Analog Audio Pro....... my Passion...

[Gold]

I'll point out the obvious just in case it isn't obvious. Loudness and level are not the same. They are intertwined but not the same. Most of what a mastering engineer does is prepare the audio in a way that enhances the sound but also makes it behave better in real world situations. This is usually called translation. If I'm working on something and I make it sound louder but it is sitting on the meters the same way or lower I know I'm on the right track. Not for all music but most.

A 670 could make something sound louder at a given level or it could make it sound lower at a given level. It depends on the material and the settings.

Undoubtedly a digital brick wall limiter is needed to get to modern levels, but if you make the limiter work hard it won't sound very good. That's why you need to get it right before hitting the limiter.

 

[Winetree]

If your mixing enviroment is good (speakers and placement, room EQ, etc) and its just a loudness issue,
put on other CD,s when mixing and compare. I always compare average against peak levels when mixing there is relationship between the two. You will need  good VU (RMS) meter to check average level. You can not compare RMS average level with a peak-only meter. You can then raise track and or master levels and use the other member's  suggestions to get comparable levels.

 

[etheory]

I've been doing this technique for many years now (the compare to a good mix technique), and still have a lot to learn, but, for instance, I think it's 100% about how well your individual elements stand out, how their frequency ranges overlap (or if they do at all) and how much distortion each individual element has with reference to the whole.  A lead that sounds like poop in isolation can't be fixed in the context of a mix if you try and "limit it to correct for it's crapiness".

Getting things to sound loud is a very very very VERY VERY VERY wholistic thing, and really has nothing to do with a single treatment, but the result of all of them.

Take for instance Deadmau5 - like or lump his production, it is REALLY REALLY good (especially compared to all the other current "popular" EDM efforts out there....).  And, from an overall level point of view (I said level, not perceived volume), he mixes with a lot less master level overall (in a lot of cases) to most other EDM artists out there.  The reason imo his production sounds that much better than a lot of other artists is the relative frequency relationships and very careful spaces created in and around each element.  No compressor of finalizer will compensate for these things.

A good mix is a good mix, played at any level, it will sound huge and loud.  Mastering will simply seal the deal.  Concentrate on the technique of mixing, not on compressing or limiting the crap out of it.

my2c.