how do i make my tracks as loud as those heard on mp3s?

[RyantFromHC]

hey,

whenever i compare one of my self masterd tracks to a real artist's mp3 or somthing mines always much quieter. I use wavelab and waves U2 Ultramaxamizer plugin for the end compression and such but its always much quieter even tho the level meter goes right up to -0.1

is it the converting to mp3 that makes the volume different? should i use lame conversion instead of faureowjrfweofjw or whatever it is (the one that starts with f), or somthing else?

thanks guys

 

[Massive Master]

(A) Stop self-mastering (notice I didn't say "stop mastering" - Just don't master your OWN stuff. It rarely works out for the best).

(B) Every single step along the way of a recording - From the arrangement of the tune, to the source sounds, timbre, mic selection and placement, preamps, equalization, compression technique, effects, mixing style and technique, EVERY single step, will in some way dictate the maximum "potential" volume level of the song. Many songs do not, and will not have the potential to be as loud as most professionally produced recordings.

(C) Louder isn't necessarily "better" either...

(D) Most MP3 encoders (Fraunhoffer included) don't mess with volume. Some have "normalization" controls that will read the PCM data and maximize the peaks, but peaks have little to do with apparent volume.

 

[RyantFromHC]

thanks massive. Im self mastering just because i cant afford to send in the track to a company... or massive master , and it really sounds a lot better then the original. At least its not me singing on it, i cant work with my own voice on tracks.

also, what mp3 encoder do you think is the best? Lame, Fraunhoffer, or should i look at getting somthing else? THanks again

Ryan

 

[Massive Master]

I'm a Fraunhoffer VBR fan myself.

I've always thought that the LAME encoder lived up to its name.

HA! - get it? Actually, the last LAME encoder I used was pretty good.