Audio Recording

A common misconception in audio mastering is to transform raw mixes into “loud” sound. This is not entirely correct. If you have read my post on “loudness wars”, this loudness won’t sound good in all cases.

What I am suggesting is that if you are just beginning to master your own projects at home or whether consider hiring a pro-mastering engineer. Loudness should never a goal in mastering. Instead you should be focusing on getting a BIG sound out of your audio mastering work. Although I may have used these terms interchangeably in past, loud sound and big sound are actually different when it comes to audio mastering.

To clearly understand the differences between Loud and Big, lets highlight the characteristics between them for easier understanding and reference:

Characteristics of Loud Sound in Mastering:

1.) Objectively loud- average SPL of more than -10dB in most cases.

2.) Does not blend nicely in the playlist with most of the commercially released recordings today and in the past – too loud. If its too loud, any consumer may be tempted to lower down the volume. If this looks good for you, try to wear the listener hat and you will get annoyed.

3.) Excessive lacking in natural audio dynamics. Since it is overly compressed, there is no difference between soft and loud. So if you listen to this kind of recording, it may sound a kind of boring in the long run. It sounds lifeless.

Even when its rock music, there should still be audio dynamics in it. Try watching a heavy rock concert, and you will noticed that its sounds much better than the studio version because of the presence of “dynamics” and “ambiance” in live performances (which is lacking in studio/album version).

4.) The music sounds distorted if it will be played at high volumes. The classic test in the old times is that when you hear your favorite song in the radio, you hurriedly turn the volume up to enjoy the music more. And even if you are not still contented, you would turn the volume to maximum and the music is still plays very nice, no distortion and well-preserved dynamics. This is true from the commercially released recordings in the 70′s, 80′s and early 90′s.

But not now. When you listen to your favorite song in the radio, there is no excitement at all because its already too loud. And even if you attempt to turn the volume up- the results will be distortion because of overly compressed music. Super loudness is a double-edged sword; you make it loud because you think its great. But too loud takes away the “excitement” factor in hit music when it gets played.

Characteristics of Big Sound in Mastering

1.) Not necessarily objectively loud- average SPL can be as low as -14dB and as high as -12dB, yet the volume is OK and comparable to most loud recordings.

2.) Blend nicely with other mixes released in the 80′s and 90′s.
3.) Well-preserved dynamics. It much like listening to a live recorded performance.
4.) Ambiance and stereo imaging well preserved. The bass, mid and treble are balanced thus contributing to big sound. In very loud music, the bass does not have the “kick” and “punch” factor because of over-compression.

Tips in getting big sound in mastering:

1.) A well done mix is a good way to start. Make sure the bass, mid and treble are already well-mixed to make it easy for the mastering engineer to sound it bigger.
2. )Spend much time on perfecting the sound of the raw mix (using EQ, multi-band compression) than spending more time on a limiter on getting a very loud result.
3.) Do not over-compress the material.
4.) Do not work on over-compressed raw mix. Sometimes a raw mix has already been over-compressed because this is what the client wants (which is not a good thing to do after all).
5.) Do not judge the quality of mastering simply because of raw loudness.
6.) Focus on subjective loudness than objective loudness. Human ears are more sensitive to changes in 500Hz to 3000Hz more than other frequency range. Simply boosting these frequencies in mastering can significantly provide more “presence” of musical elements which can contribute in getting a bigger sound.