The Loudness Wars: Why Music Sounds Worse
Though it’s a few years old, this NPR article is one of the best mainstream examples that is bringing attention to the Loudness Wars. The PDF Infographic on the left is a great visual that outlines how Peak and RMS levels in popular music have been steadily creeping higher and higher over the years.
I had the pleasure recently of attending a mastering session at M-WORKS with the talented Jonathan Wyner. We, along with the artist, decided to retain as much of the original dynamics as possible instead of playing into the loudness battle. The end result is an incredibly punchy record with excellent depth that can be listened to at loud volumes without being fatiguing.
A great example of this is Bob Ludwig’s work on Guns ‘N Roses Chinese Democracy. Ludwig discusses how the band chose a master he printed that contained NO compression that was used for loudness. He also discusses a similar approach when mastering Tool’s 2006 release, 10,000 Days.
Some of my favorite records over the past few years that have had great commercial success, while also maintain a fairly wide dynamic range:
Mastering Matt Nakoa’s debut record at M-Works in Cambridge, MA by the wonderful Jonathan Wyner.
Recording Bach - St. Matthew Passion with Grace Design’s m802 and m902.
Microphone setup as follows:
Decca Tree L, R: DPA 4006
Decca Tree C: Schoeps MK21 Wide Cardioid
Choir: Schoeps Figure 8 - Faulker Array
Choir Wide: Sennheiser MKH20
Recording the Símon Bolívar Big Band.
Eric French - Old City Blues EP #1
Eric French has released the first of several EP’s leading up to the release of his full-length sophomore release, “Old City Blues”. Check out the tunes below:
Location recording mini-rig. #audio #recording (Taken with instagram)
Here’s a piece of gear I haven’t turned on in awhile. I remember using these daily less than 5 years ago, but now, I only use them if it’s on a Tech Rider for a touring group.
New addition to the mic locker. Sennheiser MKH8040s.
I’ve been using these for several years now on orchestras and jazz ensembles at my full-time gig, but I was finally able to swap my old Schoeps cardioids to add a pair to my own collection.
If you’re familiar with DPA (B&K) 4011s, these have a very similar sound, but with an output that’s roughly 6dB hotter.
These sound fantastic on drum overheads, percussion, piano, acoustic guitars, horn/string sections, and almost anything else you can throw at them. They’re also modestly priced compared to other small diaphragm condensers with a similar build quality and sound.
Making The Most Out Of Pro Tools' Color Palette
My good friend Frank Charlton of Halftone Productions posted this last year. It’s a great primer on organizing your Pro Tools sessions to grasp what’s happening in the session at a glance. While I have a few differences in the way I set up my sessions (specifically different types of Auxes and SubGroups), the foundation is pretty much identical.
