When mixing and mastering loudness always plays an important part in production decisions.
In our mixing and mastering studios, we get a lot of pressure to make music LOUD. Sometimes it works out really well. Other times, making music louder and louder just mushes up the dynamics. It depends on the flexiness of the limiters and compressors used in the mastering process. It is possible to make a song very loud but still be punchy. It takes a really good mastering engineer to make that happen.
loudness wars
"The Loudness Wars refers to mixing and mastering techniques that squash music's natural soft-to-loud dynamics. Obviously, you can control …"
http://news.cnet.com/8300-5_3-0.html%3Fkeyword%3Dloudness%2Bwars
What do you think about the Loudness Wars? Do you try to make your production sound as loud as possible? Do you think the beat itself plays an important role in the loudness of the song? Let us know what you think.
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