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Originally Posted by MattGray  Great post... This is how I look at the level situation too. The mix determines the finished mastered level as far as I'm concerned. If the mix sucks then you aren't going to get it anywhere near commercial levels before it falls apart & sounds whimpy. If the mix is crafted well & made to sound good with level in mind, it can be very easy to to take it there without it sounding bad.
Matt |
Totally, also as well usually these are the best arrangements too. Sometimes everything just works and there is no problem going just a tad further. Usually if I find myself pushing things too loud I know it's time for a cuppa tea and a 20 minute break and then come back have a listen and edge things back a bit.
I did a demo master for a rap CD a few weeks back and the vox were way to harsh on the highest peaks which were robbing him of a potentially loud and also better master(not meaning louder as better), so I advised him to do a day remixing just the vox gain staging (his plugins were clipping) and after he finished it was way better and very easy to push a fair bit louder without being harsh at all. The whole lot of songs were perfect at around -12 to -11 RMS.