Wow look I'm a Mastering Engineer

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ds21

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This is the worst article I've seen on "home studio Mastering" I've seen:

http://www.har-bal.com/mastering_process.php

After reading these lines I just shook my head:

"I know there are a few mastering engineers out there that hate the loudness war (rightfully so) happening with certain types of music. But the fact remains, if your music isn't matching in volume to another song in your genre it will appear weak sounding. These are just the times we are living in."
 
ds21 said:
This is the worst article I've seen on "home studio Mastering" I've seen:

http://www.har-bal.com/mastering_process.php

After reading these lines I just shook my head:

"I know there are a few mastering engineers out there that hate the loudness war (rightfully so) happening with certain types of music. But the fact remains, if your music isn't matching in volume to another song in your genre it will appear weak sounding. These are just the times we are living in."
Click to expand...

Its the truth though....unless you level match and who the fukk does that besides us wierdos?
 
It is true from a certain POV. Form what I've read it basically comes down to two things; 1) Catering to peoples laziness. People get annoyed when they have to run the volume control in their car while their driving, which is why radio stations just compress the hell of everything and send it out loud
2) Label reps are afraid of their band being the "quiet" CD in someones changer. They equate quiet mixes with amateur work, and using that logic, loud mixes are more proffesional to them. I didn't say it was smart.
 
Actually loudness is one of the easiest ways to trick someone into thinking something sounds better.

That's why a lot of inexperienced newbies get outfoxed by compressors--the gain change tricks them into thinking it is helping when often times radical settings is making it sound thinner, but louder.
 
the most common question I get from people who have recorded at my place before...but have since then tried another home studio kid... is: "scott man that other place we went was whack, will you please make this track louder for us?" ha.

I just compress it a bit and hard limit it and crank it up a decent amount...they love it. And I get 20 bucks, whoopie. ha.
 
When will the world stop seeing this volume issue as one where more is better? Less isn't better either. There's a vertex or equalibrium in there somewhere. The "happy medium" if you will.
 
So "just right" is better.

I don't know if a lot of producers could grasp anything that subtle.
 
in classisal music recordings there is no 'loudness war'. no compression, no limiting, full dynamics. when you listen to a piece with a full blast orchestral beginning followed by a solo violin the difference can be for instance 6 or 10 dB!!!!
awesome, i just wish some producers had the wisdom and guts to go against the industries dictations.
don't forget : music consists of pitch, rythm AND dynamics.
 
faderbug said:
don't forget : music consists of pitch, rythm AND dynamics.
Click to expand...

me: (with guitar) "Dynamics???!!! I'm playing as loud as I can!!"

:p
 
faderbug said:
in classisal music recordings there is no 'loudness war'. no compression, no limiting, full dynamics. when you listen to a piece with a full blast orchestral beginning followed by a solo violin the difference can be for instance 6 or 10 dB!!!!
awesome, i just wish some producers had the wisdom and guts to go against the industries dictations.
don't forget : music consists of pitch, rythm AND dynamics.
Click to expand...

YES!!!

I raise my chalace to this post.
 
I read somewhere (possibly on here, actually) that a lot of stereo/PA salespeople will play a quiet CD through a cheaper system and a loud CD through a more expensive one, as people generally equate a louder piece of music as being better.
 
faderbug said:
in classisal music recordings there is no 'loudness war'. no compression, no limiting, full dynamics. when you listen to a piece with a full blast orchestral beginning followed by a solo violin the difference can be for instance 6 or 10 dB!!!!
awesome, i just wish some producers had the wisdom and guts to go against the industries dictations.
don't forget : music consists of pitch, rythm AND dynamics.
Click to expand...
Damn straight, imagine compressing classical music or classical guitar? It becomes and effect, but they like to call it 'dynamics processing,' and not an effect, but it's an effect when it radically alters music like the way it's used.

Sometimes I listen to a CD on my studio monitors and it sounds tiny, thin, flat, squashed, and small. I have to up the volume to hear it, it's really odd, then I hear my own recordings and they are full and breathe, then I compress them and get that hard edge that just isn't the best fidelity but sounds closer to the radio.

When driving my car, I tune the classical station and the quieter parts are drowned out by the road and car noise. But not w/ all the other types of music b/c they don't have the dynamics anymore, it's all fff.
 
junplugged said:
When driving my car, I tune the classical station and the quieter parts are drowned out by the road and car noise. But not w/ all the other types of music b/c they don't have the dynamics anymore, it's all fff.
Click to expand...

The other day I was cruising along listening to Gustav Holst's "The Planets (1st Mov.) Mars-The Bringer of War" (New 24bit/96khz recording by London Philharmonic), and I had to have my stereo CRANKED to hear the intro, and when the song suddenly picks up, I couldn't reach for that volume fast enough. Not really sure which suffered more damage,my ears or my speakers!!! On the other hand I have CD's where quite literally for the entire duration of the disc, my level meters NEVER come below 0.0dB. Yeah They're ballsier sounding, but they don't sound "Better" to me anyways.
 
I actually did think that article was informative in a few ways. Even though i do disagree with the morallity part of it ;).

But it did give me some ideas to start with on mastering. Helped me understand a few things a little better and be more creative on where to start.

So yo.

Danny
 
personally, i mix however it sounds good to me. I am going to get all my mixed to around the same volume, not withstanding meters or anything. i'll leave that up to the mastering engineer. but i am debating. If i get my album mastered, i will give massive, or whoever does it, though massive is who im looking at in about a year when it's done credit for it. but then i had help on the album, i didn't do it all myself.
 
faderbug said:
in classisal music recordings there is no 'loudness war'. no compression, no limiting, full dynamics. when you listen to a piece with a full blast orchestral beginning followed by a solo violin the difference can be for instance 6 or 10 dB!!!!
awesome, i just wish some producers had the wisdom and guts to go against the industries dictations.
don't forget : music consists of pitch, rythm AND dynamics.
Click to expand...

don't look at the producers, ME's etc look at the A&R's and labels. I'm pretty sure every professional out there will tell you squashing the crap out of music for the sake of making it the loudest song on the block is detrimental to its sonic fidelity.
 
Keep in mind that a certain amount of compression DOES sound good on some types of music, notably metal and rock. However, taking this to the extreme for the sheer sake of loudness is stupid.
 
I've been trying to start a trend in my little area. Everything from the other studios around here (all 2 of them) sounds dead/lifeless. They just squash the shit out of everything. But I don't. Everybody keeps asking why my stuff sounds so alive and full.
 
HangDawg said:
I've been trying to start a trend in my little area. Everything from the other studios around here (all 2 of them) sounds dead/lifeless. They just squash the shit out of everything. But I don't. Everybody keeps asking why my stuff sounds so alive and full.
Click to expand...

Don't start a trend... steal their business. :)
 
Cloneboy Studio said:
Don't start a trend... steal their business. :)
Click to expand...

I believe I have been. The trend being, people coming to me instead of them. Just had a guy come in last night with a copy of the stuff he did at the other place. He damn near shit his pants at the comparison. They are going to do a 9 song album with me starting on Sunday. :D
 
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