Need answers for making a mixed/mastered song with Fl Studio+Pro Tools

G

gsingh3888

New member
Before I begin, I know the concept of EQing but still need to touch up on reading about compression and how to use it properly and when to use it.

My problem is that I have been making beats on FL Studio with the Limiter active and my reasoning for this is that I figured why add the Limiter at the end to prevent clipping when I can make my instrumental and keep adding elements and not worry about clipping at all but apparently this is a wrong/bad approach.

My questions are:
1) When making a beat in FL Studio should I use nothing on the master channel (blank template) and make the beat as is even though it clips? Also, before saving the beat and sending the track outs to Pro Tools should I mix the beat in FL Studio to prevent clipping and bring the levels down? Generally, what should the mixed beat peak at in terms of DB before sending to Pro Tools? I've heard -6db works well but would like more opinions.

2) When I send my track outs to Pro Tools so I can record my vocals, should I have already EQ'd each instrument in FL Studio or do it in Pro Tools?

3) What level should I record my vocals at? I've heard anywhere from -6db to -3db is good. Also, what level should the master channel NOT go over with everything finally added including instruments, vocals, adlibs, backing vocals, etc.

4) With the instruments and vocals all finally placed in Pro Tools, how can I master the track? I was thinking of bouncing the file to .wav and using FL Studio to master it using plugins like Maximus to bring out the drums and vocals etc. Or should I master in Pro Tools if there are any good plugins? I bought the Waves bundle but only used the Mazerati plugins for my drums but that's about it. If there are any you can recommend I would appreciate it.

I'm not trying to make industry sounding music, I just want to make gritty hip hop but still have it sounding banging and not so flat/saturated. All answers, opinions, and more will be heavily appreciated.

$$$ By the way, I am very eager to learn so if you are willing to work with me and help me learn online until I'm comfortable with my own mixing/mastering and you have knowledge of both FL Studio and Pro Tools I AM WILLING TO PAY! (Paypal only) $$$
 
Just to have some sense of clarity with terms: Producing = arrangement/making the instrumental & vocal. Mixing = combining all elements of the song into a cohesive track. Mastering = preparing audio for whatever medium it is to be released on. Now to answer your questions as best I can...

1) Having a limiter on while producing isn't a bad idea. If your experimenting with the track your making, you probably don't want to send a clipping and possibly really loud signal through your monitors or headphones. A Limiter would ensure that doesn't happen. However, you shouldn't export your beat with a limiter being used to prevent clipping. You won't be able to undo the effects of the limiter when you export your beat as an audio file. The solution (which you mentioned :) ) is to adjust the levels of each track so that it sounds the way you want it, but isn't clipping. There isn't a special or standard level to export your track at, but I'd suggest somewhere between -10 and -6 to ensure that you will have headroom for recording the vocal without clipping in your session.

2) I do a lot more mixing than I do producing, so I find it beneficial to leave EQ alone until I'm ready to mix the entire track. If you will ever send a beat off to someone else to record, then you should have it mixed before it is sent.

3) For recording, try setting your levels well below -3db (but not too low!). If you get a little loud with certain words, you might end up clipping. Also, as long as you aren't recording close to the noise floor you will be able to bring up the volume of the recording without any issues. Every DAW I've used records at either 24 or 32 bit, so recording too low won't be an issue.

4) You want to make sure that your track is properly mixed to the way you want it to sound before you master it. And if you are trying to master a track that you've mixed, mastering should only consist of adjusting the final volume of the mix (my opinion. Keep reading to see my reasoning). If you want to change your track for "mastering" after it is mixed down to a stereo audio file, it would honestly be smarter to go back and make those adjustments in the mix. You will have more control over the changes you want to make to each specific track in your mix by doing this.

I'd be more than willing to show you about mixing. I own FL 11 and can give you a project file of a mix of one of your tracks with explanations of every thing done in the project. Just shoot me a message if you're interested.
 
I use a Limiter but I use the preset so it reaches max loudness AKA the beat peaks at 0db. How can I use the limiter to my advantage so it peaks at -6db like you said and still have headroom for vocals and final mastering? If you have a beat with a limiter on it and it peaks at - 6db and still sounds nice and has banging drums and everything sounds nice I would love to see your method.

Better yet, if you can show me a good preset I can build instead of the Limiter preset I've been using "Max Loudness" which comes with FL Studio. I'm a producer, this is why I'm here to learn to mix and master lol.
 
gsingh3888 said:
I use a Limiter but I use the preset so it reaches max loudness AKA the beat peaks at 0db. How can I use the limiter to my advantage so it peaks at -6db like you said and still have headroom for vocals and final mastering? If you have a beat with a limiter on it and it peaks at - 6db and still sounds nice and has banging drums and everything sounds nice I would love to see your method.

Better yet, if you can show me a good preset I can build instead of the Limiter preset I've been using "Max Loudness" which comes with FL Studio. I'm a producer, this is why I'm here to learn to mix and master lol.
Click to expand...

To use the limiter to get peaks at - 6dbfs, you simply lower the threshold of the limiter. However, any peaks exceeding that level will be limited which will inevitably introduce distortion to your peaks, it won't distort as much as clipping does but I wouldn't recommend doing it that way because one of the main reasons for leaving headroom is to have peaks intact for further processing.

Just lower all the channels equally much and bring the levels down to whatever point you're aiming for.
 
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So you're saying to not using a Limiter at all then? I just need some clarification to what you're saying. Or do you mean keep the Limiter to not peak beyond 0Db and bring the levels down so the master channel peaks around -6Db? Is it even possible to do this? With a Limiter wouldn't it to anything to boost the track to 0db even if you lower your channels/instruments?
 
Personally I wouldn't use a limiter while making music, but that's not to say you can't.


If you want to use a limiter to protect your gear and ears from super loud noises or whatever it might be, having one on the master to limit everything above - 0.1dbfs is not a terrible idea. It is very possible to do just that! A limiter doesn't raise the volume of anything unless you use makeup gain or slam everything so hard against it that all your sounds are virtually at the same level.

You can simply leave the threshold at the top, and make your tracks so they don't get anywhere near it. Just select all the tracks at once and lower them equally until you have lots of room and keep producing :-)

Limiting everything for max loudness is not a good recipe for banging drums and sweet sound in the first place, at best it's a crutch, and most of the time I'm sure it sounds way worse like that.

That's how I do it..

Edit; Adrian has given you lots of good pointers in his post.
 
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1) don't use a limiter on your master especially in the program you only use to make your beats with. leveling your instruments is not really mixing but don't export any clipped sound waves when you export every separate track

2) use essential effects in FL that the beat needs and gives it it's feel and personality. effects you would never end up taking off.. save the rest for the mixdown in pro tools

3) record your vocals as loud as you can, with the gain on your interface as far up as you can, without clipping... that simple. then level it in pro tools accordingly, don't get hung up on these numbers.... whatever you got playing, whether it be just instruments, or beat, or whole song, don't let it clip..

4) first off you will need a decent mix or mastering is useless. sending your final song thru a compressor doesn't make it a master. mastering takes decades to learn. don't use it to bring out vocals or any of that.. by the time a song goes to the mastering stage it should already sound damn near perfect. it's like this: if your selling a product, lets say a shirt, which in this case would be the track, the mastering will only put that shirt in the right light for customers to see it nicely when they walk by the store when it's on a manikin behind the showcase window. technically the shirt is already produced and looking good.. they just put it in the right light. look at it something like that
 
Why bother using 2 separate DAWs when one can get the job done? Also, seems a bit time consuming to route every channel directly into ProTools. If you are so content on mixing in ProTools, why not just bounce stems and let ProTools do all the work? This will free up your computer from CPU taxing automation, midi, etc.
 
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