Fat Sound, Maximizing levels in a DJ mix Options

[KarlBakker]

I am a DJ who uses a Hi-Fi CD recorder (Pioneer) to record continuous dance music mix sets. The sound quality is very good, but I want to get that Fat Sound you hear on professional Mix CDs.

I have tried the Limiter, Compressor and the Normalizer in Pro Tools (Free) but are unhappy with the result. Everything I try seems to result in a quieter, duller and less dynamic sound, which is the opposite of what I am trying to achieve. When I use a compressor, I cannot get the Gains anywhere near 0db without clipping.

Also, I only run a Mac Titanium.
Can anyone suggest a better approach?
Does anyone know of an inexpensive software option like Sonic Forges Wave Hammer but for the Mac?

Cheers
DJ Anton

[bbeltjonez]

I am a DJ who uses a Hi-Fi CD recorder (Pioneer) to record continuous dance music mix sets. The sound quality is very good, but I want to get that Fat Sound you hear on professional Mix CDs.

I have tried the Limiter, Compressor and the Normalizer in Pro Tools (Free) but are unhappy with the result. Everything I try seems to result in a quieter, duller and less dynamic sound, which is the opposite of what I am trying to achieve. When I use a compressor, I cannot get the Gains anywhere near 0db without clipping.

Also, I only run a Mac Titanium.
Can anyone suggest a better approach?
Does anyone know of an inexpensive software option like Sonic Forges Wave Hammer but for the Mac?

Cheers
DJ Anton

the first thing you need to realize is that even DJ compilation CD's are heavily limited by a mastering engineer before being sent off to duplication. usually they are processed with a multiband limiter of some sort, either hardware or software. it's very difficult if not impossible to achieve that level of sonic density cleanly (where you look at the waveform and it's practically solid) with just compression and EQ. in addition, it takes someone who knows how to tweak the controls to get the maximum amount of level without clipping. it's not unusual to get gain increases of 4-6 dB or more after multiband limiting. the tradeoff is reduced dynamics of the material to some degree, although EQ'ing can offset some of those problems. but by definition the so called "fat sound" of commercially produced CD's requires substantial reduction in dynamic range - HOW you reduce the dynamics to get the average level of the material higher is the name of the game....RMS level versus peak, most commercial CD's have very little difference between average and peak levels.

your Mac is more than adequate to do the job. you need a plug in or software of some sort that is capable of doing multiband limiting and you need to learn how to use a multiband limiter - unfortunately it's not a plug-in-and-you're-all-set solution, it's going to take time and patience to learn how to get the most out of it if you aren't familiar with it. i've been using multiband limiters for a few years and i am always learning new things. my personal favorite is Prosoniq's Dynasone, but some people can't seem to sort it out that well, i have that problem with the Waves C4 multiband which a lot of people like.... to each his own.

all normalizing does is bring up the level proportionally of the whole file to 0 - it does NOTHING else, if the loudest part of the program is already at or near 0, normalizing will have no effect since everything's as loud as it can get.