The -6db thing

Hi,

 

I know i've read a bunch of stuff on this forum about sending your track to be mastered at -6db but I can only find drips and drabs with the search as it reveals 1283 topics so could someone link me a to the right one or kindly explain this to me?

 

I've been asked to send my tracks at -6db to the Mastering engineer. I've heard and read many opinions on this subject. Some people say that it doesn't matter as long as the file doesn't clip. I don't see why the mastering engineer can't just stick a gain plug in on and reduce it by 6db if he wants.

 

Why -6 exactly and what is the best method to do this? Should I just lower my master fader by 6db? Surely this would just mean that the highest peak would be AROUND -6db not the average peak. I didn't pay attention while I was mixing I just made sure I didn't clip so how do I make a mix that is exactly -6db not -5 and not -7?

 

"Minus six, it's the magic number. Oh yes it is, it's the magic number"

 

Meezy

Hi,

 

I know i've read a bunch of stuff on this forum about sending your track to be mastered at -6db but I can only find drips and drabs with the search as it reveals 1283 topics so could someone link me a to the right one or kindly explain this to me?

 

I've been asked to send my tracks at -6db to the Mastering engineer. I've heard and read many opinions on this subject. Some people say that it doesn't matter as long as the file doesn't clip. I don't see why the mastering engineer can't just stick a gain plug in on and reduce it by 6db if he wants.

 

Why -6 exactly and what is the best method to do this? Should I just lower my master fader by 6db? Surely this would just mean that the highest peak would be AROUND -6db not the average peak. I didn't pay attention while I was mixing I just made sure I didn't clip so how do I make a mix that is exactly -6db not -5 and not -7?

 

"Minus six, it's the magic number. Oh yes it is, it's the magic number"

 

Meezy

 

Basically, they just want headroom.

 

Make your mix, peak no higher than -6dB. thats what they are after.

 

cheers

 

Wiz

Don't overthink it. Do what the mastering engineer is asking. He has his own reasons.

 

If your mix is peaking at, say, -4.3 dB FS, lower the Stereo Out fader to -1.7 dB, that will give you a mix that peaks at -6.0 dB FS. I doubt your mastering engineer will complain if your mix peaks at -7.0 dB FS, he just doesn't want you to go over - 6.0 dB FS.

Anywhere between -12 dBFS and -3 dBFS is perfect.

 

And the world won't stop rotating even if your mix peaks at 0 dBFS. Just don't overload.

 

The -6 dBFS is a guideline, you won't find any (sane) mastering engineer who'll complain or request a new mix if the peak value is slightly different.

Edited April 19, 2010 by lagerfeldt

Cheers, guys that's what I though but why is it always stated at -6? There must be a reason. Is it so you can fit in a third of a devil? Or is it just a random number that everyone agrees is about right for headroom?

If you really wanted to be paranoid you would go for -12 dBFS at the maximum but most people agree that somewhere between -12 and -3 dBFS is fine.

 

It's got to do with three things:

 

a) the amount of amplitude change that can happen when the phase is rotated during minimum phase equalizing (rarely more than a couple of dB)

 

b) overshoots during D/A (0 dBFS+ signals from a <0 dBFS signal, these can in fact be very loud and cause distortion but that's usually audible only after mastering because of a high RMS combined with hard limiting and clipping)

 

c) analog calibration matching

 

All of these worries can be avoided by the mastering engineer simply lowering the signal digitally in the first step. It's better if you do the lowering instead since this avoids an unnecessary processing step for the ME.

 

So it's not related to the actual file which is fine all the way up to 0 dFBS. It's related to what happens later, and watching your peak level makes the life of the ME easier, and in theory results in a better master since there's one less processing step.

 

Or as David laconically puts it "He has his own reasons".

I can see the point of saving the engineer some time, and I get why you need head room. I also get that -6db doesn't seem that important as long as it's not clipping and there is room to work.

 

But in silly person terms, when correcting the phase, a track's sound pressure could be doubled sound pressure which would result in a 6db rase of volume. Hence "-6db"? . . . or something.

 

Maybe I will research this instead of waisting your time with un-Logic questions.

 

In the meantime, I'll lower the master fader with an analizer plug-in so that it peaks at -6db FS after I learn what FS means.

 

Cheers!

Don't overthink it.

 

I can't help it now

I can see the point of saving the engineer some time, and I get why you need head room. I also get that -6db doesn't seem that important as long as it's not clipping and there is room to work.

 

But in silly person terms, when correcting the phase, a track's sound pressure could be doubled sound pressure which would result in a 6db rase of volume. Hence "-6db"? . . . or something.

 

Maybe I will research this instead of waisting your time with un-Logic questions.

 

In the meantime, I'll lower the master fader with an analizer plug-in so that it peaks at -6db FS after I learn what FS means.

 

Cheers!

 

FS = Full Scale

 

 

cheers

 

Wiz

But in silly person terms, when correcting the phase, a track's sound pressure could be doubled sound pressure which would result in a 6db rase of volume. Hence "-6db"? . . . or something.

Unlikely.

 

But intersample peaks could be that loud. However, in a normal mix that's not a real problem.

 

Also, it's not related to "correcting the phase" but the amount of headroom can change as a by-product of phase changes during equalizing or other processing.

 

A bit of extra headroom also means a bit more elbow room for other gain changes.

 

In the meantime, I'll lower the master fader with an analizer plug-in so that it peaks at -6db FS after I learn what FS means.

You don't need to use an analyzer plug-in to lower your output. Look at your output meter and drop the stereo output fader until the highest peak in your song is around -12 dBFS to -3 dBFS.

 

When you bounce make sure you've disabled any normalizing feature in Logic.

 

You can read some more tips about mixdown for mastering in the PDF here:

http://onlinemastering.dk/mastering-faq.html

Thanks for the link, I'll get started tonight. There is always so much to learn. I hope my brain doesn't get full I'm still trying to remember "pants first, then shoes".

It's great if you want understand everything but as long as you follow the guidelines you'll be alright. I didn't understand everything when I started (and there's still plenty to discover today) but that didn't keep me from making hits.