How do you make your mixes as loud as commercial mixes?

thehootman · December 2005

HI all,
I finished doing a couple mix downs for my band. The tracks are normalised to 100% and level meters peak at loudest parts etc etc.
One thing i noticed is that my mixes are quiter than commercial ones. How do you make a mix that loud?

Thanks

maharzan · December 2005

what was the input level?? it also depends upon ur input level.. while recording.

archon · December 2005

im no expert - but heavily compressing the finished track could help - lots of radio stuff is compressed tons.

glp_78 · December 2005

I don't like to compress too much, I feel it kills a lot of your dynamics. Compression is very touchy, just like reverb. I always try to get a real strong input signal when recording, that way when I mix, I don't have to worry about clipping to bring all the levels up. Also, I don't use the normalize function, I do each track seperately with the cans on and my moniters. It seems to me like each track has a certain level in the mix and it's a matter of playing with levels to find the sweet spot.

thehootman · December 2005

thanks for replys
its not the input levels because i boost them anyway, its the finished product that is quieter. The level meters in Adobe Audition peak at the 0 mark.

I put my mixes in Winamp along with some Iron Maiden, Metallica etc and the comercial songs are way louder, despite my mixes being theoritically loud as possible.

it has me confused :?

AlbertA · December 2005

Don't confuse amplitude with loudness. Loudness is much more complicated:

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/sound/loud.html

Kewlpack · December 2005

Here's a forum that is dedicated to this subject...

http://homerecording.com/bbs/

Superb advice and gurus there.

iliace · December 2005

Mastering compression is usually key. The traditional way to do this has been to run the final mix through a compressor. Nowadays, many recordings achieve their loudness through multi-band dynamics instead. It's a process that combines equalization and compression, sometimes also expansion.

The primary trick is getting the right compression settings for attack and release, otherwise you'll kill your mix. It is commonly timed to the rhythm and tempo of your song. For limiting (after all other dynamics processing) you will usually require a faster attack with a near-0 threshold.

If you're anywhat analog, you can use a rack unit to master the track.

If you have the luxury of Sonar Producer, try the multi-band plug-in. Start out with one of the presets (such as \"whole mix - medium\") and work from there. Be sure to read the accompanying help file, it's very thorough and... well, helpful.

Another option is using the Izotope Ozone plug-in. It has both harmonic exiter and multi-band compression tools. Again, don't overuse, start small and listen for subtle differences, one range at a time, instruments one by one - that's all it takes, or else you'll mess it up.

ACWild · December 2005

I've used Ozone and pulled back on my volume because it was showing my mix red-lining. The end result was that I had a quieter mix than before Ozone. :?:

How do you make your mixes as loud as commercial mixes?

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