LUF loudness for spotify and youtube

[alexhedleymusic]

more confusion setting in as i finish this master... im bringing down the output volume by just dragging the automation down on the master output track but multimetre readings arent getting lower which i dont understand. now if i listen to a song on youtube my master is virtually the same (before mine was a bit louder). the stereo out volume has gone down but the readings on the multimeter are not going down. i have pressed reset on them as well to get a new reading but the true peak is not moving down and neither is the lufs. confused!

[The Elf]

Make sure your meter is post-fader.

If you are inserting the meter in the output channel it may default to pre-fader (it certainly would in Cubase).

...and if you're having to turn that master fader down it suggests that for the future you may need to reconsider your recording levels and gain management. But this is a discussion for another time...

[alexhedleymusic]

Make sure your meter is post-fader.

If you are inserting the meter in the output channel it may default to pre-fader (it certainly would in Cubase).

...and if you're having to turn that master fader down it suggests that for the future you may need to reconsider your recording levels and gain management. But this is a discussion for another time...

post fader metering is switched on(default in logic) so i still cant understand why this is happening. i dont think i have to use the output fader i just dont think i know what to use so this is what i assumed to use. everything was recorded at a good level with no clipping etc. i dont know. i mean if i listen to a song on youtube and my mix is coming through at roughly the same level this should be ok shouldnt it? all getting a bit confused but surely if my mix is coming through the same volume by ear as other mixes on youtube then i should be safe?

[alexhedleymusic]

Make sure your meter is post-fader.

If you are inserting the meter in the output channel it may default to pre-fader (it certainly would in Cubase).

...and if you're having to turn that master fader down it suggests that for the future you may need to reconsider your recording levels and gain management. But this is a discussion for another time...

post fader metering is switched on(default in logic) so i still cant understand why this is happening. i dont think i have to use the output fader i just dont think i know what to use so this is what i assumed to use. everything was recorded at a good level with no clipping etc. i dont know. i mean if i listen to a song on youtube and my mix is coming through at roughly the same level this should be ok shouldnt it? all getting a bit confused but surely if my mix is coming through the same volume by ear as other mixes on youtube then i should be safe?

it would assume that what youve suggested is hapening though so il look at how to make the multimetre pot fader in logic

[The Elf]

everything was recorded at a good level with no clipping etc.

As I said, that's a discussion for another time, but it isn't simply about not clipping. There are 'good levels' and 'good levels'.

The main thing right now is to sort out that metering so it's telling you the truth.

[RichardT]

As an alternative to using the master fader automation to control the master volume you could try a gain plugin pre-fader to bring the volume down. If that affects the meters you then know you have them pre-fader.

[James Perrett]

Keep the master fader at 0 and use the master limiter to adjust the level (or a volume plug-in before the master limiter if the level hitting the master limiter is too loud).

[alexhedleymusic]

As an alternative to using the master fader automation to control the master volume you could try a gain plugin pre-fader to bring the volume down. If that affects the meters you then know you have them pre-fader.

Thanks a lot! this has worked. Appreciate it!

[Drew Stephenson]

As you can tell, there's a lot to take onboard in this recording/mixing lark. If you're planning on doing a lot of it I'd recommend getting a solid grounding in what's happening. Mike Senior has an excellent pair of books called Mixing Secrets for the Small Studio and the companion Recording Secrets... and I would definitely recommend springing a few bucks on them.
If you're in the UK, there are also a couple of people on the forum (Zukan and The Elf) who offer 1:1 tuition at very reasonable rates and an afternoon with them will give your skills and knowledge a huge boost.

(I have no commercial relationship with any of the people mentioned above, but I do own books/ebooks from Mike and Zukan and have had direct tuition from The Elf.)