Best way to raise my LUFS Integrated level...

[PDXSmitty]

I record acoustic guitar and mandolin exclusively. When I track the individual parts at the loosely recommended -14db to -18db level, the Integrated LUFS level on the Master Stereo track ends up being in the -20s. I've heard/read that YT and the streaming platforms want -14 and will manipulate the provided file to achieve that. So how do I get my final file up to that level? Use a Gain insert on the Master Stereo track? Use the Gain insert on the individual tracks to bring those up? Some of both? Other? As you can see my knowledge is pretty limited. I use Logic X but figured this question would apply to any DAW used. Thanks!

 

[TalismanRich]

Depending on your recording, it might be as simple as boosting the level, if there aren't a lot of peak dynamics. If the track has a lot of dynamics, you'll need to compress and/or limit it to get to -14FLUFS. Youtube will limit tracks that are too loud, and usually boost tracks that are low.

Audacity has a plugin that will let you adjust to a target LUFS. Just load the track into Audacity, got to Effects . Loudness Normalization. Put in your target LUFS and it will adjust things. Then you can listen and see if it has changed the balance in an acceptable way, or if you don't like it. But it gives you a starting point. Compressing a track will usually change the sonic balance. If the problem is simply that certain peaks are keeping the track from being loud enough without clipping, using a soft limiter might be a better way to keep the sound you want without clipping. Reducing 20 peaks by 3 or 4 dB lets you keep 99% of the music intact when simply raising the overall level.

 

[PDXSmitty]

Depending on your recording, it might be as simple as boosting the level, if there aren't a lot of peak dynamics. If the track has a lot of dynamics, you'll need to compress and/or limit it to get to -14FLUFS. Youtube will limit tracks that are too loud, and usually boost tracks that are low.

Audacity has a plugin that will let you adjust to a target LUFS. Just load the track into Audacity, got to Effects . Loudness Normalization. Put in your target LUFS and it will adjust things. Then you can listen and see if it has changed the balance in an acceptable way, or if you don't like it. But it gives you a starting point. Compressing a track will usually change the sonic balance. If the problem is simply that certain peaks are keeping the track from being loud enough without clipping, using a soft limiter might be a better way to keep the sound you want without clipping. Reducing 20 peaks by 3 or 4 dB lets you keep 99% of the music intact when simply raising the overall level.

Thank you! Very helpful.

 

[rob aylestone]

Before you do anything critical to your mixes you are happy with. Download a commercial track containing music similar to yours. Look at this and see what the peaks are and what the quieter section drop down to. The streaming platforms use algorithms that identify the style of music. My own, for example, is actually quiet music, with quite a limited dynamic range and it gets left alone in the main. Chasing that -14dB LUFS figure that's used for all sorts of genres sounds wrong - I rarely have FFF sections, most exploring pp to F with occasional FF. I don't know how Spotify does it - but if you find Ravel's Bolero - it starts really quietly and ands up mega loud, and Spotify don't mangle it. I don't know how?

 

[bouldersoundguy]

I would suggest a dedicated mastering limiter. The suggested tool in Audacity might be one, I don't know. A mastering limiter generally has one knob or slider to raise the level against a fixed threshold, often with a control to put a bit of headroom between your peaks and 0 dBFS. That's just so much easier to use than a more general purpose compressor/limiter with an adjustable threshold followed by a makeup gain control, and they usually are designed to sound good for the application. I use FabFilter's Pro-L 2, but my DAW also has one built in called Wave Hammer that's not too bad (but not as good as Pro-L 2).

That said, a lot of the loudness potential of your track is inherent in the mix. Recordings with fewer instruments can often be harder to get loud without deleterious effects on the sound. Sometimes compression applied at various stages can help with this.

 

[rob aylestone]

BSG makes sense - I often have the problem the other way when I record the occasional electric guitar piece or music with loud brass, and I struggle to work with the louder and punchier music!