Why Loud??

[Kasey]

Maybe the answer to this is obvious to someone else... but what is the point in everyone trying to master their music to be as loud as possible?? The listener is going to make the volume whatever they want it anyways, and it sucks the dynamics out of the music in extreme situations - so why do it?? I know music at louder volumes sounds better, i suppose because you can hear more details in it, but still - like i said, its the listener that chooses their volume. Whats the point??

 

[Massive Master]

If you come up with a good answer, let me know, eh?

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

Well, I don't have a good answer, but I have the right answer.

It's because some college grad whiz kid without two brain cells to rub together rediscovered the erroneous idea that the louder a song, the more people would notice it. The more people that notice it, the more would buy it. It's the same tired myth of a bad theory that dates back 50 years that some radio and TV commercial ad agencies boneheads came up with for their commerical spots. And it isn't any more true today than it was for Uncle Miltie.

But because some people started doing it, everybody else started having to do it as well, either because they were afraid of getting buried in the volume wars or because their clients demanded that they be as lourd or louder than the Jones'.

I jut keep faith in the knowledge that everything comes in cycles. The volume wars fad will eventually become "so five minutes ago" and replaced by some other idiotic fad. The hope is that new fad will be slightly less annoying.

G.

 

[AlexW]

Actually, the only point I see to it is that if your song ends up on a comp of some sort; or someone plops it on their I-pod; if it's volume isn't consistent with the rest of the songs on there, it'll sound weird. Beyond that, yeah, just turn it up.

 

[aaroncomp]

It's because once you turn your CD player up to 11, the only place to make it louder is with -0.1db limiting.













oh, and I'm not in favor of the way music is processed today either btw

 

[Mo-Kay]

nowadays...the reason really is... "because if you don't...people will say your stuff sounds weak, because of less compression etc."

it's become a race really, but you can't NOT do it because your stuff won't stand out among other recordings.


I've seen a waveform in a magazine of a Macy Gray album... it looked like a friggin block

 

[Kasey]

nowadays...the reason really is... "because if you don't...people will say your stuff sounds weak, because of less compression etc."

it's become a race really, but you can't NOT do it because your stuff won't stand out among other recordings.

i dont see how people can say that over compression keeps music from sounding weak. the most powerful sounding music i've ever heard didnt even use compression, at all. 'twas a sound any rocker would kill for.

 

[Massive Master]

I'm so friggin' sick of smashing client's mixes... But they're the boss. All I can do is "strongly suggest" otherwise.

 

[turnitdown]

It's the same tired myth of a bad theory that dates back 50 years that some radio and TV commercial ad agencies boneheads came up with for their commerical spots.

I've actually thought about hooking up a compressor/limiter to my DirecTV box and/or Amplifier..... When those damn Cal Worthington (amongst others) commercials come on, it's 3x as loud as the program material!!! I HATE THAT!!! The 65" TV has a "AGC" (Automatic Gain Control), but it doesn't do much.... The others, it's just horrible on...

 

[SouthSIDE Glen]

it's become a race really, but you can't NOT do it because your stuff won't stand out among other recordings.

Ah, but that's where the "conventional wisdom" actually falls short of the truth. The truth is that if everybody pushes it to 11, pushing yours to 11 will just make it the same as everyone else. Its the lower volume, highly dynamc recording that will then stand out from the crowd.

I'm just standing back and waiting for Joe Recordlabel to figure that out...

G.

 

[tkingen]

Last night the wife and I were rearranging the living room. We stuck some bluegrass and blues cd's in and let them play. It was great to have the living room filled with finely recorded music.
Then the newest Janiva Magness disc came on. She's one of the real deals in contemporary rootsy blues. Great compositions and great performances. But it was much louder than the others and sounded harsh and abrasive. I walked over to the cd player and pushed the button to the next disc. Probably won't buy anymore of her stuff, either.

 

[Rokket]

Last night the wife and I were rearranging the living room. We stuck some bluegrass and blues cd's in and let them play. It was great to have the living room filled with finely recorded music.
Then the newest Janiva Magness disc came on. She's one of the real deals in contemporary rootsy blues. Great compositions and great performances. But it was much louder than the others and sounded harsh and abrasive. I walked over to the cd player and pushed the button to the next disc. Probably won't buy anymore of her stuff, either.

That's the problem with newer recordings and the record companies pushing the mastering engineer to the brink of white noise. They seem to think the waveform needs to completely fill the space or it's not right...

I've listened to the new Rush CD and was so disappointed that the otherwise brilliant playing was awash in really harsh sounding mastering. I will pick up an older CD any day to that...