Hey Bob,
Wow, not sure where to start on this one. Thank you for the kind words...and you're welcome.
Some last thoughts on loudness: No you don't have to supply any pics. I was just concerned when you said "two straight lines". That to me could have meant:
a) You may not be sending your tracks to a master bus and it's just showing two, no signal lines. (you can have a master bus and not have your tracks routed to it. Enabling wave form preview would give you two straight lines in this scenario)
b) you're square boxing/rectangling from being too loud (is that a word? It is now darn it! LOL)
I have personally always looked at it like driving a car. Drive it as fast as you can control it. Some speeders really can't drive at high speed. Though none of us should speed, most people drive in a straight line and don't do well with braking or turning. Therefore, they shouldn't even think of speeding because they may hurt an innocent person.
Like driving under control, loudness can be loud...as long as you don't degrade the quality and keep it under control. I have a CD produced by David Rosenthal (Rainbow/music director for Billy Joel who also tours with him) in the 90's with a band called Red Dawn. The singer Larry Baud and I go back a long way. We used to play together and he too is from NJ in a town about 15 minutes from me. Anyway....
This CD is one of the best rock/metal CD's I own. Another thing about it....it's one of the loudest CD's I own. It clips on everything I play it on...BUT...I never physically hear clipping. So in a situation like that, if you feel like making something super loud....make sure it still sounds good. This CD maintains quality to me and still has dynamics. I don't know how they did it or what went on to get it that way. When I asked Larry, he said he just recorded his tracks and David did everything else. So whatever they did....I'd probably have to try and get a hold of David to find out...which now that I think of it, may not be a bad idea if it's even possible. LOL!
At any rate, mix as loud as you feel the need to mix or master. Just keep your quality in mind and make sure you don't have pumping or breathing due to limiter/compressor over-use....and make sure when something is supposed to be dynamic and more quiet, that it remains that way. I still like that you are choosing to ignore the square box advice from others. BUT...as much as it pains me to say this, there are *some* forms of music that can get away with clipping and even bad fidelity. Some guys just like that sound. I have a punk band I'm working with that wants that sound. So....I have to keep them happy.
However, their music doesn't sound ruined. It sounds loud, aggressive, and a little dirty because of their style....not because I am using a limiter to kill them. They aren't trying to enter a loudness war...they are working on an identity...which to me, is a little different. We're not entering Metallica waters....so we're loud, but we're not hideous. :)
On the numbers thing: Again, go by what you hear, not what you see. Most sane albums today or classic rock albums being rte-mastered average from -11dB RMS to about -16dB RMS. They may peak at -10 or -9 dB RMS. It all depends on what they decide. I say use your ears. I do what I do...and look at the numbers to see how I did. I never go for anything specifically. I know how far my limiters can go and I try not to push them. For certain styles of music, I go lower...for others, louder. But the only times numbers make me decide things are:
1. Some clients for TV or radio ask for specific things. You have to be on for stuff like that due to the processing that goes on AFTER you do your thing.
2. I do check for clipping, DC offsets and anything that may look weird. That said, I try not to act on anything that looks weird (other than a possibly clipped sample...which is usually a harmless transient...but it's a warning sign to be concerned with that I usually fix just in case) unless it SOUNDS weird. For example, DC offsets (when extreme) are not good to have. I remove them during processing. After they are removed at the finalization stage, there may be a DC offset of .001% on one side. 1/1000 of a percent is nothing to worry about. So I leave it. The less processing, the better.
3. I like to get both of my channels in the wave form reading the same -0.3 final output at all times without normalizing. If it doesn't read that, I look into why. But again....if it sounds good...leave it unless you notice a major left/right volume offset.
The numbers, like eq analyzers, are just guides. It's rare for me to act on something I see over something I hear unless it's the 3 things I mentioned above. Same with analyzers, I don't look at an analyzer unless I need to. When I need to, there's a reason...which I will probably attempt to fix something based on what I *see*. The same for "numbers". Don't let them rule what you hear. I used to have a list of numbers that I wanted to achieve because of Bob Ludwig and his consistency. I gave up on them because....I'm not Bob Ludwig and those numbers are hard to get unless you know how he is getting them and have the same gear. Use the ears man....they are the best tool you have.
Boost 11: Yeah it's just not a very good final limiter for me....or the stuff that I do. It gets dirty faster than it gets loud and consistent. It works, I just don't like it. Yeah the PSP is pricey...but you don't need it. The concrete limiter in Sonar is good enough in my opinion. I use it for all my pre-production stuff and it works just fine.
Insight about me: You're too kind man....thanks so much and I'm glad to have helped you! I wish everyone would take me that way. One of the worst feelings is to be taken wrong. I've not written a book as I don't think anyone would be interested, but I have archived quite a few articles on my own forum that you are welcome to read for the price of....signing up for the forum. Totally free...you just can't see it all until you sign up. :) Quite a few goodies taken from posts I've done all over the net.
As far as the mentor thing, if I see you post something on here....I'll do my best to try and help you. If you become a student of mine via "services" part of that package is you get me for life to analyze and help you with your material. It's hard to dedicate the time some people need for free. Trust me, if I had that time Bob, I'd do it. I've done it in the past. But one of the things that hurts is...it was too easy for people to take advantage of and I'm actually a sincere soul (until someone decides to be a Richard Cranium) that has feelings. I'm busy running two studios, I do consultations, recording lessons, mastering, video stuff....it's just hard to do anything without blocking someone time for a price. Every 30 minutes, costs money. I'm all about a schedule that I have to handle or I'm working at Booger King.
You have to own a business like this to understand it. It's not just about money....it's about survival in a time where I'm lucky to be able to have income from this. I worked hard to build it up like it is and it's paying off thank God. So I have to be careful. I have people that book with me a year in advance for some things. There is always something happening...so I have to control the time as well as be more selective in who I help. I've been hurt a few times too....and once you get hurt, you don't even want to come on a forum and help anyone. The downside there is....me staying away affects the people that DO like what I have to say. So I try to hang around here and there. :)
Nah, it doesn't take me long to post these novels. Thankfully, I type like a lunatic and can do about 75 words per minute or more. It sounds like a machine gun over here. LOL! :)
Anyway, thanks again for the kind words and the conversation. Good luck with what you're doing and I'll be looking out for your posts when possible. :)
-Danny