Without getting too technical, this is about the final stage of music production, the mastering of a track. This can be traced back some time, even back to old jukeboxes playing 45s where the mastering engineer would be encouraged to make the record louder than any of the others, thus making it stand out more in a crowded bar. The technical limitations of vinyl however kept this in check to some degree. Yet with the rise of the CD over the last 20 odd years, engineers have been pushing the levels of perceived loudness to the technical limits of digital technology.

I've traced this back roughly in digital terms to Electronic's first album, and the same mastering engineer went on to produce Oasis's first 2 albums, flying the flag for a new wave of 'loud and proud' which is persistent today.

What's wrong with loudness I hear you shout?
Nothing... if that's what you like. However, this has been both a commercial tool and a case of engineers simply following suit as they're loath to let other artists have louder records by comparison, especially if a tune appears in a compilation in case it makes theirs seem wimpy, and A&R men and record labels seem to have the engineers by the balls to make it sound how they want because at the end of the day it's also about record sales. Quite simply, many mastering engineers have sold out for the buck.

What's essentially happening is the dynamic (the difference between the loudest and quietest parts of a tune) is being removed by over-compressing, squashing and crushing the music and bringing the whole overall level of the tune up to as loud as it can go. This removes much of the emotion that a natural dynamic can create, and also decreases any warmth in the sound quality, rendering the overall feel sounding quite harsh. This has become so drastic, that even metal fans are complaining that it's too loud. Metallica's Death Magnetic album was almost the pinnacle of this with many fans complaining about the horrid production and demanding it be re-produced. Yet by some ironic twist, Avril Lavigne is louder than Metallica and Katy Perry is louder than Megadeth!

This also creates problems with radio play. Have you noticed how so much music now on the radio sounds horrible? It's not just because it's generally pop music. The radio station adds it's own compression & other processing to the music as part of its broadcast, meaning any track that has already gone through the extreme mastering process I've outlined above simply ends up more distorted and harsh. It also means that the beginning becomes as loud as the end of any given track, despite any intended nuances in volume.
Many songs & albums that have been 'remastered' have also undergone this process..... but it's essentially remaking the music not how it was supposed to sound.

Research proves that overall loudness does not sell more records, or make a tune sound more appealing. It has also proved that this craft creates ear fatigue quite quickly, meaning people get bored & lose interest in the music because their ears grow tired.
I rest my case.... end the loudness wars & bring the dynamic back into music! Er, write to your MP!

Here's a visual representation;
top, how the tune is with its natural dynamic. Below, how the tune becomes after heavy processing.

so what about

dawnbreak wrote:
That would be an example of a natural sounding dynamic without heavy processing. What I'm talking about does tend to be aimed at certain genres of music; it certainly wouldn't be appropriate in a ballad like that or in classical music. It would make it sound ridiculous.

Space Bandit wrote: That's perfectly true but you omitted to mention that 'Close To You' is blatantly engineered too loud because you can still hear it.

If all amps went up to eleven problem solved no?

oioioi wrote:
Not so simple wid yo woofs and tweets bro' , we gotta make de ground shake

Tits and ass sell records now apparently according to Miley :p
The music is ofc irrelevent.

andyh wrote:
Been like that for a long time bro'.......

jhado wrote:
True enough, now blatantly so ofc.

oioioi wrote:
Loudness isn't much of a problem in the recording stage. But when everything becomes loud in the production stage the tune loses its ability to have much punch..... for example, you might want the kick & snare drum to drive the tune & they would generally be the loudest parts in a song. But when everything else rises to the same volume they lose their clarity.
The Killers are a prime example of this technique, along with a few other shouty indie bands that I find difficult to listen to because of it. Some of their tunes are probably pretty good, but I find it tiring to listen to for very long.

jhado wrote: Put your topless Susan Boyle pics away son, there's gentile ladeez and Abs use this forum too y'know.

andyh wrote:
Yeh sex can help to sell loads of other stuff too!
If you like music just because of the rack on display it's like being hypnotised I suppose!

great op

may i perchance suggest that the cessation of the loudness war is extended to tv adverts?

may i also suggest that radio 4 is actually taught what a compressor is? on the regular trips to get the kids i often listen to r4 plays. in an effort to keep the dynamic range realistic the engineers leave the quiet bits quiet. in a car with road noise that means you have a choice. miss the quiet bits altogether or be deafened by the regular bits

would i be right in saying that the harshness of an over mastered track also involves things like bass maximisers and the control that adds a bit of 'sheen'?

knobmeup wrote:
Yeh adverts get complained about a lot because they're so much louder than the broadcast program. It's pretty obvious why they do it, it's essentially the same as what's been happening to music in that nobody would want their advert to be quieter than the others and therefore less noticeable. Plus, a lot of people get up during ads to put the kettle on or go to the bog, so its also an attempt to reach further around the house! It's fucking annoying, because I used to enjoy drifting off in front of the telly - now I get woken up by Barry Scott shouting BANG! every 15 mins or so.
I don't listen to much Radio 4 so I can't really comment on that, but it is the engineers job to ensure that the output is comprehensible for as many types of output as possible; eg, on a crap decorators radio, in an office environment, in the car, or just on a home stereo etc. It seems though from what I've been reading is that radio engineers (and mastering engineers who are creating tracks designed for radio play) are not taking into account the fact that everything is going through extra compression, EQ, and limiting processing as part of the radio broadcast.

The loudness 'brick wall' effect can be achieved with all those mastering plug ins yeh. If you're careful with them you can keep the dynamic and still add a lot of power to a track, but it's easy to be fooled into thinking it sounds better because it's louder. It can also be achieved using analogue-digital converters with a 'soft clip' meaning you can drive the gain levels as much as you want. Mastering is a very acquired skill & takes most engineers a good long time in the music industry before they're considered competent. But that skill is basically being taken away from them by simply just making tracks as loud as they can possibly go... and it's just ruining what would otherwise be decent music.

It's interesting you bring up Oasis as an example. I remember buying "Definitely Maybe" back in the day and then listening to it in the car. My only memories of that album was what an awful noise it was and only ever listened to it once or twice. I ended up giving it to my sister as a present instead.

Have a listen to this - they don't make 'em like this anymore. There's something about the way the trumpet blasts it way in at 2mins 47 seconds. Fantastic.

yes end the lochness war