Level of exported audio

[Starship Krupa]

I'm finally getting a handle on loudness vs. level (after years of reading primers on the subject), and have set up my loudness metering so that analysis programs like Expose think my mixes are okay. However, I am still struggling with getting the level I want from exports from Cakewalk.

I have it set up so that my Master bus goes to a bus called "Mixdown," so that I can do exports from the Mixdown bus. My loudness metering and other final mix analysis plug-ins go in the FX rack of the Mixdown bus.

My issue is that when I back off the Mixdown bus fader to the point where its meters (the native Cakewalk ones) are not hitting the red, the resulting exported files are lower in level than I'd like. I usually import them into Sound Forge and normalize to -1dB to get them as hot as possible without chopping the peaks.

What do I need to do in order to be able to skip the Sound Forge step? Am I being too conservative with the Mixdown bus fader? Should I be using something more accurate than the native meters?

[Glenn Stanton]

in general, the native meters in the "red" do not necessarily indicate clipping etc. so if your RMS level is good and you're seeing peaks in the red, you're probably ok. of course you can calibrate by running a sine wave and testing the levels and seeing if you're able to identify where you have clipping due to RMS being too high.

from: https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/establishing-project-studio-reference-monitoring-levels

 

also: if you want to check voltages etc. https://vintageking.com/blog/2016/07/calibrate-converter/

i'd suggest using a K-level meter or similar (i use) Izotope Insight. but i also use a master limiter (Waves L3 or Cwb PC Limiter) set to -1db peak and maybe 2db gain reduction max. this provides a decent level and still retaining a lot of dynamics even with the occasional limit getting hit.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Glenn Stanton
network issues here...

[Nigel Mackay]

Go by the number under the meter. (Keep double-clicking it to reset it.)

Clipping actually starts right at the top of the meter. Where the red starts says -6. Similar to @Glenn Stanton's picture.

I used Melda Productions oscillator. You can hear when clipping starts. At 0 on Brainwork BX Meter. -36 on YouLean Loudness Meter.

Edited November 3, 2020 by Nigel Mackay

[Starship Krupa]

On 11/3/2020 at 7:32 PM, John Vere said:

You want to solve this issue then you need a good brick wall limiter on the master buss.

I already use a limiter on my master bus and am happy with the audio results.

The issue is level, not loudness. The situation I'm talking about is that my exports test just fine for loudness (which is what the limiter is for), they just peak at about 4dB below full scale.

Edited November 5, 2020 by Starship Krupa

[John Vere]

You want to solve this issue then you need a good brick wall limiter on the master buss. I just am trying the ik multimedia brick wall available via the T-racks bundle   The meter is free the brick wall is a nine day trial. This is the best I’ve used so far and will purchase the limiter but waiting for a sale. I was using the BT brick wall but it was letting overs past.