The QUESTION of MIXING, MASTERING and LOUDNESS.

At the opposite end of the recording process, we have mastering, and it is here that we have to face the thorny question of loudness. Over the years, various strategies have been employed to try to make mixes sound loud when played next to another artist’s work, usually involving some pretty assertive compression and limiting. When used carefully, compression and limiting can help knit the elements of a mix together, making it sound more polished, but sadly commercial record studio/companies often pressure mastering engineers to push the subjective loudness of mixes to such an extent that real damage is done. The practical outcome of which is that the consumer finds the mixes harsh and fatiguing to listen to. Why such a quest for loudness? Radio play is part of the equation, naturally you want your record to sound just as loud and appealing as all the other commercial releases. However, radio stations usually add some fairly hard multi-band compression of their own, so that an over-limited mix can end up sounding truly horrible. The use of MP3 players to play songs in a random order, rather than as albums has increased the pressure to keep mixes loud. Experienced mastering engineers using the very best equipment currently struggle to make their mixes sound listenable at the loudness levels record companies and artists demand, so it comes as no surprise that those trying to make their home recordings match the level of commercial releases using only basic plug-ins often spoil their music in the mastering. Maybe it’s time to say ‘enough is enough’ and do what’s best for the song is not simply what makes it loudest. JC-RECORDS have been recognized as the best studio for producing amazingly great sound.