Uploaded August 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
I found a great website called "The 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library." Recording artists offer the original multitrack elements from their recordings (the individual instruments, vocals etc.) in separate sound files that you can import them into digital audio workstation software and do your own mixes:
cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm
I found this great song by a group called Angels in Amplifiers (love the name!) called "I'm Alright." My only problem with it is it made me feel like my head was being hammered flat. Listen for yourself:
previews.cambridge-mt.com/ImAlright_Full_Preview.mp3
The human ear perceives sound as loudness over time, not peak loudness. In other words, a long, sustained loud sound like the roaring of an engine will be perceived as louder than a hit on a drum even if both are exactly the same decibel level; the engine stays at the higher decibel level rather than reaching it only for an instant the way the drum does so we PERCEIVE the engine to be louder.
This is the heart of the principle of "dynamic range" in recording. Sound in nature varies in volume. To sound natural, a recording must try to preserve these variations in volume as closely as possible. The smack of drums, for example, should be louder than an electric guitar because the guitar is a more continuous sound and the drums short loud bursts; the guitar will seem too loud if it's brought to the same decibel level as the drums.
There is an unfortunate trend in music mastering today, however, to try to make recordings sound louder. They do this by artificially amplifying the quieter sounds in a recording relative to the louder ones; this is called "compression." The greater one compresses the dynamic range (i.e. the louder one turns up the "quiet" parts), the louder the overall recording becomes.
Dynamic range is measured in decibels (dB); it is the difference between the loudest sounds in a recording and the average overall level. A good rule of thumb for dynamic range is if the difference in level between your average and maximum levels is in the single digits it's too loud, type of music notwithstanding.
In other words, even the loudest types of music like death metal should still have a dynamic range of at least 10 dB; any less and it starts to feel to the listener as if their eardrums are being assaulted by jackhammers. For most types of music, the dynamic range should be 14 dB or greater.
I analyzed "I'm Alright" with the TT Dynamic Range meter; the original mix (see link above) had a dynamic range of only *6 dB*. In other words, on average, the recording's overall loudness only drops about 6 dB from maximum level. That is BRUTALLY loud, particularly for smooth rock like this.
So I did my own mix, which you can hear in this video. THIS mix has a dynamic range of *14 dB*, a full *8 dB wider* than the original.
Listen to my mix here, then listen again to the original mix at the link above.
Which do YOU think sounds better?
I found a great website called "The 'Mixing Secrets' Free Multitrack Download Library." Recording artists offer the original multitrack elements from their recordings (the individual instruments, vocals etc.) in separate sound files that you can import them into digital audio workstation software and do your own mixes:
cambridge-mt.com/ms-mtk.htm
I found this great song by a group called Angels in Amplifiers (love the name!) called "I'm Alright." My only problem with it is it made me feel like my head was being hammered flat. Listen for yourself:
previews.cambridge-mt.com/ImAlright_Full_Preview.mp3
The human ear perceives sound as loudness over time, not peak loudness. In other words, a long, sustained loud sound like the roaring of an engine will be perceived as louder than a hit on a drum even if both are exactly the same decibel level; the engine stays at the higher decibel level rather than reaching it only for an instant the way the drum does so we PERCEIVE the engine to be louder.
This is the heart of the principle of "dynamic range" in recording. Sound in nature varies in volume. To sound natural, a recording must try to preserve these variations in volume as closely as possible. The smack of drums, for example, should be louder than an electric guitar because the guitar is a more continuous sound and the drums short loud bursts; the guitar will seem too loud if it's brought to the same decibel level as the drums.
There is an unfortunate trend in music mastering today, however, to try to make recordings sound louder. They do this by artificially amplifying the quieter sounds in a recording relative to the louder ones; this is called "compression." The greater one compresses the dynamic range (i.e. the louder one turns up the "quiet" parts), the louder the overall recording becomes.
Dynamic range is measured in decibels (dB); it is the difference between the loudest sounds in a recording and the average overall level. A good rule of thumb for dynamic range is if the difference in level between your average and maximum levels is in the single digits it's too loud, type of music notwithstanding.
In other words, even the loudest types of music like death metal should still have a dynamic range of at least 10 dB; any less and it starts to feel to the listener as if their eardrums are being assaulted by jackhammers. For most types of music, the dynamic range should be 14 dB or greater.
I analyzed "I'm Alright" with the TT Dynamic Range meter; the original mix (see link above) had a dynamic range of only *6 dB*. In other words, on average, the recording's overall loudness only drops about 6 dB from maximum level. That is BRUTALLY loud, particularly for smooth rock like this.
So I did my own mix, which you can hear in this video. THIS mix has a dynamic range of *14 dB*, a full *8 dB wider* than the original.
Listen to my mix here, then listen again to the original mix at the link above.
Which do YOU think sounds better?
