Raising the perceived loudness with a「limiter」

Author: sleepfreaks

About raising sound pressure

When completing a song an burning it to a CD, it sounds alot quieter than a commercially sold CD…
Everyone has faced this problem at least once.
Of course, simply having a loud song isn’t the answer,
but many of us want「a more impactful sound」.

Loudness – Tutorial video



Simply raising the volume won’t work

Just because the song sounds quiet,
simply raising the volume leads to the sound cracking and distorting.

What we can use in this situation is a 「limiter」.

What is a limiter?

This is a plugin used to raise the volume, but not let it get past a certain threshold.
(for this example, the number is 0)

The denser the sound, the louder and more intense it will seem.

Compare a commercial CD to your own music

Import a commercially sold CD sound file into your own DAW, and compare it with your song.
Especially pay attention to the chorus where the volume will be the loudest.

A commercial CD’s sound will have a「thicker」waveform overall,
and your own will most likely have alot of sharp spaces in between.

The difference in loudness lies in these open spaces.

Placing a limiter to make the sound dense

Lets go ahead and place a limiter!
Place a「limiter」on your DAWs「master track」.

The「master track」is where all of the sounds in the track lead to.
By placing a「limiter」on this「master track」,
its sort of like placing a「limiter」on each track.

How sound pressure works and how to use it

Explanation starts from 3:04

How to use a limiter

A「limiter」has a「threshold」knob,
and the density of the sound can be controlled here.

The more the amount becomes「negative」, the more the loudness of the song.

However, when too much is used, the sound is over compressed and sounds unnatural, so be sure to listen while making adjustments.

After making adjustments, as always, export to WAV or MP3 to give it a listen.

There should be a noticeable difference in the loudness of the song.

Just by doing this, the song will sound better overall.
Please give it a try!