When doing an A-B comparison on a Renoise track to a reference track for levels etc do you play the reference track inside Renoise or with a separate player (Winamp, MP, whatever)?
I’ve been using a short “medley” of clips from Abbey Road and Astrocreep (probably the two albums I know best) for comparison when mixing. Without thinking about it I was just playing the reference track thorugh media player so I could quickly flip-flop between it and Renoise.
Do you think using a separate player is defeating the purpose of the comparison?
All I do is make sure that when I compare, I play both tracks
in the same media player. Never know about different volume levels
in different software…
Hmmm, I should have realized that sooner. I think from now on when I need to compare I’ll load up my medley as a sample and play it through the master with no fx. That should keep everything in line I suppose.
what about mastering though ? surely the track you compare it with is mastered one, in that case, do you use fx on master channel, and if yes, isn’t your comparing tune affected by them also?
I only A-B compare with another track for reference tonality during or after the mastering phase. Comparing a raw mix to a mastered track is too big a loudness difference. Knowing the the target tonality should be internalised rather than ‘mapped’: think of applying yourself to mixing with a guide in mind rather than copying.
Compare you master with another master outside of Renoise.
watch the track (your reference tracks) through a spectrum analyzer and get familiar with their curves. then as you are constructing a track, if you’re keeping an eye on the spectrum you can usually just see when something is messing up the curve. this usually keeps me from having to do a major overhaul at the end of a track.
maybe run your favorite songs through an RMS meter like that, find out what the average loudness is for the high energy parts and then for the quiet sections.
beyond that it really helps to study EQ guides from ones that cover the different zones of the spectrum and how they are perceived and then guides that focus on specific instrument types.
I think from now on when I need to compare I’ll load up my medley as a sample and play it through the master with no fx. That should keep everything in line I suppose.