pumping up the volume??

[samich17]

i am using Sound Forge 5.0 to master my tracks...particularly the Volume Maximizer...
my question is: what is the "common" decibal peak for good sound recordings...i'm pushing all mine to -.2, it seems to be working well, though i'm curious if i can achieve a non-amateurish sound without using a compression... don't get me wrong, i love the amateur sound..i'm just ready to move on to a more "put together" sound...any thoughts on the subject greatly appreciated..

[gnarled]

I believe the volum maximizer does use compression anyway (if you have it turned on). If you just want to normalize it, use the normalize function.

As for your other question, I'd venture to guess that just about every professionally mastered CD uses some compression in the mastering stage. But as far as a more 'put together' sound, that probably has more to do with your mixing skills than the mastering.

By the way, be cautiousl when you call your post production work in Sound Forge 'mastering' around here. Some people will tear your head off.

[gnarled]

I forgot to answer your question. Most people normalize to close to 0dB. I usually use -0.1 to be safe. You should be fine where you are.

[samich17]

hehe....so i've read.

[SPINSTERWUN]

Look for more info here...

http://www.studiocovers.com/articles.htm

spin