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Lower a mix’s integrated loudness with Squasher in your DAW.
The ‘LUFS’ measurements used by streaming services for loudness normalization during playback are not only weighted (with an EQ curve that reflects human hearing sensitivity to different frequencies) but also ‘gated’. Any portion of a signal where the momentary loudness drops below a defined level (−10LU below the integrated loudness) does not contribute to the final integrated loudness measurement.
When performing DIY mastering in your DAW, this ‘floating gate’ introduces two key considerations. First, are there significant parts of the track where the momentary loudness falls below the gate’s threshold? Second, if so, can you adjust some of these quieter sections to slightly raise their level—either to add energy or clarity or to lower the integrated loudness—without negatively impacting the louder sections?
In a recent review (SOS July 2024) of iZotope’s RX 11, I was particularly impressed with its Loudness Optimize feature, designed to address these exact issues. As a user of Cubase, I wondered whether a similar outcome could be achieved using only the tools available within Cubase’s DAW.
Analyse This
For Cubase Pro users (version 11 and above), the Loudness Curve module of the SuperVision analyser plugin can assist with the first question. Insert this plugin into your DAW project, and it provides a real-time visual display of your audio’s loudness. The Loudness Curve module settings (shown in the first screenshot) allow for customization of the display. You can adjust the time resolution of the display to meet your needs (I used a 45-second window for this example) and select which loudness parameters to display (in this case, only the blue momentary and green integrated loudness curves). As illustrated in the second set of screens, these curves update in real-time during playback. After an initial playback session, the integrated curve stabilizes and offers a good sense of the overall loudness. You can then access the Settings panel to set the Reference Integrated value to 10LU below the observed integrated loudness. In this example, with an integrated loudness of around −18LUFS, I set the Reference Integrated value (appearing as a horizontal pale blue line) to −28LUFS. Although this use of the parameter isn’t its primary purpose (which I’ll explain later), it provides a straightforward visual guide for your DAW work.
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