Loud...is that what you mean?

I've been noticing a lot lately that my mixes...my songs, stuff that good friends of mine in the music industry, Grammy winners, proven, tried and true engineering guru's are putting together for me... are just not as loud as the other stuff I'm hearing out there.

And yes, people have mentioned it to me. Why is your CD quieter than JOBLOW's? So I'm going to take just a minute to address this to the folks who are asking. Why isn't your CD as loud as HIS?

When you record someone or an instrument, there are very quiet parts and very loud parts, just like when they performed it. You can actually see this in the 'WAV' form of the sound recording when working in most computer based recording formats. The way to make things LOUD is to take the quiet parts and make them louder (with a compressor/limiter or combination)...the loud parts quieter, then do that again, and then again...and one more time.......until there is no dynamic quality at all to the performance (just a flat line of sound, like that machine that tells you someone is dead) and then just push the faders up to 'BLEED' and put out a CD. LOUD CD! Is that the thing to do?...

So tonight I checked out some comparable recordings that I own and the stuff my friends like Kevin Rose, Eric Weaver and Joshua Blanchard are making for me. Here's what I found (and I'm not gonna talk about my performance, just the recordings):

I take 'the other guys' music and set the stereo to 5 and the songs are at the level that my ear can enjoy them...they sound ok, professional etc. but lack life.
There is an apparent, mechanical vibe to them.

I take my CD's and turn them to about 7/7.5 and the songs are at that same level as that other dudes...only guess what...? Tons of definition, lively dynamics and a really fulfilling mix. I get the vibe from the room they were recorded in...like a live concert...awesome job gentlemen. I enjoy the experience.

Conclusion:

I don't freaking care if my CD isn't as loud as 'THAT ONE DUDE'...turn your damn stereo up and enjoy the record. (and bands, if your engineer tells you your record is loud enough, say "OK")

That's just my opinion.
jf