What's a good output level?

[Akamarko]

Hello,
Just got this app and it's great. would like to know what is an ideal output level to set to prior to mixdown? I want all my recordings to be around the same optimum level without having one track sound aoft and another too much louder, etc.

[pwnified]

Actually the output level is not used in the mixdown process, instead it is set to the maximum level in which it doesn't cause clipping at 16 bits. But the overall volume that we perceive is dependent on energy, as opposed to peak amplitude.

[Akamarko]

So if I have a mix but I want it too be quieter or louder overall, I need to reduce or increase all the individual parts/tracks or will it still level out just below peak clipping?

[pwnified]

Actually that's a good question, I had to go look at the code. So the normalization pass is only run if the signal would have clipped 16 bits, so no clipping is guaranteed. However if you want a mix to sound quieter and never reach fullscale, you'll have to use the track volume controls. Now that you bring this up, it seems it would be useful to include the master volume in the final mix, as it stands now, you can put it at zero dB to get an idea of the final mix volume (provided it doesn't get normalized)

[Akamarko]

I did three tests so far adjusting the master output at 3 extremely different levels and the final output was the same so I guess as you say the only way to make a quieter track is to reduce individual track levels. It'll mean re mixing but not a big deal on the song I'm working on; only 5 tracks.

I'll experiment with later today or tomorrow and report back. But still, I'm lovin this app!