Semi OT: Why music really is getting louder

Dad was right all along

Thought someone posted this yesterday...?

Was flipping channels earlier and caught bowie live - sounded like {censored} - way way way over compressed - just a thick wall of sound, all detail lost - if that was actually the intent - the soundman needed shooting!

Actually shooting would have too kind - maybe stick him in a little echo chamber with some huge sqawky sound system capable of pumping out well in excess of 140dB of compressed {censored} until his ears bled and he was stone deaf so as to ensure he could never work in this industry again...

I assume tho some moron had just stuck it thorugh the broadcast desk preset labelled 'advert - loud megasquash'... Urrrrgh!!

I think the overcompression is a perfect reflection of the world we live in today. Whether you like it or not....

The reason for this is to boost/compress the mids for the vocals to cut thru the traffic noise.This is done by major record labels on purpose. The indie labels don't do this, because their bands don't get comercial radio air play...cheers:)

Unfortunately, making the soundman deaf would only guarantee him a position of importance in the sound and recording industry.

LOL - sadly thats probably true

Nothing new here, everyone from recording engineers to audiophiles have been bitching about this for years. CDs gave us over 90 dB of dynamic range (vs. about 40 for the LP) only now we only use 5 DB....that's progress??

Keep that in mind the next time you read a production tip in some music rag that suggests using multiple compressors in series to really fatten up your tracks

No idea how to find it now, but we did a long thread on this topic once. There were graphics, tests, comparisions, snacks, etc.

Contemporary music is overcompressed because of the way we listen to music today. Nobody takes the time to draw the drapes, sit down, and just critically listen to a new CD. Instead, we all listen to music while doing something else, usually while driving or surfing the internet. Compression works well in a multitasking environment in that it keeps the levels steady... loud and steady if you're a kid, moderately steady for the likes of me.

Compression is your friend, you guys.

Compression is one thing, but intentionally boosting up the levels until the waveforms begin to clip is another thing entirely...

Actually, depending on the scenario it's OK to bring everything up until the biggest waves begin to clip.

Problem is that nowadays, everything comes up until it ALL clips. The new Rush record is at least as bad as Vapor Trails in that regard.

I don't understand why a band like Rush would allow that. They are clearly all excellent players with good ears, aren't they around when their albums are being mastered?

it a well known problem that the art of mastering is currently in the {censored}ter- at times it seems like they don't even master at all and just cranked up the gain

I find it hard to listen to a lot of modern stuff. Even though I may like the music it gives me a headache because of all the distortion that shouldn't be there. It's rare to find a vocal these days that doesn't sound like {censored}, it's really noticable on female vocals especially.

The people this music is aimed at simply are getting more and more deaf.

The first dynamic comes in the music itself.

Dynamic music, in which there is important variation in time, pitch and forte typically demands this is reproduced properly, not just in the master, but in the recording and playback equipment. For the most part, this music has enough total dynamic in its expression to be enjoyed even on limited systems. Examples of such would be classical, opera, but also vocal work (where message and language becomes a variable).

the mainstay of 'top 40' music, while using dynamic instruments is not overall complex (doesn't mean its easy to make, however). Rhythms, ideas and melodies repeat, often with little variation in notes or sonic character. Take dance music for instance, most of it is not about dynamic nuances.

In a time where everyone is struggling to be heard in an oversaturated mass of sameness, louder = more attention.

I think in some ways, trying to master for this madness is quite a challenge. The challenge for the engineer is to figure out how to make everything so loud but appear to be dynamic. This could translate to manual volume control of elements, and creating a composition of various loud elements...

I think for my next composition I'll just use samples of direct current arranged in percussive manner. The point will be to destroy the speakers (and possibly ears of the listener) and thereby introducing 'unique' artifacts.

eh?

most mastering houses are not located in cars on freeways. 'mids' have nothing to do with it, really - traffic/car noise is full spectrum, not just 800 up.

i don't know if htere's a real overriding reason, it's just that record producer want their record to be louder than the previous similar recording just put out by a competitor. thank goodness the laws of energy only offer so many decibels of headroom in a recording, otherwise we'd all be dead.

to contrast with Rush, apparently Iron Maiden's latest record was pressed off the master studio mix and didn't have a mastering phase at all. it would be interesting to compare.

+1 Most pop/rock doesn't need dynamics, so why not make it as loud as possible without distorting the sound?

gain management by compression of _any_ sort introduces a type of 'distortion' - anytime you increase gain you add external artifacts from the piece of gear that you're using. when you've got a passage recorded at -4 dbVU and you bring it up to +15 dbVU, the makeup gain section of your compressor is going to impart some distortion to the sound. you may not be 'distorting' in your recording medium, but inside that piece of gear you are.

if you use that same compressor over your whole mix, it's going to be noticable - maybe not consciously to the listener, but it's certainly something they'll complain about - 'it sounds overcompressed'.

that's why it's better to mix as many stems as possible with a variety of buss compressors better suited to individual tasks, and gently use a very _VERY_ mild compressor for 2-track work.

What is it with female vocals? So many sound weird and mechanical. I'm thinking especially of Shania Twain--what is that weird thing they do to her voice? Is it some sort of pitch correction or enhancer? I think it sounds awful and I'm sure it will sound laughable in ten years.

WHAT?

i bought 4 butterfly porkchops at the store yesterday and thought of you.

Inkrid Newthrift is horrified.

I think the latest technique is to use distortion to fool the listener into thinking a particular element is actually louder than it is (a seperate technique from just raw compress and boost). Of course that makes the music sound even worse!

Antares auto-tune, my good man. It's all over the radio these days and it drives anyone with musical ears NUTS.

You'll hear a lot of it if you listen to that commercial R&B tripe or buy an Ashlee Simpson record.