My all time top tip for getting a nice sound from Ableton Live (or any DAW) is to keep your channel faders low and the Master at 0db. I explain my reasoning in an older post from January 2008. You can read it and the great comments by: clicking here. A safety net or let’s say helper in keeping your Master at 0db is a Limiter. Luckily (finally!) they added a native Limiter to Ableton Live 8. I recommend saving your startup Template with the Limiter in place. How much headroom below 0db you should leave is questionable but mostly I just leave it at it’s default setting of -0.30 dB. I’m guessing Ableton set it there for a reason. Of course you can use Limiters to shape and pump your sound and for something like that I turn to other plug-ins like Wavearts FinalPlug ($199) or a hardware unit such as a Universal Audio 1176.

“The Limiter effect is a mastering-quality dynamic range processor that ensures that the output does not exceed a specied level. Limiter is ideal for use in the Master track, to prevent clipping. A limiter is essentially a compressor with an innite ratio. To ensure that your nal output will never clip, place Limiter as the last device in the Master track’s device chain and keep your Master fader below 0 dB.” – Ableton Live 8 User Manual

For more Ableton tips and info: wiretotheear.com/category/ableton-live/

A good piece of gear I recommend people buying is a digital SPL (Sound Pressure Level) meter. If your in the USA just head over to any Radio Shack. They have a decent unit called “Digital-Display Sound-Level Meter”, Model: 33-2055 for $49.99. It runs on a 9V battery. Of course the Shack isn’t the only company that makes them, click here to see Amazon.com’s selection. All SPL meters have a built-in mic and display decibel levels.

If your building a recording studio having a SPL meter is important as you can measure how much sound your neighbors or the outside world is pushing towards you. You can also calculate how much sound proofing you will need to keep your own noise private. Auralex has a nice area on their website called “Bothering Your Neighbors” that shows how much dB you can reduce with each layer of additional building materials: click here

Want to make some money? Bring your SPL meter to any concert, record the dB numbers on video and then go sue the band or venue for hearing damage. There have been numerous law suits exactly like that. I’ve even heard of singers suing venues for hearing damage because of excessive volume levels.

Of course, dB levels also play an important role in audio production. For example when you add some eq to a sound your adding actual volume or decibels. This is important to wrap your head around. If you add 6db of EQ at 2khz your adding 6db of volume to the Master. Working in the digital world, ITB (in the box) you want to keep your individual channel faders low and have them all sum toward the Master. I keep my channel faders at -12db to start and I always keep the Master at 0db. So if you have a vocal on a channel and you add 6db of EQ watch the Master fader level as you are adding 6db to the overall sum of your mix!