25-02-2022, 04:11 AM
Personally I do feel it is more useful to reference tracks in the same or similar genres to stay on track. I find different genres of music are actually approached really quite differently with respect to the volume and tonal relationships between kick/bass/instruments/vocals etc. It may not be so helpful if you pick reference tracks that are maybe stylistically quite different to what you are aiming for.
I don't think you would approach a hip-hop kick the same as a Jazz track for example. It can sound a bit odd when people try and mix dance music the same as a rock mix for example. I would also approach the final limiting and loudness differently for different genres too.
Regarding the -14 LUFS - as far as I can tell certainly Youtube just seems to turn down the volume a bit based on the length of the track. I don't see any fancy algorithm that is doing any more than this as such? Rock tracks still seem to be mixed loud and seem to be around 6-9 LUFS in practice from the tracks I have checked?
I do feel you get a certain sound from pushing things a little, and I find it is a common sound for a few genres. I find the side effects from pushing a mix can also help you spot problems in a mix and actually help you to work towards getting a cleaner mix. So I see nothing wrong in experimenting here with trying to learn how to make loud mixes. I find subjectively 'better' mixes maybe don't tend to fall apart so much under heavier limiting as such.
(I have read that the top pop mixers do actually limit their songs quite heavily deliberately so the mastering engineer doesn't have much room to change their mixes).
Anyway, these are just a few thoughts that I found useful to consider.
How loud are your suggested reference tracks, and how would you say the OP's mix compare with those?
Cheers!
I don't think you would approach a hip-hop kick the same as a Jazz track for example. It can sound a bit odd when people try and mix dance music the same as a rock mix for example. I would also approach the final limiting and loudness differently for different genres too.
Regarding the -14 LUFS - as far as I can tell certainly Youtube just seems to turn down the volume a bit based on the length of the track. I don't see any fancy algorithm that is doing any more than this as such? Rock tracks still seem to be mixed loud and seem to be around 6-9 LUFS in practice from the tracks I have checked?
I do feel you get a certain sound from pushing things a little, and I find it is a common sound for a few genres. I find the side effects from pushing a mix can also help you spot problems in a mix and actually help you to work towards getting a cleaner mix. So I see nothing wrong in experimenting here with trying to learn how to make loud mixes. I find subjectively 'better' mixes maybe don't tend to fall apart so much under heavier limiting as such.
(I have read that the top pop mixers do actually limit their songs quite heavily deliberately so the mastering engineer doesn't have much room to change their mixes).
Anyway, these are just a few thoughts that I found useful to consider.
How loud are your suggested reference tracks, and how would you say the OP's mix compare with those?
Cheers!
Just uploaded a mix/master? Waiting for comments? Why not give back and critique a mix/master, or two!