9 Output and delivery
9.1 Levels and head tones
Unless you are pouring cement, level is relative. When the police come to my house and tell me my music is upsetting the neighbors and is blaring at over 100 decibels I love to ask: SPL, dBu, or dBV? I then point out that each scale is based on a different reference, and 100 dBu would be right off my meters, so he must be wrong. He then points out that he can’t hear a thing I’m saying because my stereo is blaring at over a 100 decibels and he is going to kick my … At this point, I know a civilized discussion of sound pressure level is pointless and attenuate accordingly.
When delivering the mix on tape, a reference tone is needed to keep everyone on the same page. If the digital audio is going ...
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