
Change of POETS
New member
Well, I know this has been beaten to death in here (avid reader, I don't post much in this forum) but please allow me to take a swift kick to the Horse as I see it's still breathing somewhat...
I'm now experiencing some clients who want their masters "louder" to match commercial CD's volumes, and it's pissing me off.
This is my side gig (recording, mixing/mastering, etc..) so I've always enjoyed the ability to tell a client, "If I hard limit this to match commercial standards, you'll have no dynamic range to your music, and it will sound like crap." I've enjoyed the fact that most of my clients have accepted this, and allowed me to master their projects to maintain sound dynamics and clarity.
Well, now I'm running into some clients who want nothing less than the "commercial sound" because in their opinion, it's what "all the professionals are doing"
They don't seem to understand that the professionals are being forced into that position by moronic labels mandating that the sound be overcompressed and waveforms look like building blocks in an errector set.
Nonetheless, I'm not just ranting here (although it seems like it..lol..) as I could use your expert advice here. Let me describe my process to you.
First, I finalize my mix of any track to peak at -6db to ensure I have enough headroom for mastering.
Secondly, I master to the pointwhere I'm generally peaking around -2db or so.
Finally, I'll use a limiter to bring the overall volume up to around -.1db but my settings are usually such as to not squash the living hell out of the track.
This has allowed me to maintain the dynamics of my masters over most projects, and it has yeilded fabulous results in my opinion.
Here is my question... How can I adjust the settings in my limiting stage, to maximize overall volume for the clients seeking that "commercial" appeal, and achieve that virtual building block wave form, without clipping the piss out of the mix? I've tried a few things, and nothing I've tried has given me the results I'd be "ok" with, in returning a product to my client. Digital Clipping is a pain, and it's obvious to anyone with a set of good ears...
Any help?
Thanks in advance.
-Brian

I'm now experiencing some clients who want their masters "louder" to match commercial CD's volumes, and it's pissing me off.
This is my side gig (recording, mixing/mastering, etc..) so I've always enjoyed the ability to tell a client, "If I hard limit this to match commercial standards, you'll have no dynamic range to your music, and it will sound like crap." I've enjoyed the fact that most of my clients have accepted this, and allowed me to master their projects to maintain sound dynamics and clarity.
Well, now I'm running into some clients who want nothing less than the "commercial sound" because in their opinion, it's what "all the professionals are doing"


Nonetheless, I'm not just ranting here (although it seems like it..lol..) as I could use your expert advice here. Let me describe my process to you.
First, I finalize my mix of any track to peak at -6db to ensure I have enough headroom for mastering.
Secondly, I master to the pointwhere I'm generally peaking around -2db or so.
Finally, I'll use a limiter to bring the overall volume up to around -.1db but my settings are usually such as to not squash the living hell out of the track.
This has allowed me to maintain the dynamics of my masters over most projects, and it has yeilded fabulous results in my opinion.
Here is my question... How can I adjust the settings in my limiting stage, to maximize overall volume for the clients seeking that "commercial" appeal, and achieve that virtual building block wave form, without clipping the piss out of the mix? I've tried a few things, and nothing I've tried has given me the results I'd be "ok" with, in returning a product to my client. Digital Clipping is a pain, and it's obvious to anyone with a set of good ears...
Any help?
Thanks in advance.
-Brian