Quick fix mastering?

[Leizer]

I have been mixing a christmas song we recorded with our bluegrass band, and the mix was ok, but it is too dynamic (weak in the start/loud in the end). Is there a quick fix for this to even out the mix in the mastering stage and it still sounds nice? I haven't got the time for a re-mix. Compressor/limiter/multi-compressor? I got most of Izotope stuff, but dont know how to use it.

I don't want it squashed. Just linear as it is now but a flatter line, if you know what I mean.

Edit:  It seems I get a better result with compression if I change not only band 1...

Edited December 12, 2019 by Leizer

[CJ Jacobson]

2 hours ago, Leizer said:

have been mixing a christmas song we recorded with our bluegrass band, and the mix was ok, but it is too dynamic (weak in the start/loud in the end). Is there a quick fix for this to even out the mix in the mastering stage and it still sounds nice? I haven't got the time for a re-mix.

That is really not something done in mastering. In the mastering stage, the mix is ready with the mix sounds  the way you wan it to sound, like the levels between the chorus and verse or intro and verse. 

In the mastering stage you either work with a stereo wav file  or 2 split mono file, so you can use volume automation to fix the levels between the different parts of the song (intro, verse, bridge, chorus, outro), but its always best to do those things in the mixing stage.

[Gswitz]

Yes, multiband compression can help.

[mark skinner]

CJ , Why don't you just try using some volume automation on a master stereo track. You can do a minor boost on the song beginning and slope it off more at the ending.  With you levels a little more even your compressor can do a better job of taming the really loud parts without squashing everything .  Even Izotope will set its' comp/limiter   to one spot to give you an overall loudness for the whole song. The beginning would still be quieter.    I do this all the time for really quiet intros that have only a few instruments playing.   

[chuckebaby]

I agree with both the above answers. @CJ Jacobson is right, this should be corrected most of the time in the mixing stages but if your not looking for professional results, a multiband compressor is the way to go.

with this being said... it might take as long zeroing in on frequency's using the MB-C as it would to fix the mix. this has been my experience anyway. My mixes are usually pre thought out for mastering, as in.. I don't need to do much except add MB-C's, multiple limiters, linear EQ,exc.

[bitflipper]

Compression and automation.

The former to raise the quiet bits while limiting the loud bits, but using gentle settings, e.g. 2:1 ratio. Mostly, though, use automation to level the overall volume changes.

If you're happy with the mix and are mainly concerned with overall dynamics, put a volume envelope on the master bus. If you want to get tricky, you can automate the limiter instead, but that technique takes some time to master and Christmas is fast approaching, so the volume automation is  probably your best quick 'n dirty approach.

[Leizer]

Thanks everyone! Great idea about volume automation, why didnt I think of that? I start with trying that and see how it goes.

[chuckebaby]

 @mark skinner and @bitflipper bring up good ideas about using Automation and its a great idea but only to a point (only my opinion).

I tend to stay away from automation during mastering except for silences/cue and fade outs. Because in the mastering stages, signal boost or drop sounds too "defined", everything is under a microscope and the sound is being polished. This is typically because of the amount of compression, limiting going on.

If not careful, it allows the listener to hear something and interpret it as a mistake, fatigue or even irrigating, vs. the seasoned ear engineer who listens and hears a decrease/increase in compression.

[John Vere]

If the song is soft in the beginning and louder at the end then I would not reach for any compression just yet.  I would fix those tracks. 

Easy to fix this in Cakewalk using automation or dividing tracks into segments and normalize them to -6 db ( or whatever) so the track is the same average level from start to finish. This will take a while but if you have the time is first choice. 

The faster method is this is super easy to do in Wave Lab. 

I would use the analyzing tool to see what my overall RMS level is for the whole song. 

Then I would look at the waveform and scroll through the song looking for any spikes or peaks, fix them and also pay attention to the levels at the different points in the song. If what you say is the beginnings are lower level that's easy to rectify. highlight the first verse analyze it and fix it's level. Carry on in parts to the end of song. If your good at this it only takes a few minutes to even out the level of a song, You just have to use a light touch and not have dramatic changes.