Why do songs sound better on Radio?

[stereofidelic]

I know that alot of radio stations speed up songs by like 10seconds, but what else is it that they do to make the songs sound sooo good?

[Slinky]

Processing... lots and lots of processing. One thing radio stations do, that some people like, and some people hate, is compression of sound levels. This amps up the quiet parts of a song, and makes the whole song sound louder, and jump out at you more, as a result.

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Yah, they pretty much continue what a studio does with compression and make it sound moreso on the air. they up the sound ranges of a song, such as bass, mid-range or upper range (symbols, etc) so that all the sounds are more similar in volume.

One thing this does to a song tho is that it takes dynamics out of the song.

[stereofidelic]

Ahh this sounds soo cool, i have Audacity so i usually speed up my songs, but if i could only learn a few of these tricks...

[Slinky]

Here's a forum post on Winamp.com that specifically tells you how to imitate that "Clear Channel" sound:

forums.winamp.com/printthread.php?s=8c0602674e55e76b00046b80505098ec&threadid=281855

He's using the Winamp plugin that can be found here:

www.winamp.com/plugins/details/120741

[stereofidelic]

Thanks! I had to instal winzip and then tried to instal that plug in, extracted it but there is really no program to use... hmm, if anyone finds anything i can use with audacity that'll be greattt

[Slinky]

You need to have Winamp to run it.

[shadster]

what about reverb? Radio also uses reverb to enhance the audio also (mainly back in the 80s and early 90s). Wouldn't happen to be a DECENT reverb plugin for winamp would there? Can't stand that cheesy 'echo' sound you get on karaoke machines.


p.s. hats off toyou stereofidelic for bringing up this point. I have ALWAYS felt music off the radio sounded Soooo much better than cd. But everyone I told thought I was completely NUTS! I've never liked having to turn cd's up during the low points and then getting blasted during the high's. 80% of the time when I'm editing stuff from cd's I hafta constantly babysit the rec. lvl knob adjusting it up and down throughout the audio track to keep the level even.

[derek]

Some music lovers can beg to differ on the "songs sound better on radio"...Like Max said, it does take the dynamics out of the song.

They do it to make sure one song is soft then all of a sudden BANG a loud song comes on..lol...and they speed songs up to get more commercial time in...

[Rose "Payola" Nylund]

Yeah, it's good for consistency purposes and stuff but from the musical point of view, it takes out a lot of detail that was probably put in there for a reason. There was an article posted on this board a few months back that compared the final sound wave of a song from 2006 or something to a song from 1981 and the difference is incredible... but not really in a good way. Music today is produced as a wall of sound, pretty much, where you have everything maxed out the entire way across the sound-range, from 20hz to 20khz, and there leaves little breathing room (from a production/listening point of view). Most of it is done in the mastering stage but if not, radio puts the finishing touches on it. Lately, mastering has even been done to be suitable in mp3 form... which is not good at all because the range that an mp3 has sound-wise is very limited to CD-quality. Although admittedly, it makes sense since most people will probably hear the song in mp3 form over CD-form but it certainly sucks for the producers and mixers that worked hard to get the song to sound good in the way they meant it to sound.

[stereofidelic]

If anyone knows of any little tricks i can use to make sounds any similar to radio by using Audacity program let me know. =] I appreciate any help!

For example, if you've ever listened to Mr. Brightside on the radio it sounds amazing, full of energy and lots of amp, there is never a dull moment. Actually i have the download of the song and it sounds pretty similar to radio which is lucky, cause most songs dont.

[Pipa]

I will agree that radio can give some songs that extra "oomph", but when the song already has enough "oomph", it sounds terrible.

[Minor Scratch]

I definitely think there is a mental aspect to hearing songs on the radio, besides all the sound technology. I just don't know how to pinpoint it.

[stereofidelic]

Bah ive searched google in alot of words on how to obtain that crisp clear radio effect sound using audacity or anything else. Though my search continues to be dry. I've toyed with compression and equalizing songs through audacity, exported the mp3's and even played them in my car but actually sounds terrible hehe. Thanks for the help guys...

[shocker]

Don't forget the re-mixed or dubbed versions of hit songs that are frequently spun on the radio - primarily CHR or rhythmic stations. Sometimes they sound better than the original - sometimes not; but they do grab your attention. A lot of those radio mixes enhance the beat, which tends to make some songs more appealing.

[derek]

^^ex) Hey There Delilah, Unfaithful...