Metering levels and final output

[hummingbird]

I just work on having a good mix but I use a plug in called 'final mix' in Tracktion and never change the master db I just use the mixer and I always set it to the same db. I get forwards and placements with that M.O. I got there with a little feedback from friends on levels. Ozone is helpful too. I also turn my volume down very low on my soundcard to see if I can hear all the instruments in the track - since I write for film/tv and most things are used under dialogue I want to make sure everything is audible at low volume.

If you're worried though I'd listen to the a las and do some A and Bing to make sure you're in the ballpark in terms of loudness.

[mojobone]

It all depends on the destination. Mainly, you want the volume to be competitive with other material from the same genre, so one way to do that is to take your 2-mix, render it, import it into a new edit or project (however your DAW handles that) and put your mastering chain where you'd normally put individual track FX. Then you simply import some reference tracks for easy comparison, but there's a caveat; if you imported those reference tracks from CDs, they're likely mastered within a tenth of an inch from toasted. You can't do that for tracks that are headed for conversion to MP3, AAC or audio post; encoders won't tolerate it, you could get a nasty surprise, plus the gals in post need some headroom to work with. Therefore, if it's from a CD, decide how much headroom your file will need and do a digital gain change on the CD tracks so they have the same amount, THEN do your A-ing and your B-ing. How much headroom? I've gone from .03dB to 1.0 dB to 3dB, but some folks feel a half decibel is sufficient, if you know your brickwall limiter is really brickwalling, cuz it turns out, they're not all created equal. For more, see Bob Katz' Mastering For iTunes and Mastering Audio; The Art & The Science.

[jaymz]

I drop everything to -6 db in the mixer, it gives me headroom to work with. In a pure digital environment, it's probably not required, but I find that when mixing vstis with external audio sources such as guitars, vocals and bass, it helps.