7 Loudness Mistakes That Are Killing Your Mixes

Every producer wants their masters louder. But most are doing it wrong — and it's killing their mixes.

1. Mixing into a limiter

You put a limiter on your master bus while mixing, and suddenly everything sounds "finished." But you're not mixing — you're hearing the limiter's interpretation of your mix. Fix: Mix without a limiter.

2. Targeting -14 LUFS for everything

-14 LUFS is a delivery target, not a mixing target. Fix: Mix to -18 to -20 LUFS. Master to your genre's target.

3. Ignoring true peak

Inter-sample peaks can be 1-3 dB higher than sample peaks. Fix: Always check true peak (dBTP).

4. Compressing the master bus before mastering

If you put compression on your master bus, the mastering engineer can't undo it. Fix: Use gentle settings: 2:1 ratio, 2-3 dB GR, 30 ms attack, 100 ms release.

5. Boosting instead of cutting

Cutting 2-3 dB at 300 Hz can make your track louder and clearer than boosting any frequency.

6. Not checking mono

Phase issues cause elements to disappear in mono. Fix: Sum to mono and check.

7. Mastering to the wrong platform target

Master to -9 to -10 LUFS for streaming. Create a separate version for clubs.

Free loudness check

I built MixDiagnose to make this easy. Upload your track and in 30 seconds you get integrated LUFS, true peak, crest factor, frequency balance, and specific fix recommendations.