K-14 meter

Hi,
I just bought MixBus and also the Video by AdanAdam.

I have one question about the K-14 meter.
What is the relation between the K-14 meter and the Master Out fader?
I have noticed that when I mix at 0db on the Master fader, the K-14 reading goes well over 4 in the pink zone.
In order to stay at 0db on the K-14, I have to bring down the master fader around -12db. Consequently my mix level when I bounce is quite low.
Something I missed?
Thanks for your help

I tried to post a link with more info about the K-System / K-Meter but it was rejected by the spam filter. Take a look at the article “Level Practices (Part 2)” under “Media -> Articles and Demos” at www.digido.com.

No, you did not miss anything :wink:

The idea with K14 meter is to change the way you apply compression to your work, in order to regain the wonderful state where music actually has dynamic. If you have to put your master fader at -12 you might have too much compression. K14 was designed to allow 14dB of headroom into the mix. If your master has to be -12 in order to satisfy k14 you may only have 2dB of headroom in your original mix…

When I mix, the master fader is placed at 0dB default, and I mix up to the right levels using the track faders (and mix busses of course). Compression has its place, but is terribly misused.

Great site!
Thank you.

Thank you qharley