-6 Short-term LUFS is where you have it at? Damn, I was pulling my hair out trying to get my mixes louder than -5.4 at Short-term. My loud tracks tend to hit -3.8 Momentary LUFS, because that generally sounds as loud as my reference MP3s. And it's the loudest I can get my stuff juuuuust before it starts distorting. Still sounds a bit soft for my liking though, but I think my problem might be an EQ one...
For me, the #1 reason was not enough midrange. One simple thing you can do to address this is a technique I call "parallel upward midrange compression." I'll create a send with a linear phase EQ like Fab Filter Pro Q3. And then I'll bandpass it so it's letting just the midrange through (I usually do 800 hz to 8K). That's running into an upward compressor. I like Waves MV2 because it's really simple to use. I raise the upward compression slider to about 12. Then I feed my entire mix into this send. So after it passes through the bandpass I'm essentially upwardly expanding ONLY my midrange. I then feed as much or as little signal into the send as I want. Regular parallel compression is also effective, especially if you apply it to just the midrange heavy instruments (guitars, vocals, snare, etc.). But I've found that the parallel upward compression technique is even more useful. Tbh, I usually do both. My mixes are now at around -7 to -9 LUFS. That is plenty loud for commercial purposes. I used to struggle to get my mixes over -16, even with an aggressive limiter.
yes, I’d confirm that it’s a good idea. i usually do something similar: use both parallel compression and expander sends. • the one with parallel compression is the one I usually selectively send some of the mid-range sources to (vox, gtr, etc); • a parallel multi-band expander with the lowest and the highest bands muted, so there’s only midrange left - 2 bands in particular. but the difference between the first send and this one is that I’d send the whole mix to this one as opposed to selective sources for the first send. if configured the right way and creatively with all the timings (attack/release) complimenting each other and blended to the main signal it works like a charm to the whole mid-range and mix in general, also giving some surprisingly pleasant additional movement in dynamics and “thickness” to the resulting output. i would highly recommend to play around with this concept, chances are you’ll be able to make it work for your productions.
You're missing the fundamental problem here, which is two fold- Streaming services are turning down based on LUFS anyway, so higher LUFS doesn't mean it will be perceived louder by audiences, and further, LUFS aren't a great measure of perceived loudness anyway. Its great for things like commercials, but terrible for something like say, hip hop with a lot of low end in your car. The actual secret to loudness is FEWER elements, and if you don't believe me, go check out the top 40 and tell me how many wall-of-sound records you hear on there. Edit: Although, you are correct that if you squeeze everything into the midrange, you can certainly have more perceived loudness with lower LUFS. But is that how anyone wants to approach music?
Check ur mid side , all tutorials , not this one , says cut the sides from kick snare etc....just load a commercial release and check its side details , you will find all these.....dont make ur mix thinner....apply and you will be blown away
indeed this os like freaking awesome!! i cant understand who this informative awesome channel only has less than 10k subs!! you need MORE! and deserve WAY MORE
It may give you a penalty, or it may not. Penalty is a weird word to use for this because it's not really putting you at a disadvantage. If the song you're working on sounds the best with limited dynamic range then that's where it should be. Let the streaming services decide if they want to turn it up or turn it down. Each service does what they want and as of right now they are not all unified. They also change all the time, so if you aim for a Target and that target changes down the road, your music stuck at that level which may no longer sound good. But if you mix it to the loudness where the song feels the best regardless of what the streaming services do with it, it will still sound great. That's not necessarily the case if you mix it too quietly or put too much Dynamic range into your song. In those cases, some services will use limiters to increase the overall gain which can degrade the quality of your music. I'd much rather have them turn down a mix without changing any of the Dynamics then try to turn something up by squashing it with a limiter that may not sound great. Hope that gives some perspective from my end. Thanks for the great comment! Cheers 🙂
So I seem to have too much mid and the drums are totally doing the pumping thing where everything else gets quiet when the drums hit. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks for the help 🙏
It sucks, i don't know if its the whole mix or what. I'll use like a sample that i've heard on pro mixes. Theirs like has so much power it like punches me in the face. I use the same snare sample and its just, like whimpy, a crack with no beef lol. So frustrating. They aren't doing anything to make the Snare track ALONE loud are they? Or just whole mix? Its pretty defeating :(
In my humble opinion bass guitar is too quiet,guitars a bit thin, crash cymbals too quiet and snare sounds like a machine gun on fills(replaced with no dynamics on fills)
Right on, true, I can get loud ITB , loudness is not my ultimate goal. In conjunction with hardware, harmonics translate different! Thanks again for you video, 👍
What are YOUR TRICKS to make your music LOUD and COMPETITIVE?
-6 Short-term LUFS is where you have it at? Damn, I was pulling my hair out trying to get my mixes louder than -5.4 at Short-term. My loud tracks tend to hit -3.8 Momentary LUFS, because that generally sounds as loud as my reference MP3s. And it's the loudest I can get my stuff juuuuust before it starts distorting. Still sounds a bit soft for my liking though, but I think my problem might be an EQ one...
For me, the #1 reason was not enough midrange.
One simple thing you can do to address this is a technique I call "parallel upward midrange compression." I'll create a send with a linear phase EQ like Fab Filter Pro Q3. And then I'll bandpass it so it's letting just the midrange through (I usually do 800 hz to 8K). That's running into an upward compressor. I like Waves MV2 because it's really simple to use. I raise the upward compression slider to about 12. Then I feed my entire mix into this send. So after it passes through the bandpass I'm essentially upwardly expanding ONLY my midrange. I then feed as much or as little signal into the send as I want.
Regular parallel compression is also effective, especially if you apply it to just the midrange heavy instruments (guitars, vocals, snare, etc.). But I've found that the parallel upward compression technique is even more useful. Tbh, I usually do both. My mixes are now at around -7 to -9 LUFS. That is plenty loud for commercial purposes. I used to struggle to get my mixes over -16, even with an aggressive limiter.
800 to 8k is a bit high for midrange to me. I'd go 400 ... 6k
yes, I’d confirm that it’s a good idea.
i usually do something similar: use both parallel compression and expander sends.
• the one with parallel compression is the one I usually selectively send some of the mid-range sources to (vox, gtr, etc);
• a parallel multi-band expander with the lowest and the highest bands muted, so there’s only midrange left - 2 bands in particular. but the difference between the first send and this one is that I’d send the whole mix to this one as opposed to selective sources for the first send.
if configured the right way and creatively with all the timings (attack/release) complimenting each other and blended to the main signal it works like a charm to the whole mid-range and mix in general, also giving some surprisingly pleasant additional movement in dynamics and “thickness” to the resulting output.
i would highly recommend to play around with this concept, chances are you’ll be able to make it work for your productions.
You're missing the fundamental problem here, which is two fold- Streaming services are turning down based on LUFS anyway, so higher LUFS doesn't mean it will be perceived louder by audiences, and further, LUFS aren't a great measure of perceived loudness anyway. Its great for things like commercials, but terrible for something like say, hip hop with a lot of low end in your car. The actual secret to loudness is FEWER elements, and if you don't believe me, go check out the top 40 and tell me how many wall-of-sound records you hear on there. Edit: Although, you are correct that if you squeeze everything into the midrange, you can certainly have more perceived loudness with lower LUFS. But is that how anyone wants to approach music?
thank you for this comment
With a good mix , with enough head room and use of a clipper , will make ur track louder even at -14lufs
Im glad i found your channel. i been using logic 3 years, and I find alot of use in your videos.
Those are really cool tricks and I love them
I do the same thing sometimes, even if it clips a tiny bit
Check ur mid side , all tutorials , not this one , says cut the sides from kick snare etc....just load a commercial release and check its side details , you will find all these.....dont make ur mix thinner....apply and you will be blown away
Awesome Mr Bobby. Learnt something 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏
indeed this os like freaking awesome!! i cant understand who this informative awesome channel only has less than 10k subs!! you need MORE! and deserve WAY MORE
Ok this is why i subscribe to this amazing channel ❤️❤️🤠 Thank you sir for the amazing content
I love the first consideration. Good call.
That automation trick is Gold 💰
But LUFS at -6,7 will give you penalty on streaming platforms where most are -12 or -14.
Nb: a loud lead vocal and snare is important for a loud mix.
It may give you a penalty, or it may not. Penalty is a weird word to use for this because it's not really putting you at a disadvantage. If the song you're working on sounds the best with limited dynamic range then that's where it should be. Let the streaming services decide if they want to turn it up or turn it down. Each service does what they want and as of right now they are not all unified. They also change all the time, so if you aim for a Target and that target changes down the road, your music stuck at that level which may no longer sound good. But if you mix it to the loudness where the song feels the best regardless of what the streaming services do with it, it will still sound great. That's not necessarily the case if you mix it too quietly or put too much Dynamic range into your song. In those cases, some services will use limiters to increase the overall gain which can degrade the quality of your music. I'd much rather have them turn down a mix without changing any of the Dynamics then try to turn something up by squashing it with a limiter that may not sound great.
Hope that gives some perspective from my end. Thanks for the great comment! Cheers 🙂
,,,,,and the use off less reverb wil create a more “in your face” Sound that you will feel as louder.
Good work Bobby!
So I seem to have too much mid and the drums are totally doing the pumping thing where everything else gets quiet when the drums hit. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks for the help 🙏
Thank you so much.
Fantastic.
Wow
Always love your videos man!
It sucks, i don't know if its the whole mix or what. I'll use like a sample that i've heard on pro mixes. Theirs like has so much power it like punches me in the face. I use the same snare sample and its just, like whimpy, a crack with no beef lol. So frustrating. They aren't doing anything to make the Snare track ALONE loud are they? Or just whole mix? Its pretty defeating :(
You cant get "Loud" without having "Quite"
Had to learn this the hard way
In my humble opinion bass guitar is too quiet,guitars a bit thin, crash cymbals too quiet and snare sounds like a machine gun on fills(replaced with no dynamics on fills)
lol nice tricks, but you know much more goes into louder mixes, one being outboard gear, there is no way around it.
I think outboard gear is great, but it shouldn't be a limitation to getting a loud mix. Just different workflows. IMO, you can get loud either way.
Right on, true, I can get loud ITB , loudness is not my ultimate goal. In conjunction with hardware, harmonics translate different! Thanks again for you video, 👍
While others preach making songs not necessarily the loudest. 😏