Mastering Volume Question

How come when I listen to a track in iTunes or from wherever it sounds so much louder and clearer than when I (try to) master a track in Logic Pro?

The answer lies in your skills in Mastering/recording compared to the experienced Engineers etc.(and to a degree, the equipment they use). that master the commercial tracks hear in iTunes...

It's a dark art.. and one that takes much work to understand and master (sic)

I know that there is a master process one can use in a studio,

It's not just one process... Far from it in fact!

but one ought to at least be able to get the volume right, huh?

Right.. but it takes much practice....

There are a few plugins that can help a little... (Izotope's stuff or IK's TRacks plugins.. to name but two) but those are like generic "try this preset and see if it works with your tracks' type of things... as again, you need to know how to Master to get the best out of programming such plugins yourself in reality...

I hope Pancenter will jump in here, if he reads this thread... and maybe he might offer to share a little of his years of experience... or any of the others here who know far more about Mastering than I do..... as i tend to work in a different way to most and 'master' everything as I work... For example... tweaking synth sounds themselves to fit together the way i want them too.. rather than eq/compress and so on externally.... I'm just odd like that! 🙂

Cheers..

Nigel

The Art Of Sound wrote:

as i tend to work in a different way to most and 'master' everything as I work... For example... tweaking synth sounds themselves to fit together the way i want them too.. rather than eq/compress and so on externally.... I'm just odd like that! 🙂

Cheers..

Nigel

Nigel,

Yours is as good a way as any, especially if you're not concerned with having the loudest mix out there. The more subtle the composition the less use of compression/limiting is required to maintain the integrity of the mix.

Magystik wrote:

How come when I listen to a track in iTunes or from wherever it sounds so much louder and clearer than when I (try to) master a track in Logic Pro?

I know that there is a master process one can use in a studio, but I'm talking about home recording. I'm also aware than placement of sound and avoiding the same sorts of frequencies helps to clarify one's sounds, but one ought to at least be able to get the volume right, huh?

Thanks,

Phillip

Same process takes place in the studio as it does with home recording, usually there is a separate, treated mastering room and some boutique hardware, compressors, limiters and EQ's... and that's just for starters.

First, In Logic's bounce dialog make sure normalization is set to OFF, in iTunes/Preferences/Playback make sure Sound Enhancer and Sound Check are disabled, I disable any of Apple's audio mangling software "enhancements". That way you can hear things as they are.

It also depends on the style of music you're mastering, you don't mess with a jazz trio of acoustic instruments recorded with multi-thousand dollar microphones, maybe of little overall EQ and volume adjustment.

I usually bounce out a 24-bit wave file and load it into a stereo editor for final mastering. If you want a master to be hot and near the level of a commercial release one needs to learn how to mix so that levels can be brought up without destroying the existing instrument balance. One also has to learn the difference between peak volume and RMS volume.

In this example (1) the peak levels at :45 (bass drum, snare) reach to -0.1db, using normalization this file cannot be made any louder as the peak levels are already at max, the RMS level is 18.3. At approximately 2:38 where the peak levels drop off to -4.1db the RMS level is 16.4. We would hear the level at 2:38 louder than the area where the peak levels are near or at 0db.

Learning to use limiters and compressors will allow you to bring levels up, in fact there are specific mastering limiters made for just that purpose...the Waves L-series maximizers comes to mind. The second example shows what moderate compression and do to the area of the file with the peak level maxed out, the area to the left has been compressed with some volume leveling added, the RMS level is now 15.00. While mastering EQ can add some clarity if the original mix is muddy there is not a whole lot that can be done. Also, if you're fairly new to mixing, the tendency is to run bass levels too high, this is another problem that can prevent mixes being brought up in level. Mixing/mastering is an art... working with this software is an art. It takes time, experimentation and experience to get "consistent" quality.

Ex.1

Ex.2

p.s. I mentioned nothing about your audio hardware (interface) monitoring speakers, room where you work....etc, however, all of those play a part in your mixing/mastering efforts.

Here's the same track with a mastering limiter applied, the RMS Level is now between 9.25 down to 7.50, and this file still has some dynamics, small though they may be. I've seen some tracks that are nearly solid black all the way to -.2db.

If your ears are refined to any degree, hearing fatigue sets in after a minute of listening to really hot mixes.