How to get good headroom in the mix

[cVJ]

Hi every one
Im quite new into this home recording stuff
I use Nuendo V3 for recording
One thing that bothers me is the absence of good headroom in my mix
By headroom i mean nicely spaced out sound
Other than adding reverb and panning is there something i need to do

[therevjpk]

I heard once from a guy in Nashville that volume control creates headroom.

Example;

He said to build a mix (provided the recording levels were done right) at -10db.

Let your main instruments be at or below this.

Main faders at unity gain.

Supporting instruments at -12 to -15 db.

the you can lay your vocals at -8 or -5 db.

Also proper panning comes into play.

Once you build the mix in this manner then you really can see the use of eq, compression, verbs. Plus you leave room to hit that brick wall.

anyway just some tips. Im sure there are others that are better than me and have more examples.

I tried it and it works great for me.

[rockerdude]

Originally Posted by cVJ

Hi every one
Im quite new into this home recording stuff
I use Nuendo V3 for recording
One thing that bothers me is the absence of good headroom in my mix
By headroom i mean nicely spaced out sound
Other than adding reverb and panning is there something i need to do

Post a sample of your recordings so we can evaluate it and help you on your mixes.

[sparqee]

It sounds to me like you're using the word "headroom" to mean "ambience" or perhaps the impression that your tracks were recorded in a spacious environment. The term "headroom" actually means the amount of volume you have available between the loudest moment of your music and the point of distortion (audio geeks feel free to debate this simplified definition but I think for this discussion it serves).

Perhaps you can explain in a bit more detail what you're after?

[brandondrury]

By headroom i mean nicely spaced out sound

When I think of "nicely spaced out" I think of making space for all instruments to do their thing and then I think of ambience on top of that. The "making space" part is done during arranging, tracking, and mixing. On the technical side, most of it consists of cutting out the junk you don't need with EQ. With pop music, compression can go along way as well.

Brandon

[cVJ]

Im sorry for using the wrong word. Actually what i meant was ambience. Its like when u hear a well mixed song u get a mental picture of where the instruments are placed (in an imaginary stage) like the bases down, violins left top, cellos left bottom, vocals in the center etc. and u can actually feel the space between the instruments that is it does not sound crowded

[cVJ]

thanx therevjpk for ur suggestions will try that too

[sparqee]

Originally Posted by cVJ

Im sorry for using the wrong word. Actually what i meant was ambience. Its like when u hear a well mixed song u get a mental picture of where the instruments are placed (in an imaginary stage) like the bases down, violins left top, cellos left bottom, vocals in the center etc. and u can actually feel the space between the instruments that is it does not sound crowded

What you describe is the mark of an excellent mix. An excellent mix like an excellent oil painting employs many subtle techniques to create the illusion of space. The best thing you can do is listen to other mixes, read interviews with successful mix engineers, haunt forums but most off all.... mix, mix, mix. Learn to hear when the dynamics of one track are jumping around and stepping on other tracks. Learn to hear when the frequency range of one track is competing with another track. Experiment with and learn to understand the affect of EQ, Compression and time based FX (delay, verb, chorus, etc.). Improve your listening environment and most of all hone your own ability to listen critically.

It's a long road but if you enjoy music it's a marvelous one, and since you now have friends here at Recordingreview it doesn't have to be a lonely one. Post some of your mixes and let us hear what you're struggling with. We'll give you some honest (and hopefully well educated) opinions.

[cVJ]

Thank u for ur comments Sparqee

Here is a mix that i did its a incomplete piece composed by one of my friends and we recorded it using Miroslav philharmonik orchestra VSTi in Nuendo v3

[sparqee]

To my ear the first thing I would consider would be your dynamics. Give the strings someplace to "come from" (dynamically speaking). They are very up front and loud even though the articulations that they are playing speak of a softer performance. If the strings actually swell up and back down again then there would be more room for the harp and harps (like all plucked instruments) are a great one for adding some reverb to in order to convey a feeling of airy space, but... you have to leave enough room for the reverb to breath in a subtle way (i.e. relax the dynamics of the strings). Your track is so loud that I actually had to turn my speakers down when I first started your clip and if there's one genre that *should* be exempt from the loudness wars it's orchestral.

So.... I guess you were using the term "headroom" correctly, and the way to get it is to turn stuff down.