Ideal DB Level

[Nicho Void]

Hey All,

I've recently started playing with Adobe Soundwave to remaster a few tracks for AMV use. I'm wondering what the "normal" or "standard" DB level is. Both Soundwave and Premier have visual color indicators (green/yellow/red), but they don't explain what the ideal range is.

If someone could point me in the direction of some articles or other posts that might clear this up for me, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks.

[Scintilla]

Ideal range for what? A censor beep? Wind chimes blowing softly in the wind? Turmion Kätilöt?

The number one consideration is that you should never be clipping (above 0 dB full scale, which is probably the red zone on your level meter).
Aside from that, I'd say compare it to professional recordings of similar-sounding material to get a feel for what's a good overall level. And if you're talking about music, be careful of getting caught in the loudness wars -- don't over-compress, but rather find the right balance between dynamics and loudness.

[Nicho Void]

That's a very interesting link. Lots to digest. Thanks!

[Dr. Derpface, J.D.]

**NECROPOST**

I usually just normalize everything to -3db and be done with it. Then I can be sure of predictable levels without murdering the dynamic range