Tips for Mastering my Track in Ableton Live

Question

I am a drum and bass (Jump Up) producer using ableton, I have been producing for about 8 months now and I would say I have proggressed really well with it.

I have got to the stage with it where i am wanting to master my tracks so i can get them sounding LOUD and CLEAN without Clipping or Distortion.

I just finished Mixing down my newest track and I would say im fairly happy with it.

• My kick + snare Peaks at -6db
• My hats and rides ect all peak around -8db
• My synths are all peaking at -6db
• My FX are all swaying around -12db

Overall my track levels supply plenty of headroom for Mastering.

Everything is soudning on point, my only problem is when i Export my final track from Ableton and Compare it against other peoples tracks, it sound alot quieter and i find myself having to turn up the gain on my mixer when I am playing it in a club. I have tried using Izotope ozone 5's Maximiser to make my Track louder without Clipping, but even once ive pushed it to the limit it sounds no where near loud enough compared to other peoples music.

I was wondering if there are any Producers/Mastering Engineers who could give some legit tips to help me make my mix louder.

Thankyou in advance.

Answer 1

Ah the loudness war...

Some of what you can do is in the mix... take out what you don't need. If you don't need above 400Hz in a pad, then cut below 400Hz on that pad. You might not hear a difference but that will have been adding to your audio level. Low cut everything you possibly can to where you possibly can...

As you mentioned club music, then sidechain compression for the bassdrum is a big one for that pumping club effect.

Also the thing is human perception. We percieve things with nice shiny highs to be louder than something that just has dirty lows.. so doing some work on that is good.

As to mastering though really.. I'd always advise that you get your track mastered by someone else. That second pair of ears is worth the money, especially if you get a good one.