Music & Audio Advice Mixing and Mastering Fundamentals 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the 'ratio' setting on a compressor determine?
- How much the signal above the threshold is reduced (Correct answer)
- How fast the compressor releases
- The frequency it acts upon
- The output ceiling
Correct answer: How much the signal above the threshold is reduced
A ratio of 4:1 means for every 4 dB over the threshold, only 1 dB passes through.
Question 2: What is parallel compression?
- Blending a heavily compressed copy with the dry signal (Correct answer)
- Compressing two tracks at once
- Using two compressors in series
- Compressing only the parallel stereo channel
Correct answer: Blending a heavily compressed copy with the dry signal
Parallel compression mixes a squashed duplicate under the original to add density while keeping dynamics.
Question 3: In mastering, what does a limiter primarily do?
- Prevents the signal from exceeding a set ceiling while increasing loudness (Correct answer)
- Adds stereo width
- Removes background hiss
- Equalizes the low end
Correct answer: Prevents the signal from exceeding a set ceiling while increasing loudness
A brickwall limiter caps peaks at a ceiling so you can raise overall loudness without clipping.
Question 4: What does LUFS measure?
- Perceived loudness over time (Correct answer)
- Peak digital level
- Stereo correlation
- Dynamic range
Correct answer: Perceived loudness over time
LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) quantifies perceived loudness, the standard for streaming normalization.
Question 5: Why do streaming services often normalize tracks to around -14 LUFS?
- To deliver consistent perceived loudness across songs (Correct answer)
- To make every track as loud as possible
- To reduce file size
- To remove clipping automatically
Correct answer: To deliver consistent perceived loudness across songs
Loudness normalization keeps playback levels consistent so listeners don't adjust volume between tracks.
Question 6: What is the role of a bus or group in mixing?
- Routing multiple tracks to one channel for shared processing (Correct answer)
- Splitting one track into many
- Recording new audio
- Exporting the final master
Correct answer: Routing multiple tracks to one channel for shared processing
A bus combines related tracks (like drums) so you can process and control them together.
Question 7: What problem does phase cancellation typically cause?
- Loss of level or thinness when signals combine out of phase (Correct answer)
- Excessive reverb tails
- Distortion on the master
- Clipping on individual tracks
Correct answer: Loss of level or thinness when signals combine out of phase
When two correlated signals are out of phase, overlapping frequencies cancel, weakening the sound.
Music & Audio Advice Mixing and Mastering Fundamentals 3
What does the 'ratio' setting on a compressor determine?