i think there was another thread on this, but general rule is that it's good to keep the level from breaking unity too much. if you peak into the red from time to time it isn't too bad because ableton's dithering is pretty kick ass. staying in the red isn't so yummy though.

i always try and mix my levels down until I hold at just below unity (0db) while doing a final mix before heading to a "mastering" stage. same goes for performing - I try to hold it as close to 0db without blowing into the red constantly.

it also depends on your gain structure post-laptop. if you're blowing the red in ableton and start blowing red in the DJ mixer/house mixer you're going to start noticing distortion and clipping pretty quickly.

i just started using live, so sorry if this appears like a simple and often asked question, but, any recommendations for "mastering" right in live to get everything nice and hot?

i've found the hard way on my own what the rest of you seem to already know about keep things around or a little below zero, but the overall output from ableton live is 3ish db quieter than my other programs (logic, final cut, traktor) which creates an issue when matching gain quickly on the fly in live dj situations. Is there a way to "gain up" without the distortion and preferably without too much additional "color" ?

I'm using live to do simple audio/video edits, and to use third party mastering like logic will create two extra steps because i would then have to re-sync the "mastered" audio back to the video in final cut. so, i would really prefer to do it all in abelton if possible.

thanks,

-cb

In addition to what Don said about having bus compressors and limiters. You can also get a really hot sound by keeping the track levels high and loud and then drop a utility plugin on Lives master channel and Turn it's Gain Knob down to give yourself some headroom pre master fader.