Mixing In Fl Studio
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| Peak Meter Display Sound Output, When Its Orange or Red Means Your Sound Is Clipping |
The 0 dB reference level marks the loudest sound a digital audio file rendered from FL Studio can record or the audio interface D/A converter can make, before clipping occurs. Peak meters in FL Studio turn orange (or in some cases red) to attract your attention when the signal exceeds 0 dB (see above). However, not all orange peak meters (signals over 0 dB) are bad.
Inside FL Studio, the audio is digital, and so, is a series of 32-Bit floating point numbers. The Mixer is adding and subtracting numbers so that as the signal amplitude gets bigger, the numbers get bigger. The volume carried in tracks 1 to 99 (3) can be added to make any arbitrarily large number without clipping (there is nothing to clip). On the other hand, when the mix is sent to the outputs of your soundcard, or is rendered to a fixed bit-depth (e.g. 16 or 24-Bit), then clipping can happen.
As the Master mixer track (1) is the usual output to the 'physical world', you should not let it peak over 0 dB, as your project will clip. You can think of the Master fader as rescaling the combined output of all the tracks routed to it. The Insert Mixer track meters are merely guides to the relative volumes in each track. Of course, if you have routed any Input Mixer tracks (7) directly to your soundcard outputs OR you are rendering mixer tracks to disk, then these too become 'real world' meters and must not peak over 0 dB.
NOTE: 0 dB peaking is not a 'requirement'. You don't need to set all your tracks to push the 0 dB limit. Recorded sounds, in particular, may peak at -12 dB (or less), and there is nothing wrong with that. However, some times you do want the mix to be loud, the next section discusses techniques for making a mix that's both loud and good.
If you have compared your music to commercial tracks, and thought yours sound quiet or flat, then this section will bring you up to speed on how 'loudness' and 'goodness' are made. So you diligently adjust the Master and Insert track levels, making sure the Master Peak Meter is just touching 0 dB and everything is as loud as it can go without clipping. But compared to the commercial mixes, yours still sound too quiet and lacking depth.
The problem is that the relationship between 'peaks' and loudness isn't a good one. Our perception of loudness is based on an 'average' input over a period between 0.5 to 1 second. Unfortunately our eyes don't average peak-meter levels in the same way the ear averages sound levels. In response to this problem, a number of alternative metering modes have been developed, see Wave Candy Metering, but this doesn't help you get your tracks any louder, it just makes them look quieter than they did in 'peaking' mode.
To make tracks both loud and good at the same time, experienced producers rely on all or some of the following tools and techniques
Louder!
- Per-track Compression, particularly on the Bass and Drum parts. This will lower the attack peaks and use the saved dB headroom to raise the sustain parts of the sound. Remember, sustained level is more important for loudness than peak level. Beware though, you may be starting with already compressed drum samples and over compressing can make instruments sound squashed and muddy.
- Per-track Equalization to cut unwanted low frequencies (less than 200-500 Hz) on anything that's not Bass or Drums. Low frequencies from the other instruments add together to create a 'rumble' that does little more than waste dB headroom and muddy the bottom end of the mix. With the full mix playing, cut the bass on each instrument until you start to notice it, then back off a little.
- Limiting the Master Mixer track. If you have it, Maximus is the big gun in the FL Studio loudness kit. Soundgoodizer is Free, and based on Maximus as is Fruity Limiter.
Good?
- Per-track Equalization to shape frequencies. Think of sounds as occupying the low, medium or high frequency range and discard any unnecessary frequencies outside their band. Discarding should be done in the context of the full mix, use Parametric EQ 2 to cut frequencies until you just start to notice the sound is changing, then back off a little. You may also need to reduce the cut-amount/s if the sounds are heard in isolation at particular times during the track. Simply automate the cut level.
- Timing. As far as possible, avoid dominant instruments playing on the same beat. For example, the classic 'trance' kick on the beat, bass on the Off-beat. If they must overlap, that's when Sidechain Compression can be useful (see 'Ducking' below), or you can rely on Master Limiting to sort the conflict out.
- Panning is one of the most overlooked yet effective mixing tools. Avoid all the instruments crowding into the center of the mix, spread a few of them around (+/- 40% max is a good range to work in). When you can clearly distinguish sounds in different locations, the mix will sound more open, interesting and powerful. Kick drum and Bass are usually panned to center, but use whatever works.
- Riding the gain. Use Automation Clips to adjust the relative volume of Mixer Tracks throughout the mix. If you turn a sound up to make a point with it, lower others to make room. We can only focus attention on one thing at a time, so use volume changes to draw that attention to important parts of the mix and create some drama.
- 'Ducking' some parts in response to others. Subtle Sidechain Compression between the Kick Drum and Bass parts & or Kick Drum and other dominant instruments. This is 'lazy-mans' gain riding and can be very effective. E.g. Sidechain a Compressor on the Bass track to the sound of the Kick Drum track. This will turn down the Bass when the Kick plays, allowing the Kick to punch through the mix, while at the same time, preventing the kick and bass sounds competing for dB headroom. Don't use so much that you can hear the compressed track/s pumping up and down (that's an effect of its own).
- Use subtle delay rather than reverb. Reverb is great when there is little else happening but is simply lost in a wash of 'muddying' sound under a busy mix. Subtle delay tricks the ear into thinking there is reverb since early echoes (predelay on most reverbs) are the first component in a rooms sound. If you really need reverb, one good compromise is to automate the reverb amount, down in the busy parts, up during the solo when it's needed.Some 'dB change' values to remember
Some 'dB change' values to remember
These are a list of dB change values that are good and easy to remember that represent the difference in dB between two levels.
+ 12 dB = 400% volume increase.
+ 6dB = 200% volume increase (twice the original level).
+ 1 dB = ~10% volume increase. This is very close to the JND (Just Noticeable Difference), that is the smallest increase in volume you can notice.
0 dB - No change. Note this is not 0 dB on the scale, but the difference between two dB levels.
- 1 dB = ~10% volume decrease. This is very close to the JND (Just Noticeable Difference), that is the smallest decrease in volume you can notice.
- 6 dB = 50% volume decrease (half the original level).
- 12 dB = 75% volume decrease (to 25% of the original level).
The Mixer contains 99 Insert tracks (3), 4 Send tracks (4), 1 Selected track (4) and a Master track (10). Any number of insert Mixer tracks can be displayed depending on the Mixer state (Left-click on the edge of the Mixer and stretch). To access tracks use the Track Scroll Bar (2).
Select a track by clicking the pan or fader controls, scrolling with the mouse-wheel or Left-clicking on the track label area. Once selected, the track will appear highlighted and it will have additional functions available in the Mixer Track Properties panel (9), input/output options (6, 7) and FX slots (8). Track 1 is highlighted in the picture below.
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| FL Studio's Mixer |
- Mixer menu
- Mixer Track Scroll Bar
- Mixer Insert Tracks
- Send Tracks & Selected Track
- Big Peak Meter
- External mixer input
- External mixer output
- FX slots
- Mixer Track Properties
- Master Mixer Track
- Small Peak Meter
- Mute Switch
- Pan Knob
- Level Fader
- Send Knobs
- FX Enable/Disable Switch
- Track Recording Switch
- Track Send / Sidechain Enable Switch
NOTE: Most controls are automatable (Right-click and select 'Create automation clip').
