Following on from Polarity mans discussion about where to start mixing and Octotonics reply which was this :
Learn how to gain stage.Aim to have the track peak at -5db (to leave room for a mastering engineer)
I would like you to have a look at this
The first bit is a modern disco crap hit what did the frog say the second girl from Iponaema guess which bit sounded best? Not because I'm old simply because the too much mastering killis a track. If you reccord a track how it should sound there is no need to get it mastered ... just saying
www.maltingsaudio.co.uk
Comments
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
RHCP's Californication was the horror story most often cited when this started, from the mid 90s
Here is the year 2000 Protools forum thread on it: http://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=5375&highlight=californication
Oasis was so compressed it was impossible to listen to it on a proper hifi
On the point from @Octatonic about a second set of ears: we should remember that we've all probably damaged our hearing with guitar amps, so it's even more necessary for us degenerates
My shortcut is to use TC Electronics X3, in a subtle way. However if this was my day job, I'd probably want to get a final polish from a Pro if I could afford it
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4011/4236872638_987faf0431_o.jpg
Where the loudness war started. It's mastering was originally seen as an abomination and it was sent back assuming there had been a mistake when they opened the files and saw big square blocks. However promoters loved the fact that it leapt out from the radio and the desire for mega-loud mastering began.
Sound on Sound did a series of the dynamic scope of tracks. It's amazing how much it varies even within one genre. When the rest of the Brit Pop/Rock scene was going for brickwall compression, Radiohead's recording remaining comparatively dynamic.
I do hate it when I am mixing something or I send off a piece and I get a request to make it louder because people have become so accustomed to in your face dynamic free recordings.