Theory? presents: Music is TOO LOUD!

[Theory?]

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1878724.ece

A great article on the matter. It's what people in the music industry often refer to as "the loudness war" and it's a very big issue.

[ZippyDSMlee]

So is that why everyone sounds drowned out you can't hear the singer for the music or the music for the singer, or it that just crappy engineering/artist of today??

[Theory?]

Its a combination of both, really. New technology has made it possible to set up a "recording studio" in your basement for as little as $0 (with piracy involved). This means that any joe ****head can mix his buddies lousy emo band and call it a "record". Since these jackasses have no idea how to PROPERLY mix anything, they just do everything in their power to make it loud, because everything else is loud, so loud must be what's good...right?

Also, the music industry doesn't really trust people to turn their music up. I don't really know when that happened, but that's the case these days. They want the music to be loud enough to hear in all settings, especially ones where the listeners can't "turn it up". Settings like malls, ice cream shops, diners, etc. Their goal is to make sure you hear the songs so that all your attention is focused on their product.

This is the sad state of the music industry today. Enjoy your music.

[ZippyDSMlee]

Its a combination of both, really. New technology has made it possible to set up a "recording studio" in your basement for as little as $0 (with piracy involved). This means that any joe ****head can mix his buddies lousy emo band and call it a "record". Since these jackasses have no idea how to PROPERLY mix anything, they just do everything in their power to make it loud, because everything else is loud, so loud must be what's good...right?

Also, the music industry doesn't really trust people to turn their music up. I don't really know when that happened, but that's the case these days. They want the music to be loud enough to hear in all settings, especially ones where the listeners can't "turn it up". Settings like malls, ice cream shops, diners, etc. Their goal is to make sure you hear the songs so that all your attention is focused on their product.

This is the sad state of the music industry today. Enjoy your music.

"ZOMG it loud it good it cost more it better!"

>>

I do like my fair share of "shtty" tunes (pushier sound track) and have a couple of spineshank songs I like, but I hate it when "normal" music is well shtty. >>

[Theory?]

The name of my business is quality so I can't tolerate lossy music, walls of sound, and other engineering no-no's anymore. It pains me far too much.

I like it when I get to turn my music up, it's that sense of excitement I get when I listen to music. "Oh here's the best song" etc. then I turn it up. These days though, I don't need to. In fact, I find that I'm turning the music DOWN more than up, and that's really lame.

[ZippyDSMlee]

The name of my business is quality so I can't tolerate lossy music, walls of sound, and other engineering no-no's anymore. It pains me far too much.

I like it when I get to turn my music up, it's that sense of excitement I get when I listen to music. "Oh here's the best song" etc. then I turn it up. These days though, I don't need to. In fact, I find that I'm turning the music DOWN more than up, and that's really lame.

My ears suck and ring at night I dunno if their are broken are breaking or if its some form of Tinnitus, I still like music to be crisp and varying within itself..you know music not assault of noise.

[Theory?]

There is something called the dynamic range of music. It's the space between the noise floor and the ceiling (the level where peaking begins). This range is being filled to it's breaking point, creating this flat sound where every element in a song is equally loud as the rest. This eliminates what's often referred to as the "air" in a track.

Instruments in the modern recording studio are recorded in a vacuum. The only instruments that get room mic'd are drums, and sometimes that's not even the case. For the most part, all instruments, vocals, etc. are close-mic'd so the sound has no time to naturally mix with the air and the other instruments around. It's immediately recorded the second it leaves the speaker, or element or whatever you're micing. This isn't to say that close micing things isn't a good technique, because it is. It's a much better technique than micing JUST the room. The problem is, what you're supposed to do with that raw sound is you're supposed to use it to make each instrument stand out in the mix, then you add reverb and possibly a room mix (if you have one) to build up the space in which the instruments are going to occupy. However, this isn't being done anymore. Engineers are just churning out louder and bigger sounding material because it's what's selling.

Then, add the compression and loss of bandwidth that comes with transcoding and you've not only got loud music, but you've got loud music with no high-end (where all that "air" lives). It creates this artifical barrier between the listener and the music. It's there, I can hear it, and it drives me BONKERS.