We all know how important the low end is - and how tricky it can be to get right.

And a common thread I see in the tracks I’m sent to master is that in general there isn’t enough. I think I know why this happens, and the answer is Fear.

Well, maybe “fear” is a bit too strong, but people are definitely nervous about adding too much bass, and it’s easy to see why:

Too much bass makes things sound heavy, lumpy, stodgy, boomy… the list of negative labels goes on and on.

But here’s the thing - if your master doesn’t have enough bass, it can sound weak, hard, brittle and thin… which is just as bad !

So, how do you get it right ?

Two of my most popular videos in the last few years have been about Billie Eilish.

And that’s no accident, for two reasons. First, I think she’s an amazing artist, and I love her music. But second, I think her work is really clever and interesting, on many different levels. 

And one of those levels is the loudness !

Having said that, some of the details in the first of my videos aren't accurate any more, so this email provides an update. The first video is above in case you haven't see it yet.
 

As far as I can tell, 95% of the music you're hearing online is normalized, in 2022.

But what does that mean, and how did I come to that conclusion ? And most importantly, why should you care ?

Mastering for Dolby Atmos is a complicated topic, but one I'm really excited about. The video above is an interview I recorded with Justin Gray from Immersive Mastering about the challenges and opportunities of working with dynamics in Atmos and for Apple Spatial Audio.

It was originally a live broadcast as part of Dynamic Range Day 2022, so we focused heavily on discussing the implications of loudness and especially dynamics in the format, but there's also a ton of helpful information in there about many other aspects of mixing and mastering for immersive audio, and there's been so much interest in the topic that I've decided to re-share the video here, as well.

I hope you find it useful and interesting - and if you want to find out more about Atmos, be sure to connect with Justin on Facebook - he's really knowledgable about all aspects of immersive audio, and super-friendly and helpful as well, as you'll see from the interview !