is. I think I'll check every track with a regular VU Meter like the Klaghelm and see where I'm at. Thank you
@@socialinterior Julian, you're right on the money with the sample peak setting. My question now is I have the headroom issue solved, but if you want your average dB to be -18 and an instrument hits -3 peak 2 times but has an average volume of... lets say -25, where does that put us? I have a few times on my OHs that this occurs. My thought is ultimately isn't the peak volume most important? I know they say that most plugins are geared to work best around -18 average. Thanks, bud!
@@OfficeofthePacific That's great. For source mixer channels, the most important thing is to see is if you are clipping on record. Then the master fader is important to see how you mix level is building. You can set the master fader to a different metering standard than the regular mixer channels, which is useful.
@@socialinterior thanks, julian 👍👊🙏