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Modern mastering sounds like ass

It just does.

It infuriates me to see people jizzing themselves on forums over how loud their favorite "pros" can get their tracks by squashing them in a limiter and EQing every last sound to death. It's to the point now that I prefer the sound of old vinyl rips to the sound of digital re-releases of old records, which often sound like they have been thrown through a compressor at a high ratio in order to keep them in line with "today's sound" -- "today's sound" being hypercompressed ass.



This is Max Graham's mix of Tilt - "Twelve." Notice how two thirds of the way through the volume builds up. That's because it's a crescendo and the emotional and energetic climax of this particular track. The volume is supposed to build up in a crescendo. That's what "crescendo" means. A generation of musical retards is unaware of this because for all their short musical lives they have been listening to records that have been turned to ass through poor mastering practices, where every part is as loud as everything else and the breakdown is as loud as the parts with the kick and all the percs, and think that a track with a kick that peaks at anything less than -1dBfs could not possibly "rock a club." Well, maybe it could not penetrate into their iPod-deafened ears and brains.

End rant.

I agree with you mate.. Stop this squashing nonsense!

BTW, Tilt's "Twelve" was released in 2005. There are bad examples from that time period as well, but the trend has gotten significantly worse in just the past four to five years, IMO.

If you want to start a new dynamics / quieter label - start one.



Seriously, I'n not having a go, but just wonder why people don't seek to fix a whole if they think it needs fixing. Elton John bemoans the modern sound - so why does'nt he show us a new way with his own label and academy then?

I like the energy of modern music - above&beyonds track 'Miracle' I saw on a scope and it was way less dynamic than the one you post, totaly squashed to death but it still sounds nice and emmotional.

The track 'love the city - detroit' whatever it is, is an awesome lesson in pumpaliscious energy and way compressed.

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Butler If you want to start a new dynamics / quieter label - start one. Seriously, I'n not having a go, but just wonder why people don't seek to fix a whole if they think it needs fixing. Elton John bemoans the modern sound - so why does'nt he show us a new way with his own label and academy then? I like the energy of modern music - above&beyonds track 'Miracle' I saw on a scope and it was way less dynamic than the one you post, totaly squashed to death but it still sounds nice and emmotional. The track 'love the city - detroit' whatever it is, is an awesome lesson in pumpaliscious energy and way compressed.

Are you sure you aren't an A&B fanboy?

I don't think overcompression is just about the loudness war anymore. It think it offers a quick fix to sounds that don't have a sufficient texture that "pop." It isn't really so much about volume because after someone buys a track they can match up two tracks with the volume knob.

well i look at it as tools compression,eq and reverb are plugins i use at the bottom to help build things up nothing more or less

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Butler If you want to start a new dynamics / quieter label - start one. Seriously, I'n not having a go, but just wonder why people don't seek to fix a whole if they think it needs fixing. Elton John bemoans the modern sound - so why does'nt he show us a new way with his own label and academy then? I like the energy of modern music - above&beyonds track 'Miracle' I saw on a scope and it was way less dynamic than the one you post, totaly squashed to death but it still sounds nice and emmotional. The track 'love the city - detroit' whatever it is, is an awesome lesson in pumpaliscious energy and way compressed.

I seriously couldn't understand anything from this post.

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Originally posted by Mr.Mystery I seriously couldn't understand anything from this post.

???? I understood perfectly

quote:

Originally posted by Richard Butler If you want to start a new dynamics / quieter label - start one. Seriously, I'n not having a go, but just wonder why people don't seek to fix a whole if they think it needs fixing. Elton John bemoans the modern sound - so why does'nt he show us a new way with his own label and academy then?

I have no talent, and no money to start a label to sign people who do have talent.

There are the occasional tracks that benefit from massive compression, usually stuff with a sparse, "sharp" sound like some techno where lots of compression will not distort things as much. Lush and full stuff like trance and prog does not benefit, IMO. Turning the waveform into a rectangle makes them sound like ass.

quote:

Originally posted by Ian Gomes ???? I understood perfectly

I'm happy for you.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles I have no talent, and no money to start a label to sign people who do have talent.

...and another small digital amongst the countless existing labels wouldn't solve the problem anyway, especially when you consider that it is primarily the mega-labels feeding the masses excessively loud mixes that is the real problem.

I think that most people, subcontiously precieve louder music to be "better". If you take a quiet song and compare it to a louder, mastered track, the avrage listener would think that the song with the louder "boom" is better.

It's not just within the EDM world either... the infamous "mastering" of the latest Metallica album literally made my ears hurt so much I still haven't managed to listen to it in one sitting.

grimlock want loud

Mono does great work with dynamics, that's one of the main reasons why I like them.

I honestly don't think it's important in EDM as long as all of the elements work together. Andy Blueman's songs probably all look like rectangles as a waveform, but everything comes through so well it doesn't matter.

quote:

Originally posted by Mr.Mystery It's not just within the EDM world either... the infamous "mastering" of the latest Metallica album literally made my ears hurt so much I still haven't managed to listen to it in one sitting.

Yep, rock records may be even worse these days. Here is a snippet of "Turn On Me" by The Shins from the album Wincing The Night Away:



It's mastered like a fucking punk record or something, yet if you've heard the band before you know that they don't have a particularly aggressive sound at all. Totally inappropriate, and sounds awful.

found this article quite interesting, ive recently compressed the hell out of my mixes only to 'normalise' it, it kinda feels like that 'trance energy' compression sound they put onto live shows and sets that gives it that fuller sound, but in songs themselfs yeah it does lose that dynamic sound and everything sounds squashed.

short version : topic, agreed.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Yep, rock records may be even worse these days. Here is a snippet of "Turn On Me" by The Shins from the album Wincing The Night Away: It's mastered like a fucking punk record or something, yet if you've heard the band before you know that they don't have a particularly aggressive sound at all. Totally inappropriate, and sounds awful.

The song in question, for reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIRmyfKOAfM

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Mono does great work with dynamics, that's one of the main reasons why I like them. I honestly don't think it's important in EDM as long as all of the elements work together. Andy Blueman's songs probably all look like rectangles as a waveform, but everything comes through so well it doesn't matter.

I just bought one of Blueman's songs off Beatport. I made two ~30 second samples, one from Witness Of Wonder - "Emotion In Motion" (Thrillseekers Mix) and one from Andy Blueman - "Everlasting." Both samples are cut out of the loudest parts of the tracks, just after the breakdown when everything slams in:



^ Thrillseekers on top, Blueman on bottom.

Now the samples:

Witness Of Wonder - "Emotion In Motion" (Thrillseekers Mix) sample
Andy Blueman - "Everlasting" sample

Second one sounds awful to me, almost like static, in spite of the fact that it is much louder.

All the elements come through clearly, though, that was my point. Nothing is lost in the process.

Everlasting might not be the best example, though, that whole album was mastered a bit more obnoxiously than his remixes lately. The World to Come or L' Acrobat are probably better examples.

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Nothing is lost in the process.

...except all possible dynamics.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Andy Blueman - "Everlasting" sample

omfg that was horrible

quote:

Originally posted by floyd741 omfg that was horrible

Yeah...I thought it might just be youtube but, it's not. Mix sounds like baby mush.

quote:

Originally posted by floyd741 omfg that was horrible

reminds me of Vectrex - Meteor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDU4nBXLDG8

that everlasting sample sounds harsh. Really harsh! horrible

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