Loudness Wars

Mike Butler · 5th February 2007

Hi Kevin,
First I'd like to tell you how much I've enjoyed reading your posts in this Forum. I am a big fan of your work and it's a joy to get such wonderful insight on some of my favorite records.

I was hoping to get your thoughts on the trend in Mastering to make everything louder than everything else.

From your posts, it seems you have a great deal of control over who masters the records you work on, which is great, but do you ever experience pressure from labeles to turn in "Louder" records? Thanks for the great posts!

Kevin Killen · 6th February 2007

Mike,

Thanks for the kind words, if I keep reading all this stuff my head is going to swell.

I am very fortunate to have a significant influence over who masters my work, its something that I value very highly indeed.

There has been a constant ramping up of pressure not just from labels but artists themselves about the overall level on records. With all the hardware and software devices out there its astonishing to see how far an album can be pushed.

Some if it can be wonderfully compelling but after a while a lot of it begins to sound like white noise to my ear. My rule of thumb is "you can always add more level through compression, but you can never take it off". Therefore I apply an overall amount that is appropriate for the arc of the project and when the label complains I tell them to just lean over and turn up the volume ! Believe me , it sounds so much better.

Maybe that is the reason why I never got asked to do the last Megadeath record...

5th February 2007	#1
Mike Butler Gear nut Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: SoCal Posts: 77 Thread Starter	Loudness Wars Hi Kevin, First I'd like to tell you how much I've enjoyed reading your posts in this Forum. I am a big fan of your work and it's a joy to get such wonderful insight on some of my favorite records. I was hoping to get your thoughts on the trend in Mastering to make everything louder than everything else. From your posts, it seems you have a great deal of control over who masters the records you work on, which is great, but do you ever experience pressure from labeles to turn in "Louder" records? Thanks for the great posts!

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6th February 2007	#2
Kevin Killen engineer / producer / mixer Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 312	Mike, Thanks for the kind words, if I keep reading all this stuff my head is going to swell. I am very fortunate to have a significant influence over who masters my work, its something that I value very highly indeed. There has been a constant ramping up of pressure not just from labels but artists themselves about the overall level on records. With all the hardware and software devices out there its astonishing to see how far an album can be pushed. Some if it can be wonderfully compelling but after a while a lot of it begins to sound like white noise to my ear. My rule of thumb is "you can always add more level through compression, but you can never take it off". Therefore I apply an overall amount that is appropriate for the arc of the project and when the label complains I tell them to just lean over and turn up the volume ! Believe me , it sounds so much better. Maybe that is the reason why I never got asked to do the last Megadeath record...