Bob Katz about the "loudness war" part 1

[feelytouchy67]

I remember Julian Hirsch mentioning back in the "old days" over and over how important it was to make sure when having hosting a speaker comparison that the actual decibel level remain exactly the same. The slightest increase almost invariably resulted in said audience choosing the "louder" speakers as "better." But remember that upon the advent of even the 1st CDs there already was a huge NEGATIVE reaction by Vinyl lovers to digital -& this is prior to the db levels increasing!

[SPAZZOID100]

I appreciate the topic, but an audio engineer should have know how to better record his voice for this video presentation!!

[mr4y]

@SPAZZOID100 He's a mastering engineer. Blame TC Electronic, since they recorded the video this way. Or maybe AES didn't allowed them to pull audio feeds from the presenters mics.

[danisokra]

if i was tc electronic i would not put my brand on this shitty recorded video...even when bob katz is on it

[LiquidChem]

@danisokra dude its just a presentaion, hes a speaker, it isnt hollywood. this isnt michael bay. its just information and the quality is fine for that

[AgentHomer]

it's the AES and the sound is awful :-((((

[bucktoofus]

The point he tries to make at 4:20 is incorrect. Turning up all your faders isn't the same thing.

[LiquidChem]

how so? that happens to me all the time! especially with bass parts, then trying to get the drums louder, then the synth needs to come up, and before you know it, all the levels are the same in relation to each other, only at a higher gain now... get it?

[mr4y]

@bucktoofus That's additive mixing.

[tomintroy]

For all the concern of sound quality, the Mic on this guy is awful!!!

[mr4y]

@tomintroy Is not the mic. The camera is picking the PA speakers sound. There's no audio feed going directly to the camera.

[marcusphotina]

I should say I am an amateur in this stuff, but... All these compressors people are throwing in on every track to "get it to fit".. I never liked that. They EQ and compress the hell out of every sound to get them to fit instead of finding a sound to begin with that fits in the mix without having ot use to much processing. That is when it starts to sound more dynamic and natural. That is what I think anyway.

[five5x]

The loudness war is such bs. Is there any point to it anymore when albums sales have dropped every year since 2004 or earlier I believe. If it's not selling more albums each year then what is the point to it all. Reality is it just pisses people off who notice the clipping and compression and makes me want to buy less cd's.

[joshuaharl]

@synapticflow.. sounds like you are already doing what he is saying works.



[joshuaharl]

experience is 90% smarter than raw vibe.. need to consume more.

[joshuaharl]

re genio.. this guy is a fucking genius

[MrDemilord]

he is the 2nd best mastering engineer after Steve Hoffman

[bs1313a]

Thanks Bob!! Great insights.

[MandeepGadgetBoy]

this guys a DON !!!

[worldwideMCM]

While all the kids think FRUITY LOOPS is the greatest thing ever, I'll keep listening to Bob.

[cristisas2003]

@worldwideMCM FRUITY LOOPS IS NOT THE BEST THINK EVER , BUT IF YOU KNOW IT ENOUHT , IT GET'S THE JOB DONE :)

[davidboy777]

@cristisas2003 I think so too :)



[AeonFlexMusic]

@worldwideMCM how can you watch a video like this and say something so ignorant? he's talking

about volume and loudness and you're talking about FL Studio? Lol pay attention. Oh and you'd cry

if you knew how many big name producers use FL Studio

[worldwideMCM]

@AeonFlexMusic whoa there, it def was not to meant to be takin the way you made it out to be. All I was saying was the information here is MUCH MORE valuable compared to how to make a scott storch beat or a whoever beat on Fruity Loops videos. All I'm saying is I like my videos with this amount of substance.

[AeonFlexMusic]

@worldwideMCM agreed, that is why I am here. However your statement can be easily misinterpreted. :3

[JwPStudios]

lol Hmmmm.

This was the Wrong Thing to Watch As a Beginner,

il be back in the Future BoB,

[thebeatinventor]

Bob is right "loudness" is a drug, Look what it did to him.....................a little stiff now, no but he is a genius.

[synapticflow]

I'm so discouraged. I am a techno musician who like dynamic range and refuses to boost his music to 0db. I am told by my peers that I will be a failure because I don't go for max volume, regardless of the fact that my music is pretty good.

[gamesDAMNED]

@synapticflow Every successful artist faced resistance and criticism by their peers. The truth is that nobody has a monopoly on the truth. Trust your own instincts, trust your gut. Music needs to be dynamic, not crushed into a cube. And there will be a backlash, sooner or later. What you need to do is A) continue to create music for Maximum Dynamics, and B) advocate for dynamics as much as possible. Build your name as the champion of "Maximum Dynamics." Yeah, go with that meme, my friend.

[keltik0420]

@synapticflow Right there with ya, absolutely despise the loudness war

[Alwaysbaggyjeans]

@synapticflow you should do whatever you like. What's cool today won't be cool tomorrow. I grew up listening to house, acid house, techno, progressive house, etc, I stopped going to clubs and listening to dance music when all this overcompressed crap tooke over

[iannowacki]

@synapticflow Totally respect your opinion however 0dB is the absolute peak, the track wouldn't be there all the way through. Think when your at a club and the techno is banging at it's peak, would you not feel let down if the DJ brought in a track and it was noticeably quieter than the last? The real skill is having your peak volume at 0dB (or even momentarily stretching that boundary) but still retaining dynamic range. I don't mean to preach sorry! (I'm pretty rubbish at mixing/engineering)

[dubified89]

@iannowacki Yes, I've noticed that too. As long as the majority of the recording is under 0 db. That's the way a lot of cds were in the early 90's, the best combination of power + dynamics. Overly quiet isn't that good either, like the original Van Halen cds.

[LiquidChem]

@iannowacki youre absolutely right, most people commenting here dont know what theyre talking about! but yes, anything over 0dB des not exist! there is no such thing! raising over that point only deletes the information that would have ended up above 0dB.

people can test this out- record a sound at a low input value, around -6dB. now amplify 10 decibels, and do that ten times. now tell me if you still recognize the audio.

[mr4y]

@LiquidChem Don't forget that 0dBFS is different than 0dBVU. You can pass pass 0dBVU, but not 0dBFS.

[freemanitoba]

@synapticflow I've never heard your work, but am a fan for life. Keep the audio clean!

[mr4y]

@synapticflow Don't let those envious bastards stop you from doing what you like.

[freezazoid]

5:50 loudness only trumps sound quality if you're a/b'ing. Otherwise sound quality trumps loudness because if I"m in my car and I wan't the material to be louder... I simply turn up the volume. But if the material sounds like crap then I'm up the creek with out a paddle. But I guess he means when you a/b material. But again... all you have to do is make sure you're a/b'd material is the same db. Problem solved.

[canitasteyou321]

@freezazoid

I agree to both you and Bob. The louder mix seems better in the short term, but then it starts to get fatiguing. So that's why digital singles should be compressed for public listening, but CDs and albums should be dynamic.

[MrRenealexis]

I'm really paying attention.

[imadhaha]

cant believe this has only had 2 views, this guy really knows what hes talking about and the industry needs to listen