Dead_Room (2024)

FAQs

How much dB should you leave for mastering? ›

Headroom for Mastering is the amount of space (in dB) a mixing engineer will leave for a mastering engineer to properly process and alter an audio signal. Typically, leaving 3 - 6dB of headroom will be enough room for a mastering engineer to master a track.

A room is said to be acoustically 'dead' when it contains a great deal of sound absorbing material, such that there is little or no REVERBERATION, and strong ATTENUATION of high frequencies. The extreme of this situation is the ANECHOIC CHAMBER. Sound in a dead room will be dull and lack PRESENCE.

The computer will show you a grid of dots and numbers. These are used for the number lock on the wall to the left of the computer. The lock will show you a pattern of blinking lights that you must use the computer to decipher (9 8 7 5). Input this number combination into the number combination safe from earlier.

The acoustic requirements for control and mix rooms are essentially the same. In either case, we want a room that adds no sound of its own so we can listen to the recorded material without any coloration.

So, the answer is, that you can master your music to -14 LUFS or louder, up to -7 LUFS. It's not a great idea, though, to master quieter than -14 LUFS.

Most mastering engineers recommend that the digital peak levels in your mix should stay below -9 dB FS or -6 dB FS. This will form the headroom; you should leave it for the mastering engineer to work with your song.

(Note: The numbers on the cards are different every time you play. Additionally, 1994 will always work as the code.)

“Liveness” refers directly to reverberation time. A live room has a long reverberation time and a dead room a short reverberation time. “Intimacy” refers to the feeling that listeners have of being physically close to the performing group.

When you need a dead room, close the curtains… pulling them over doors, windows, wood furniture against the walls, pictures, etc. Once you understand your room a little better, you may want to close just one wall, partially close another, or open opposite facing walls depending on your microphone placement.

Ideally, your mix should have a dynamic range of around 6-8 dB. This range allows the mastering engineer to make enhancements without encountering issues like distortion or excessive compression.

What is a good loudness range for mastering? ›

Regarding loudness, A good setting would be from -9 to -13 LUFS with the dynamic range reading on LEVELS not exceeding 8DR. With over 100 million people using Spotify, it's crucial to make sure your music is heard in its best light. Consider this, the loudest your music will ever be heard on Spotify is about -14 LUFS.

Personally, I've had the best results using the recommendation that Ian Shepherd gives in his free Home Mastering Guide, which is to have the short-term loudness hitting no higher than -10 LUFS at the loudest parts of your songs. Then, adjust the levels so that the loudest parts all playback at the same level.

Slowly raise the volume on your speaker/audio interface/monitor controller until you reach somewhere between 70 dB (for a small room) and 85 dB (for a large room). Do not calibrate at a level higher than 85 dB.