Unsolvable Mastering Problem

Hey Y'all. Let me get straight to the point.

I've been trying to Master some tracks and everytime I ended up in the same way. The problem is, My Mix was made with Master Output Fader set to -10dB.

It sounds silent, but no distortion. If I bring it back to 0.0dB, It gets extremely distorted.

I bounced it while the Master Fader set to -10dB, opened up a new session to Master the Bounced File to get it louder.

I managed to get my Desired Loudness by using some Mastering Tools like Ozone, FabFilter Pro L-2, but at that time it became "Too Loud" according to Logic's Level Meter (+10dB Redzone) so when you bounce it, it becomes extremely distorted.

If I limit it to 0.0dB with FabFilter Pro L-2, It sounds like it's getting Side chained or something. If I disable the Mastering Plugins that causing distortion, it sounds silent again.

So literally I can't find a way to Master It Properly. It sounds Well-Mastered when Playback (+10dB Redzone), but when it comes to bouncing, distortion shows up. Anyone knows how to do it properly ?

You're telling where the Master Fader was set, but you don't tell how loud your mix actually was/is. If your mix was peaking at +11, then you have been clipping the output by 1 dB even with 10dB reduction in the path. And no, you can't just turn up a mix that has already been clipping by 10dB.

 

What's your mix's Peak value ? What's its average RMS value ? What's its Loudness value ?

Typical Fuzzfilth: attempts to solve something clearly labeled "unsolvable".

Here is a Screenshot from the loudest part of the track, without Limiting and Dynamic Processing, with Waves Mastering / Gain Plug-ins. It's not clipping when Playback (maybe a little bit). But When I Export It as it is right now, it gets extremely distorted. Sorry for late response tho.

The track itself has Dynamic Processing, I was talking about Mastering Plug-Ins I used here.

It's not clipping when Playback (maybe a little bit).

 

So you think +10.9 True Peak above zero is a little bit of clipping???

You are at -3.1 LUFS. No wonder everything you bounce is distorted.

 

I really don't know what you're expecting not to happen when you're limiting your mix by that much.

If the mix is really peaking at +9dBFs, if the RMS value is really at -2.1, if the Loudness is really at -4LUFs with Momentary of -0.9, then the mix is absolutely smashed beyond recognition.

 

In plain terms - you're *way* too loud.

 

A mix must never actually clip, because any playback device might react vastly different to full scale clipped audio and you cannot predict how. What might sound nice and crunchy on your system can (and will) sound absolutely horrible elsewhere. Peaks should not go above -1dBFs, better -3dBFs if using lossy compression like MP3.

 

Loudness on streaming platforms like youtube, spotify etc. is normalized to (-14) - (-16) LUFs so you're way off with -4LUFs.

Edited July 24, 2020 by fuzzfilth

How can I achieve this Loudness without getting to these levels ? It sounds as loud as the tracks I listen to (and I'm not listening to Metal) but levels are saying it's extremely loud. I really appreciate if you share a way to achieve this loudness without getting to these levels.

Compose properly (avoid conflicting voices)

 

Arrange properly (don't layer 15 so-so pads on top of each other when one good one would be needed)

 

Mix properly (find or create frequency pockets where sounds can live without getting in the way, learn proper dynamic treatments)

 

This can't be taught in a forum post or a youtube tutorial, it's a years-long journey which you may or may not be able to complete to satisfaction.

Mixdown Then. Thanks!

Thanks @DavidNahmani!

And @triplets , @fuzzfilth too!

And @triplets , @fuzzfilth too!

 

Sure thing! Please report back when you've improved your mix.

You're welcome.