"...take the more arduous but _better sounding_ route of applying compression." No truer words ever spoken.

Nice work! 6:47 in case anyone is confused, "if your loudest peak is -4db but you only have 1db of headroom..", correct me if I'm wrong but I think you meant to say dynamic range, not 'headroom' since you defined headroom as the difference between the loudest peak and 0dBFS (-4dB would be 4dB of headroom by that definition). You do a great job of explaining the importance of dynamic range in the video but just thought I'd reiterate in different terms for what it's worth - I think what's more consequential and relevant than the difference between peak and 0dBFS (as long as you avoid regular clipping and inter-sample clipping) is the crest factor of your mix i.e. the ratio of your rms to peak value (or 'dynamic range', as per one of your definitions of the term) because that's what actually dictates how much 'room' your mastering engineer has to play with in terms of dynamics processing and increasing the perceived loudness of a track while staying as clean as called for. One thing I'd add to your point about "the better sounding route of applying compression." - using saturation as an alternative to compression can be a really great way to achieve peak reduction without some of the sometimes-excessive gain reduction or artifacts you get with compression, and in some cases providing the added benefit of increased punch + perceived loudness through harmonic distortion - when used well, the dynamic equivalent of having your cake and eating it too. Here's an amazing video about it in case anyone is interested - kzfaq.info/get/bejne/e5Oho7Sfnai1Yn0.html The thing about using less of the available bit-depth when digitally reducing gain is definitely news to me... will have to test that out - thank you!

So glad I found your channel, keep doing your thing!

Thank you for this info, Sage!

what about using limiters earlier in the mixing process (not on the 2 buss), like say on the bass, on a kick, a snare, vocals or a drum buss.

Fantastic information! subscribed. I read that including a sample of the noise floor in a mix (few seconds before and after a track) can be helpful for mastering engineers, is this true?

is the level mtr plug in built into pro tools? I can't find it

I tried the true peek meter on stereo track and was at -9db steady peek around-3db when there was a snare fill for one measure. Should I raise the master level to bring up to -6db.

im sorry im a bit slow, 5:30, How is using a compressor different than a limiter when it comes to preserving transients? Also i use clippers to cut certain peaks, is that bad?

Good video, thanks! However When I tried the free mastering sample, after registering, I put in the song name and artist name, then clicked upload, nothing happened, there is no pop up for me to select the file to be uploaded.

man these stuff aren't for beginner i guess coz all these things are going above my head

Can you master progressive house track ?