To all ME's: Given the choice, what DR would YOU master an album at?

RecordingMaster

RecordingMaster

A Sarcastic Statement
So if it was all up to you. There are multliple factors that could still come into play so here are the factors...
If YOU were given the freedom to master an album however you wanted, what avg dynamic range would you do it at, for say, a rock album keeping these things into consideration:
- The year is 2013
- The final mediums will be compact disc, hi-res mp3 and online streaming, and possibly in music videos or short films
- This is not a record label commercial release, but of course it will still be accessible in the same world as other commercial smashed mixes
- The artist doesn't care how "LOUD" it is. They don't request you to smash it like the others out there.
- The music was well recorded and mixed and has some great groove and dynamics in it's unmastered state
- There are some VERY quiet moments in some of the songs and some VERY loud parts

Just curious to see what a legit and experienced ME would do. Cheers!
 
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I would ask the client for reference tracks that demonstrate the loudness and tone he was looking for and I would use my ear to match his tracks to the reference tracks.

[Edit] Whoops, missed "artist doesn't care". They would probably end up with the loud stuff around -14dBFS RMS. I don't master to a number unless requested, but I do measure afterwards.
 
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Short version: The range the mixes ask to be at.

This happens more often than some think, as some artists strive for "quality" over "sheer volume" and request multiple versions as such.

If they want something "somewhat commercially acceptable" then that's the goal. It'll be louder than the mixes want but probably quieter than the typical smash-n-crash out there.

I hate to put numbers on things (as they really don't mean much in many cases) but when I'm doing the "volume means nothing" passes, loud parts almost universally tend to ride around -15 to -14dB(FS)RMS and you can generally crank them up until God calls up and tells you to turn it down.
 
it's not really the right question...IMHO

i mean, if you want full dynamic range, you record with no compressors during tracking, and use no compressors or limiters on mixdown, take the peak to just below 0db, and run with it.

but using compressors during tracking, is used as color just as often as dynamics control..

and it's hard to get a classic rock sound, for example, without using limiters and compressors.

the question you are asking, is infinitely variable, you can not simply state "i mix/master to 'X' level, period"
 
You guys are taking the question too seriously! But thanks Massive, that's somewhere around what I was hoping for (not the number, but the way you answered it).

I guess long in short of my question was along the lines of I doubt any ME will come on here and say "I'd make a typical rock mix DR4 (RMS) if I had the choice!". And I doubt they would say "DR50 all the way!". Ya dig?
 
there is good loud mastering & bad loud mastering, so maybe only as loud as needed to be in the park. in the end it depends on the mixes. the mixes depend on the recording quality, arrangement, sound selection, etc.
 
To play along and give you a number based on your scenario, it would be no lower than DR12 as a rule. I encourage artists not to squash the hell out of things. And I refuse to severely squash the hell out of things if my name is on it. They will have to go somewhere else. But unlike in time past, I have actually had people ask, "Can you make us sound like everyone else?" Very sad! :p
 
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