Between the two tones, you can hear the 1000 Hz much more clearly. Play two tones at the same level / meter reading-one at 50 Hz, and another at 1000 Hz. And by bass, I mean signals (grossly-speaking) below 150 Hz or 100 Hz compared to mid-range signals between 500 Hz and 3 kHz.īut if you look at a standard VU meter, the levels don't reveal anything about perception. One of the things we learn very early in audio engineering practice is that we can't hear bass as well as we can hear mid-range. Critical listening & thoughtfulness are always key. Understanding this phenomenon can help you manage more loudness out of your masters, but be careful about compromising the music by sacrificing too much of the low end. Human ears are naturally more sensitive to mid-range frequencies compared to the low-end, as explained by the classic Fletcher-Munson curves study which eventually evolved to today's ISO-226 equal loudness contour standard. Timbre or distribution of energy across the frequency spectrumĪnother crucial factor to the perception of loudness involves timbre, specifically the ears’ sensitivity to certain tone colors over others. The Importance of Monitor Gain in Audio MasteringĪre You Listening? Episode 2: Your Listening Environment If we set our monitor controller fixed to a singular/calibrated level, now we're understanding the sound and the way that it will translate to the end user.” Another way of saying this is, if we, in our mastering studios, are constantly turning our monitor volume up and down, we lose our anchor and point of reference. So we have to set some kind of standard for ourselves and our listening environment. “The whole point of accurate monitoring & metering is to be able to anticipate how a record is going to translate when it does get out into the world. We’ve also discussed the importance of setting a fixed, calibrated playback for our monitors when mastering. Metering tools such as Insight 2 & Tonal Balance Control equip us with a better picture of the overall sound of our masters (frequency response, tonal balance, stereo imaging, loudness, etc.) Although metering is absolutely crucial, it can only be effective insofar as we allow our ears to make accurate, informed decisions through an optimal listening environment.
This also ensures that the loudness we’re aiming for in mastering translates effectively into the marketplace and to the listeners’ ears. We rely on the accuracy of our listening environment and metering tools for us to make conscious, effective mastering decisions that best serve the music. Factors that directly influence loudness in mastering Monitoring & meteringĪccurate monitoring and metering are fundamental to the mastering process.
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