It has come to my attention that alot of people dont particulary like the way that I master my music, and I have a reason for why I master the way I do. It goes back to the Loudness War that has been waged since the 1940s, when record producers would cut their 7" Singles "hotter" (aka louder), than the other guys record. This was done to get the attention of people playing their music on a jukebox, which had a set volume. So as you can assume, people started making their tracks louder and louder and louder.

Fast forward to the CD format. Since vinyl could only reach a certain loudness, CD could be produced at even hotter levels. In 1980, the average loudness was around -18 dbfs. These songs were mastered for good stereo systems, which would bring out all of the recorded dynamics well.

fast forward today, where new levels of loudness have been achieved by the band Angels and Airwaves, at a all time high of -3dbfs. Pretty much if you were to open that up in an audio editor, the only thing youd see is a solid brick waveform.

SO when I listen to most Electronic music here, what also baffles me is not only are the top mixes Slammed by a limiter, they have most of the bass neutered from the mix. The kick drums sound like they were mastered for ipod headphones.

So The next kid who comes complaining they cant hear my TR909 kickdrums, GET A BETTER SOUND SYSTEM.