The 2 tunes that are going on this release are stylistically, sonically, and musically very different, and so besides getting them to sound fantastic on their own, the goal is to make them work together as a single release.
so, with that said-- 1 mix is pretty loud, topping out at -2 or so. I was also sent a mix of stems for this one, which gives me a bit more leeway to make certain midrange decisions. The other mix is much quieter, and also a less-agressive tune, so i need to do some tonal balance to both to get them to gel together, yet hit where they need to hit and have a clean, full low-end.
NONE of this has to do with the inherent volume, level, RMS, or peaks of the original tunes. As a mastering engineer, yes, I have more space to work with if you don't have peaks going into distortion or an RMS so high that i can't create a fuller-feeling tune. But if you're going for a loud-sounding mix... honestly, forget about it.
I use gain, much like most other ME's, to sculpt the tone of a song, and i'm forever turning things up coming out of 1 process, and then turning it back down to get another tone out of another process. I may want to hit something with transistors fairly hard because i know i can shave off some peaks and get a clean-but-edgy presence out of the song that way, and then use something with tubes in it to make the low-mids seem fuller-- but just barely drive those tubes. I might clip my converter going back in to get a dB (which rarely works for me tho i know it does for plenty other folks), and then bring it back down in the digital domain so that I can add a lot of high end.
etc, etc. The only time "Volume" really matters is at the absolute end, when i start bringing things up against a limiter or compressor and judging how they compare, level-wise, to reference material... but otherwise, the actual volume of a track is a very small part of my concern.
what DOES concern me is getting the right tone in a song, getting the right balance of weight, clarity, and impact, and on down to extremely nerdy shit like absolute phase.
so in short-- it's OKAY if your tune is quiet. you can turn it up when it's played out. Worry more about the actual musical details-- not just the notes, but how it feels, if it's musically accomplishing what it needs to do. Anyone else on the receiving end, if they like it enough, they'll turn it up. If Dj's like it enough, they'll turn it up. If crowds like it, the dj's will keep playing it and in that case-- chances are someone will sort out the mastering & volume FOR you.
but volume really, really, really should be the least of your concerns.
now back to finishing up these awesome tunes
You guys really have straightened my act out, I used to do duuuurty deads, and I did them dirt cheap. I used to fight, just battle, with headroom. That is largely gone, now I actually battle with the mix itself.
But please do keep saying it.