the build up section right before the final drop is it usually louder in LUFS than the final drop?

or not?

i'm gonna check too some songs but asking ppl who already know these things

thanks!

actually: i decided not to check songs cause i'll go crazy over the complexities i'm gonna hear and i want to get it over with :p

 

LUFSm no problem, LUFSs rather unlikely.
Main thing is, decide this by ear. Is it loud enough to make an accent or is it too loud so that the final 'drop' (formerly known as chorus) sounds weak?

 

Build-up is usually not louder than the drop. If it was, the drop would be rather disappointing, don't you think?

Why don't you listen and analyze songs in order to learn? No need to ask us. That way you will learn the "tricks" and techniques of composition and mixing, not just "volume".

 

Last edited: Aug 24, 2022

Post the song as it is right now and I'll let you know if you need to adjust the lufs

 

You can make the Kick drum of the Drop's quarter note have a lot more impact by taking away other sounds which are on top of that kick.
You can use an enveloper to push some things back away from the transient of the kick. You can also remove layered sounds. (You can also make 1 single kick and pack extra density into it with saturation and compression).

You can do the Washout automation trick using Dada Life Endless Smile, should you have it. It adds tension like a riser.

The kick or snare roll leading up to the kick of the drop can be Velocity automated so it functions like a Crescendo also.

 

If anything, if you need your drop to sound louder, slowly and gradually reduce the volume during the "flat" or the "build" by 2-3dB, then when the drop hits, put it back to full volume. ONLY do this as a very last step, after your mix is completed and all your compression and limiting is done. Otherwise, your limiter and compressors will undo the effect. Ive done this many times in DnB music, to give the drop more implied energy/hit harder. In fact, I probably do this on every single track at some point in the mix. Nobody can ever tell. Keep in mind though, that any subsequent mastering will most likely undo this, so if you have it mastered, you gotta tell your mastering engineer, (They sometimes do this too)

 

I think in some tunes it actually might be louder (buildup) however it needs to have less bass than drop - so the drop being a bit quiter in theory, in practice will be louder in a club scenario (because bass is obviously dominant there)... I don't know if that makes sense for you haha
but 95% of the time drop is the loudest (measured in lufs) moment in a club song

 

Only If you let it. You have to disable autogain and/or make-up gain value on your compressor/limiter or it will undo that effect. Neither Compressor nor Limiter add volume on their own. Make-Up Gain parameter on your compressor's simple existence should illustrate this to you. When something is compressed, it is not louder. That's why we use Make-Up gain to account for the compression effect.

 

Last edited: Aug 24, 2022