mp3s that get mastered really quiet

[flobbydobby]

does this piss anyone else off?

99% of mp3s are good and loud (pretty much fill the whole waveform type loud, as an example) but every now and then one will get put up that's about half the volume and quiet. can't the record label notice this?

annyoing

(cue - "apologia" is the one that's just made me make this thread)

 

[Attire]

Eh I thought this when I bought SPY - By Your Side.

 

[miszt]

you might not realize, but your mp3 player comes with a Volume control

 

[Attire]

you might not realize, but your mp3 player comes with a Volume control

Ooh he's a clever bastard this one

 

[rysk]

itunes can level out volumes for you.

 

[djrowney]

itunes can level out volumes for you.

not always, i got the latest worldwide audio release and it was well quiet, hit bassline smith up for the dj mix of it
suprised the cue bit is quiet, usually his mixdowns kick out?...

 

[Fallen.GeMiNi]

Break - Breakfast is also poorly mastered. Never happened with RAM release I bought. And I have a few more, Foreign Beggars feat. Noisia - Contact (Noisia Remix) for the one.

 

[Marcus Alkemist]

Speaking of RAM, Protection is still missing that first kick in the web release...

 

[richie_stix]

not always to do with the master... can be the mixdown by the artist! plus this obsession with 'loudness' these days is annoying, rather have dynamic range than a flat wall of loud!

 

[Mikkandro]

Speaking of RAM, Protection is still missing that first kick in the web release...

Get it from junodownload man, got that drum intro too.

http://www.junodownload.com/products/protection/1843974-02/

 

[Aidenrn]

not always to do with the master... can be the mixdown by the artist! plus this obsession with 'loudness' these days is annoying, rather have dynamic range than a flat wall of loud!

Exactly! Read an interview with Basher speaking about this recently. Mixers have gain controls for a reason...

 

[motion audio]

plus this obsession with 'loudness' these days is annoying, rather have dynamic range than a flat wall of loud!

This. Near enough everything that gets released these days just sounds harsh. As people have said, its what volume and gain controls are there for.

 

[Fallen.GeMiNi]

Well it's really annoying to have to increase gain like 1.5 time for one tune above the other just because someone couldn't do a proper mixdown/mastering...

 

[Jwood27]

the ingredients lp is the same, all the tracks seem really quiet, its a pain in the arse

 

[encounter]

Well it's really annoying to have to increase gain like 1.5 time for one tune above the other just because someone couldn't do a proper mixdown/mastering...

x1.5? That's like 50db+??

 

[motion audio]

Well it's really annoying to have to increase gain like 1.5 time for one tune above the other just because someone couldn't do a proper mixdown/mastering...

Thats sort of like saying its really annoying having to adjust the pitch because someone couldn't make a tune at the "proper" tempo... Fair enough it shouldn't be miles away, but a bit of level variations hardly rocket science to fix.

People should care more about the quality of the tune and how its delivered rather than how hard it gets smashed by a limiter.

 

[Fallen.GeMiNi]

But the tempo defines the tune as well as the key it's made in and so on. Changing gains every now and then sucks, because it's easy to accidentaly forget about it and then you blow some heads off with the next tune (with proper sound levels) on that deck. And it's not 1.5 times the gain, I was exaggerating Still those tunes needs to be boosted up to double the original volume. I buy those tunes anyway, because I like them and want to play them out, but it's not something I'd be fond of so to speak.

 

[encounter]

People have different ways of working. This all depends on what DAW, what elements, how many of them and how they mix down a track. It all has to be balanced and thats the actual hardest part about making music. From my experience it is, the more elements you have the harder you'll have it. I doubt anyone from the big mastering houses will have problems getting a track as best and loud as possible without any crackles.

The problem with the loudness war is that everyone is still doin it and as long as this is the case you're forced to go the same route.

Anyway what I'm trying to say is that it can have various reasons why something is too quiet or too loud. I mean seriously, Fresh - Gatekeeper is way too loud...

 

[groelle]

wed need a proper standard or just because of this reason, the loundness war will never end.

---------- Post added at 15:25 ---------- Previous post was at 15:25 ----------

i mean they got one in films aswel, and the sound in films isnt shit, quiet or overcompressed. would love to see that within music..

 

[t345e]

Download 'Platinum Notes' made by the same people who make 'Mixed in Key'. It makes a copy of an mp3 you already have and increases the volume of the track without affecting the quality. Now all my mp3s are the same volume and never have to touch the gain. Its pretty long winded but best program I've found so far to combat this problem. It also decreases the volume for tunes that are way too loud.