I'm trying to put together my first "single" for my music project. i've done demos in the past, with decent enough results... but am really trying to take things to the next level. that saying however, needs to be taken with a grain of salt as i'm still DIY'ing it in my apartment.
anyways, as i'm getting over the hilltop and starting to see an end in sight for the first track... i'm beginning to fall prey to the loudness wars. i mean, part of me wants to say, screw it, i'll take dynamics and balance over volume. but another part of me thinks, well the track is blatantly amateurish because its not as loud as a standard song. and, couple that with the fact that when you put it online and they lower the bit rate (ie - myspace, etc), it'll just be exaggerated.
so....i say all that, to ask this:
1. Will it make a difference if i track in 16 vs 24? Will that make the track more dynamic and give it more headroom to be louder? I currently track everything in 16bit on my old school Mbox 1. Is that holding me back?
2. If i pay for mastering, would that bring the loudness up for me in a way that keeps my mix balanced, but makes it bang with the rest of them?
dont get me wrong, i dont expect to get the same sound as the pro's from my little apartment setup, however, i just wanna do all i can to get the most from my tracks at the moment. i'm sure thats what everyone else here wants too... we're just all at diff levels (experience, equipment, etc).
anyways, as i'm getting over the hilltop and starting to see an end in sight for the first track... i'm beginning to fall prey to the loudness wars. i mean, part of me wants to say, screw it, i'll take dynamics and balance over volume. but another part of me thinks, well the track is blatantly amateurish because its not as loud as a standard song. and, couple that with the fact that when you put it online and they lower the bit rate (ie - myspace, etc), it'll just be exaggerated.
so....i say all that, to ask this:
1. Will it make a difference if i track in 16 vs 24? Will that make the track more dynamic and give it more headroom to be louder? I currently track everything in 16bit on my old school Mbox 1. Is that holding me back?
2. If i pay for mastering, would that bring the loudness up for me in a way that keeps my mix balanced, but makes it bang with the rest of them?
dont get me wrong, i dont expect to get the same sound as the pro's from my little apartment setup, however, i just wanna do all i can to get the most from my tracks at the moment. i'm sure thats what everyone else here wants too... we're just all at diff levels (experience, equipment, etc).
