Loudness Wars - ITS YOUR FAULT!

[KT1]

It's been a while since i have seen anything about the Loudness wars. Seriously its getting to be a joke!

The same people moaning and preaching ' i love transients, I love 90's music' are the same people moaning post master ' it's not as loud as the latest jay-z joint'. No shi%.

Slapping an L2 on the 2 buss and cranking it till the flipping high end is tearing the space between my ear and brain into granular and un even peices of mush is not cool!

Peeps - this shi% aint getting better if you all dont stop and make a stand! insist that the quality and sonics of the song are priority.

I was listening to an old playlist the other day - some new stuff and some older stuff. It was unconscious but i was turning down the new stuff to match the old. Not once did i try and crank the old ''hmm it's not loud enough'.

We are damaging peoples hearing. It's beyond a joke!

I know this thread aint gonna help mut it's the moan zone and i fancied a Moan..again..about this topic..

[Happy Musicfan]

I will not complain about your complaint since I too have been experimenting with ways to get things louder and louder while continuously stating my respect for dynamics and transients.

It really is the ultimate temptation - so hard to 'just say no'.

[KT1]

Originally Posted by Happy Musicfan

I will not complain about your complaint since I too have been experimenting with ways to get things louder and louder while continuously stating my respect for dynamics and transients.

It really is the ultimate temptation - so hard to 'just say no'.

Exactly - It's so dissapointing. I feel like i want to compete in some respects but am always dissapointed by the end result when i request a competitive output. My most recent project which will be going into mastering soon - I have opted for quality over quantity - let's see what my feelings are once complete.

[Scottn]

I read this thread right after I finished mastering a track way too loud. lol

[KT1]

Originally Posted by Scottn

I read this thread right after I finished mastering a track way too loud. lol

HAHA! Actually i was having this discussion with a friend (M.Engineer) and he told me to shut up haha! He said that from an industry point of view its actually a lot better now. It's the electronic DIY masters that are abusing us!

I mean we know loud music gives you the impression of energy etc. It's just a compounding effect. It's only as loud as a reference. We should have some kind of limit as regulation haha!

[tonemaker]

I truly agree with ya KT1. My personal regret is all the old tunes that I made that have sh*tty dynamics because I didn't know any better at the time. First I had to be woken up to actually using a limiter instead of clipping. Then I had to be woken up to using headroom instead of having to limit so hard. But I think it was hearing the massively overcompressed brostep and complextro tracks on SoundCloud that really woke me up in a bad way.

It's truly a shame. A lot of good music has been "wasted" this way.

And you are right, between the Brostep accentuated midrange and the overcompression and people wearing headphones and MP3 lossy compression noise, it's a vicious cycle making people even more deaf and hard of hearing.

[NotchontheRocks]

I think "Loudness" is part of the music culture. Now that listeners are predominantly using IPods, mp3's, ITunes, and other digital methods, music is becoming more of a "background noise" type of thing. They listen in cars, while browsing the internet, at work, and in any other situation you can think of. Squashing dynamics is almost necessary to keep the listener from clicking a new song. As long as they hear something energetic, they'll keep listening. The moment they hear a quieter section of a song that requires them to stop what they're doing and pay attention, they shuffle their IPods and get back to what they were doing.

Unfortunate.

[T_R_S]

So what do you do when the label tells you to make it loud.
BTW the label is paying you as well.

[KT1]

Originally Posted by T_R_S

So what do you do when the label tells you to make it loud.
BTW the label is paying you as well.

That's a sad dilemma. That's why I wish it was regulated.

Sent from my HTC Desire S using Gearslutz.com

[tonemaker]

Can't you turn your hand across the compression knob and fake it like is done in the studio? ehe placebo effect for the label anyone?

[KT1]

Originally Posted by astroidmist

Can't you turn your hand across the compression knob and fake it like is done in the studio? ehe placebo effect for the label anyone?

Yeh - or just turn the damn thing UP!! then play the reference at lower volume .

[Scottn]

So does anyone think the loudness war will end soon? I'm guessing records will continue to be loud-as-hell but it will begin to sound better. I actually enjoy loudness when done well and not too harsh. Audiophiles will hate my guts for it though

[KT1]

Originally Posted by Scottn

So does anyone think the loudness war will end soon? I'm guessing records will continue to be loud-as-hell but it will begin to sound better. I actually enjoy loudness when done well and not too harsh. Audiophiles will hate my guts for it though

Its only really an issue in the private masters these days. Back in 2003 ish it was mental everywhere.