Ableton Tutorial: Accurately Measuring Loudness (Mastering Tips)

Today we talk about mastering and why it is important to measure the loudness of your songs before publishing on streaming platforms like spotify. Loudness, which you can measure using RMS and LUFS, is sometimes a good indication of things being over compressed or limited. This is stuff you need to know if you want to improve the mixdown and master of your songs. I hope you like the video, and I hope I didn't screw up any math LOL! I'm sure you'll all correct me in the comments if I did.
Download Youlean Loudness Meter: youlean.co/youlean-loudness-m...
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[@Slynk]

LUFS: A little bit better of a "how loud does it feeeeeel" number. - Slynk 2020

[@FlowProdOfficial]

Kudos for taking on such an intricate topic. Really glad you're back making tutorials

[@Simrasil_]

The wait was worth it, thanks for providing all this valuable in depth knowledge to us plebs :D Definitely gonna try to apply some of this in my mastering from now on, I need to work on that anyways ^^

[@Akimbo.mp4]

8 months after watching this, my tracks are hitting -4 LUFS. Thank you, Skynk!

[@replicaacliper]

isn't that ridiculously loud

[@ElisaHarkins]

Thank you so much! I love that there is a free version of Youlean!

[@lucidvision6262]

Always great content Slynk! The FabFilter ProL2 has a great LUF analyzer built into their limiter as well 🙌🏽

[@maxhei]

Slynk delivering quality again and again!

[@dsquareddan]

Take a shot every time slynk says “how loud something feels”

[@AaronPayne_dnb]

Someone sample it and make a banger!

[@spethik]

Amazing content, Slynk. Keep it up, man!

[@jsonslim]

Thank you for such a lesson, I'm taking a mixing/mastering course and we have the lesson about loudness, and your video really helps with it.

[@guilhermebahia8749]

Thanks a lot for this master class, dude. God bless you and yours!

[@animazules2116]

what a nice tutorial! loved his voice and info

[@rimshott-shirts7762]

Hey Slynk! brand spanking new subscriber to your channel - just wanted to thank you for what you do (learning tons) - Dig your vibe! please keep 'em comin!

[@utarshamarpuri27]

Real good explanation, thank you for this.

[@skulkband]

Fantastic vid, thanks Slynk!

[@scamcircuit]

Killed it once again! (in a good way). Big ups!

[@BigWhitePerson]

Great tutorial man, thanks for the post✌️🤟🤘🖖

[@davidhalfar2275]

Your a legend slynk!

[@DemiGodsMusic]

Great video mate - gonna buy both your packs too. Thanks for all you do to help :)

[@ryanleyba376]

Great video. Thanks!

[@arisdiacolabrianos5867]

such a good tutorial, thank you!!

[@ObesityStupidity]

Thank you! Very educational

[@impauseable]

Exactly the video I was looking for which got recommended. Thanks 🥲😶‍🌫️

[@GooseTronics]

awesome video, grabbed them racks to show support! thanks yo!

[@storymodeonline6859]

This was really interesting to me as someone who has never known how to measure perceived loudness & dynamic range

[@JoshMatthewsMorgan]

The "coachella" of your ear. LOL love it! And thanks for this great tutorial

[@RmaNYouTube]

thanks, I was always hesitant to use any metering on my master besides ableton default meters, but now that I understand LUFS cue in K weightings I should definitely start thinking about using them.

[@__Nero__]

Really good explanation thanks man

[@markoss3876]

You thorough, thorough daddy!

[@TomRotherhamMusic]

this is such a good vid!

[@aristotleonassis5792]

Very informative. Thank you.

[@iamMTNofficial]

I always knew RMS stood for "Root Mean Squared".....but now I'm big brain with that glorious ms paint explanation of the actual math behind it 👽

[@Slynk]

Same.

[@Stickybudsmusic]

That Glitch Hop loop sure was an outstanding loop. Great video buddy I learned things!

[@Slynk]

Haha!

[@8BitThoughts]

Man this is super interesting! Thank you! More like this plzkthx

[@joeybtheman1906]

god bless papa slnk!

[@HavikenHayes]

Good stuff

[@SolStateMusic]

Been seeing Oliver using your racks! Props

[@leefbeatz2104]

LUv Evan !!!! Thank you for telling me to get myself a studio setup when u were in van airport two years ago on Facebook haha thanks Sir!! LUV!!

[@Sykotix]

That 4k tone LOL. Madman.

[@richardsomerville5725]

Good on you for taking on explaining a complex measurement process bro LUFS is def more accurate and we use that for our track measurements.People might also like to watch Bob Kat's lectures

[@7XHARDER]

Damn that mustache is funky 👍

[@maxreeves1828]

this comment is wayyyyyy too far down

[@matthewlorenzo4115]

Man your music on KZbin Audio Library is SICK AF!

[@resonatingergonomicsdnb2426]

Great tutorial. Good that you compared to Oliver. Isn't he the highest downloaded pack maker on Splice? The few samples Ive played around with from him are hot. Good that you analyzed his production against yours. Good reference. Nice to see Tonal Balance in action and see those curves. Thanks for your commitment to music production education.

[@RobySollazzo]

That was amazing. You are really a Pro with a capital P !

[@MaciejSuek]

Great video and explanation! But you should also consider lowering your TRUE PEAKS for streaming. Spotify recommendation is -1 dB TRUE PEAK. Your limiter is set to 0.3 and not TP which is cool for CD, not so much for streaming I guess.

[@peacefulpigeon7254]

Thanks a really helpful video - will be mastering my theatre soundtrack this week and will def use the youlean loudness meter. Any tips for cheaper alternatives to the tonal balance control - looks really cool. Cheers.

[@AaronPayne_dnb]

That 4k hurt, you son of a "How loud does it feel" 😆 All jokes aside lots of science in here, very intriguing!

[@Slynk]

But I heard you liked payne, Aaron.

[@AaronPayne_dnb]

@@Slynk dammit busted 😆

[@rustyrabbit7614]

So, this time you're an audio engineer with wikipedia? haha, very practical loudness plugin, I didn't suppose how little plugins on your master track!

[@briancase6180]

Not only is Oliver's song LOUD, but it's being *clipped* a lot. Look at the Youlean meter and notice the red dots along the top of the graph! I've noticed that really loud tracks tend to peak above 0db, which is bad conceptually, but it's actually a good thing for EDM: the clipping allows the music to be LOUD and we actually like the harmonic distortion the clipping causes (partly because we're *used* to it, we associate it with good music). Don't fear clipping, but *do* make sure you're aware of it. Notice also that you might master your song without any clipping but when it's encoded by an MP3 or other compressor, it *will* clip if you're within 1db or so of 0db. Pay attention, use the full dynamic range to achieve competitive loudness.

[@supasurreal]

Dude... that mustache is BOSS!

[@richardsomerville5725]

Run your tracks once mastered through the Loudness Penalty Meter to see how much your track will be either turned up or down by the streaming services.Its free web based BTW .

[@briancase6180]

Dude: Frequency masking is a critical part of compression strategies like MP3. They use a perceptual model and discard sound--the frequencies--that the model predicts a listener cannot hear. By discarding information, a perceptually equivalent version of the sound (music) can be encoded in fewer bits thus achieving compression. The whole loudness-perceptual idea is fundamental to modern encoding of streams of experiential information; that is, sound and video.

[@markderv]

Bro', that Mo'!!!!!!!!!........................epic!!!!!!!!

[@Jean_2000]

Good

[@DF-0997]

Не плохо !

[@FatherFunk]

Really insightful! Nice one bro. Did you get a new camera? Lookin crisp

[@Slynk]

Same camera. Slightly different angle. I have it closer to me face so it's more in focus lol! I would like to get a new camera at some point however

[@FatherFunk]

@@Slynk I have the same one but I find it hard to make it look good in my room, looks okay when I stream with big lights though.

[@Slynk]

Yeah. Turn the gain and the exposure down and then get a gratuitous amount of bright lights. That's what I do!

[@FatherFunk]

@@Slynk can't seem to do much tweaking on Mac for some reason, won't let me use logi capture or whatever and OBS at the same time.. lame!

[@Slynk]

Why do Macs suck so much ass?

[@dustinkirk4515]

Hey Slynk! Love watching your tutorials and it's great to see you back doing them. In terms of the ideal listening experience - which is better to master towards? RMS or LUFS? I don't intend on uploading my music to streaming services because of what they do to the audio - I'd rather learn the techniques of mastering 'high quality' audio. Is RMS the way to go?

[@Slynk]

Oh, I thought I spent 25min in this video telling everyone to use LUFS and not to use RMS! Regardless of where you release the music, LUFS are more accurate.

[@dustinkirk4515]

@@Slynk Yes it might be more accurate for perceived loudness - But am I right in thinking mastering towards RMS means a better listening experience on higher end systems?

[@Slynk]

No. Because rms is giving you a loudness value that is inaccurate. LUFS is giving you a loudness value that is more accurate. So of you're trying to balance loudness with a good punchy dynamic range, then it's better to use a loudness value measurement that is as accurate as possible. That way you can avoid over compression/limiting while also getting you song up to a solid loudness. It's like measuring your weight in cats vs kilograms/pounds. One of those readings is an accurate way to measure weight. The other one is nonsense. Ya get me?

[@Slynk]

Let me say as well just to clarify - both RMS and LUFS are mathematical equations that are attempting to calculate the same thing. Perceived loudness. LUFS are more accurate because to calculate LUFS, you're essentially using the same calculation for RMS except with like 10 more steps. If LUFS was a peanut butter sandwich, RMS would be the peanut butter. RMS is not a full sandwich, it's only an ingredient used to make a much better, more accurate sandwich. My analogies are fucking next level mate LOL!

[@dustinkirk4515]

@@Slynk Yeah I get that for sure - I guess I'm still confused with the whole 'loudness wars'. Isn't that how it started? BTW I'm no audio engineer dude, someone who is self-taught also. RMS more dynamic range and LUFS a more consistent 'loudness' - one not necessarily better than each other but both have their uses? I wouldn't say RMS is nonsense

[@Opus332]

i dont know. but could you explain how to mix snare into the mix, so it doesn't peak +2-3 dB when snare hits. for example in a genre where snare hits with kick at the same time (psytrance). Or it is okay and i should just go with it on mastering channel? Cheers!

[@jkbz23]

Like the content slynk...... Not so sure about the face furniture tho.... For a moment I thought one of your eyebrows had come down for a drinks.... 😝

[@Slynk]

Sounds like someone is jealous!

[@jkbz23]

@@Slynk hahaha.... I've gone completely grey in the last year (Well white)... I wouldn't be able to pull it off... Or... You never know.🤔..maybe Look fresha than fresh gandalf!.....✌️

[@Slynk]

Live your dreams and grow the stache homie!

[@proteus1]

Shame they don't adjust the amplitude for KZbin...I'm always getting loudness adjustments to do, via the volume control...

[@dare2funk]

It's odd, I analyzed some Kaytranada tracks and DJ Smokey/DJ Yung Vamp songs using Youlean. These tracks hit at around -7 and -9db. Not sure what to make of this, Is that too loud?

[@OpenToSuggestions]

If it weren’t for Slynk I wouldn’t be a music producer

[@TomRotherhamMusic]

you could be a cool uni lecturer

[@conorobrien3092]

you lean pro is the only thing that actually measures lufs. it measures thru your microphone but does not analyze track lufs

[@mimisaiko]

haha Slynk is good

[@maomao180]

I'm surprised you don't use any clipping in your mastering!

[@klausherbert3040]

Do you measure the loudest part of ur song or just the whole song?

[@Slynk]

You would want to check the loudest part of your song. The drop and the build up. That is the most important :)

[@richardsomerville5725]

Its Kok clee a

[@jsonslim]

✌🥸✌ - how loud it feels

[@briancase6180]

Do you know about loudnesspenalty.com? It's useful for us.

[@briancase6180]

It's LUFS, not LUFT. LUFS: Loudness units, full-scale. LUFT: the last name of a screen star of the early 20th century (Lorna Luft, look her up; follow the yellow-brick road...).

[@SeattleDjs]

I wondered about that, but then I thought. Hell, send it! No prob Slynk.

[@Mordecore]

wait....music is about creativity and expression? damn it......

[@killacamfoo]

The loudness wars killed a lot of otherwise good music.

[@fierrosound]

Dear Slynk, we've been using equal loudness contour for mixing and mastering for more than 50 years now. Too bad you've just discovered them, but that's just the path of self-taught man, i guess. (Not shaming you or anything)

[@Slynk]

It is inaccurate to assume that I've only now just discovered them because only now I posted a video about the topic. The path of self taught is the only path I had available to me. That's why I chose to make these videos, to help others who are restricted to the same path as I was.

[@fierrosound]

@@Slynk Oh, sorry then, but it definitely like it was the case. Anyways, my bad!

[@macboogieland2897]

hate the moustache and the hat is so cringeworthy omg