Giant Pygmy Audio : Summary - Modern Mastering Methods

Finally, there is one plea we'd like to make, and it's in relation to the use of compression and limiting to achieve "loudness" at the expense of fidelity (see below). We urge you to not engage in this practice; instead leave it to the so called professional studios, guided by "sound marketing principles" to destroy their artist's work for the sake of a few bucks.

The beauty of the home studio is that you, and not music industry executives, are in control of how you want your music to sound.

Compression has its place in the mixing stage (when applied to individual tracks), but rarely at the mastering stage (applying compression and limiting to the overall mix).

From Wikipedia: "The phrase loudness war refers to the music industry's tendency to record, produce and broadcast music at progressively increasing levels of loudness [and to] create CDs that sound louder than CDs from competing artists or recording labels. However, as the maximum amplitude of a CD cannot be increased, the overall loudness can only be increased by reducing the dynamic range and distorting or clipping the waveform of the recording."

example of modern mastering for radio play - compressed and limited

The peak volume for both tracks is the same, but if you turn up the volume, the second one sounds better.

"The Mastering Engineers master modern music for radio play to get their song louder than their competitors so people will pay attention when their song comes on. Take any 1980's or early 1990's CD and put it in your CD player, then listen to the volume. Now take a modern rock or pop music CD and play it. The volume of the modern music is always near or at the MAXIMUM peak level possible. The dynamic range squeezed out. Now, simply put in the older 1980's or early 1990's CD and turn up the volume on your stereo. You'll notice how much BETTER the older recordings sound. There is IMPACT in the drums, details in the sound. It's more realistic sounding overall. The older (but still modern) recordings are easier on your ears at louder volume and seem more natural. This is how the CD medium sounds at its best […] you need a decent stereo or good headphones to hear the difference."

Source: Hydrogen Audio Post

Good luck with your recordings, and most of all, have fun.



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	Recording ROUTING AUDIO CAPTURE MIXER SOUNDCARD RECORD - MASTER EFFECTS MODERN MASTERING Related Information PLAY PAUSE (analysis) SERVICES AUDIO PC		SUMMARY: Modern Mastering Methods ("Loudness Wars") Finally, there is one plea we'd like to make, and it's in relation to the use of compression and limiting to achieve "loudness" at the expense of fidelity (see below). We urge you to not engage in this practice; instead leave it to the so called professional studios, guided by "sound marketing principles" to destroy their artist's work for the sake of a few bucks. The beauty of the home studio is that you, and not music industry executives, are in control of how you want your music to sound. Compression has its place in the mixing stage (when applied to individual tracks), but rarely at the mastering stage (applying compression and limiting to the overall mix). From Wikipedia: "The phrase loudness war refers to the music industry's tendency to record, produce and broadcast music at progressively increasing levels of loudness [and to] create CDs that sound louder than CDs from competing artists or recording labels. However, as the maximum amplitude of a CD cannot be increased, the overall loudness can only be increased by reducing the dynamic range and distorting or clipping the waveform of the recording." The peak volume for both tracks is the same, but if you turn up the volume, the second one sounds better. "The Mastering Engineers master modern music for radio play to get their song louder than their competitors so people will pay attention when their song comes on. Take any 1980's or early 1990's CD and put it in your CD player, then listen to the volume. Now take a modern rock or pop music CD and play it. The volume of the modern music is always near or at the MAXIMUM peak level possible. The dynamic range squeezed out. Now, simply put in the older 1980's or early 1990's CD and turn up the volume on your stereo. You'll notice how much BETTER the older recordings sound. There is IMPACT in the drums, details in the sound. It's more realistic sounding overall. The older (but still modern) recordings are easier on your ears at louder volume and seem more natural. This is how the CD medium sounds at its best […] you need a decent stereo or good headphones to hear the difference." Source: Hydrogen Audio Post Good luck with your recordings, and most of all, have fun.
			© Giant Pygmy 2007