This Video Demystifies The Loudness Wars

We've all heard about the loudness wars, but what does the term actually mean? Matt Hepworth uses WaveLab plus some commercial tracks to show you just how loud music has got - and what to do about it.  

WaveLab is a mainstay of audio editing and particularly mastering, and a great tool for performing all kinds of mastering tasks. In this video from the course  WaveLab 101: Introduction To Mastering, Matt Hepworth explains the issues surrounding something you will probably have heard of but may not know all the details of - the loudness wars. 

Although producers have for many years been engaged in a race to make music louder and louder so that it "stands out" against other tracks, the net result of this has actually been that music ends up sounding worse since it has had all the dynamic range squeezed out of it by excessive limiting and other processing. Matt explains why this is sometimes done, plus why it's not a particularly good idea and what you can do to spot it and avoid doing it yourself. It's well worth checking out, along with the other mastering tutorials in this video course.

Watch the full course WaveLab 101: Introduction To Mastering in the Ask Audio Academy here. 

WaveLab 101: Introduction To Mastering

WaveLab: Everybody’s heard of it. Lots of people use it. And now you can see this feature-rich software in action. Intro to Mastering in WaveLab—by Steinberg Product Specialist Matt Hepworth—takes you through an audio exposition detailing how this über-popular program works.

You’ll first learn about WaveLab's set-up and layout and how to configure and optimize your computer to get the most out of WaveLab. Next, Matt dives right into mastering concepts and how they are implemented. He shows you how to win the Loudness War and how to add punch and shine to your tracks the WaveLab way.

From there, Matt explains the rendering and dithering process and how to apply the final touches both on a single track and a collection of tracks.

So if you’re interested in maximizing your mastering skills and adding that final polish to you productions, this Intro To Mastering In WaveLab tutorial will help you get your tracks ready to shine!

Watch the full course WaveLab 101: Introduction To Mastering in the Ask Audio Academy here. 

Hollin Jones was classically trained as a piano player but found the lure of blues and jazz too much to resist. Graduating from bands to composition then production, he relishes the chance to play anything with keys. A sometime lecturer in videographics, music production and photography post production, Hollin has been a freelance w... Read More

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