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Making Headroom For Mastering.- First, a clarification, headroom is the amount of handling a system can have once the PML, or maximum permitted level, is exceeded. But, for this quick article, we will refer 'PML' as "headroom".
Most engineers that you hire to do your music {or perhaps yourself, if you are doing your own recordings} usually make this common mistake when submitting mixes for mastering: render loud mixes. The desire to have a very hot mix (Loud) is understandable, but if you are sending it for mastering, this is not necessary and may even significantly reduce the benefits of the mastering process. Also, when you boost your mix level to the maximum using a peak limiter, you have effectively ruined the dynamics of the mix and have made it impossible for the mastering engineer to work his magic. You may have a loud mix now, but all you’ve boosted is the wrong sound. And since you have “finalized it”, you are stuck with it. Don’t expect that a mastering engineer will undo this mess. No one can, especially if you don’t even notice that you added distortion. When we get mixes like that, with few exceptions, we usually decline them, especially if they are submitted for a free mastering demo. Avoid a submission decline by making sure your mix has an average level between –18 to –6 dB and high peaks never exceeding –3dB. Also remember that your mix has to have all the level differences between separate instruments (Or parts) including vocals, mixed correctly. The quality of the mix is crucial; problem mixes are too difficult and sometimes impossible to fix during mastering. So, if your mix is peaking close to zero {-0dBfs} or it's clipping the meters you need to correct this issue before sending your mixes for mastering. How do you lower the levels? Some of you may feel that is probably not necessary to illustrate it, but I’ve had several users asking this question, so here its is:
Using a VST digital recorder-mixer software example above, notice two faders on the right hand side of the image (the section in green). These two faders illustrated are the stereo master faders. All you do is to bring them down (see image below). Look on the left hand side and you’ll see the mixer section with all track faders and their effects, equalizers and compressors. You don’t need to touch these settings at all. Make sure, though, that you are happy with the present state of your mix.
You have now lowered the levels of the mix by at least 10 dBs and therefore, you have made headroom for the mastering engineer. Notice also {on top of the master faders} that any effect processors like eq, finalizer {peak limiter} or a compressor, have been disabled. Sometimes bypassing a peak limiter, it's all you need to do and there is no need to lower faders. Some stereo master faders consist of just one fader and it’s just as easy to adjust. Another easy way to lower your mix levels in a DAW is to group all faders and lower the entire mix while keeping your master buss at nominal level. In Protools you simply select/highlight all the faders except the master fader, create a fader group and call it something like 'mix faders' and then bring down about -6 dBs. You are done.
Good, now you know how to make headroom. And now, we will use an illustration, that we contributed to Wikipedia, to show how your signal meters should look like once it's all said and done (see image below).
If you submit a good mix with the overall levels looking like that, we guarantee you'll get the best mastering process anywhere.
If you need more information, go to our message board to post questions or create a new discussion.
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