Lacquer · Topic
True peak, limiting & delivery
True peak is what the codec sees after it rebuilds your waveform. This path follows a master from the mix bus to the upload form.
True peak is what a codec sees after it rebuilds the waveform, not the sample peaks your DAW draws. A file whose samples stop just under 0 dBFS can still produce overs once it is encoded to AAC or Opus, which is why CoProducer’s delivery gate sits at −1.0 dBTP and why every lossy re-encode deserves a little extra margin.
This path follows a master from the mix bus to the upload form: how much headroom to leave for mastering, why you turn the mix down before the limiter, when a clipper or one more limiter is the wrong tool, and what sample rate and bit depth distributors actually want. It ends with the delivery paperwork: gapless album encoding, a release checklist that uses the same gates as the meter, how to read a CoProducer score, what a 70-to-90 repair really changes, and why the report ships as HTML, JSON and TXT.
Meters · 20 August 2026 · 7 minTrue peak is what codecs clip
True peak (dBTP) estimates inter-sample peaks. Streaming wants about −1.0 dBTP. A legal sample peak can still clip after AAC or Opus reconstruction.
Codecs · 21 August 2026 · 7 minWhy does my master clip after MP3 or AAC?
A WAV peaking at −0.1 dBFS can clip once it’s encoded to AAC or MP3. Why it happens, how much true-peak headroom to leave, and a script to test it.
Delivery · 15 October 2026 · 8 minHow much headroom to leave for mastering (and why −6 dB isn’t the point)
Headroom for mastering means no clipping and no mix-bus limiter. Peaks near −6 to −3 dBFS in 24-bit or float is convention; clipping can’t be undone.
Mastering · 12 October 2026 · 8 minTurn the mix down before you limit
If the mix already hits 0 dBFS into the limiter, extra loudness is distortion you can’t take back. Pull the bus down 3–6 dB, then limit.
Limiting · 21 August 2026 · 8 minWhen not to reach for the limiter
Skip another limiter when clips are already non-zero, LUFS is only slightly hot, or the real problem is arrangement, noise, or a bad edit — not peak height.
Delivery · 6 October 2026 · 9 minClipper vs limiter for hip-hop delivery — loudness isn’t the only score
Soft clipper vs brickwall limiter on the same drive: compare LUFS, true peak, and crest. Sample peak −1.0 dBFS is not true-peak safe.
Delivery · 21 August 2026 · 8 minSample rate and bit depth are delivery hygiene
CoProducer fails sample rates under 44.1 kHz. Why 32 kHz fails delivery, when 44.1/48/96 are fine, what bit depth distributors want, and how to verify the bounce.
Delivery · 16 October 2026 · 7 minWhy your gapless album gets gaps after MP3 or AAC
MP3 and AAC encoders add silence at the start and padding at the end of every file. Why segues break, what we measured, and how to stay seamless.
Checklist · 20 August 2026 · 6 minA release checklist that matches the meter
Release checklist: −14 LUFS ±1.5, true peak ≤ −1.0 dBTP, 0 clipped samples, ≥44.1 kHz, phase ≥ 0.2, score ≥ 90. Same gates CoProducer scores.
Mastering · 21 August 2026 · 6 minCan mastering fix a bad mix? When a mastering pass is enough and when to reopen the session
Mastering fixes whole-file problems like loudness, ceiling and broad tone. Clipped vocals, bad edits and mono cancellation live in the mix. Here’s how to tell.
Scoring · 21 August 2026 · 7 minWhat does a mix score mean? How to read a CoProducer score
A CoProducer score is 100 minus points lost for loudness, true peak, clipping, phase and sample rate. 90+ means release ready. Here’s how to read the findings.
Proof · 20 August 2026 · 9 minWhat a 70-to-90 repair actually changes
Public A/B proofs: Crazy Stacy 70→90 (831 clips→0), BeatGoHard 77→95, Drippin 66→93. A delivery pass — not a remix or taste rewrite.
Reports · 21 August 2026 · 7 minWhat should a loudness report include? HTML, JSON, TXT
A loudness report should name the exact file, its hash, LUFS, true peak and LRA. Keep HTML for people, JSON for scripts and TXT for chat. Script included.
Delivery · 20 October 2026 · 8 minSending stems to a mixer? Export them so they line up and add back up
How to export stems for a mixing engineer: same start, same length, one sample rate, no mix-bus chain, and a null test against your rough before you send the link.
Delivery · 23 October 2026 · 8 minMaking a clean version? Edit the vocals, keep the length, then check it against the explicit
How to make a clean version of a song: mute, reverse or replace the words on the vocal tracks, chase the reverb and delay tails, bounce through the same master at the same length, then compare it to the explicit. Script inside.
Delivery · 26 October 2026 · 7 minSong ending cut off when you export? Let the tail ring past the last bar
Why the end of your song gets cut off on export and how to fix it: run the export range past the last bar until the reverb and delay tails die, check the file ends in silence, then trim the silence, not the tail. Tail math and a script inside.
Delivery · 27 October 2026 · 8 minShould you normalize on export? Turn it off before mastering
Why the normalize option in your DAW’s export window works against a mix headed for mastering: it fills the headroom, can push true peak over 0 dBFS and gives every version its own gain. Measured on a synthetic main mix and instrumental. Script inside.
Mastering · 29 October 2026 · 7 minFade-out drops off a cliff? Curve it, and fade after the limiter
Why a song fade-out seems to hang and then vanish: a straight-line fade loses only 6 dB in its first half, and a limiter after the fade eats the first few dB of it. Measured fade shapes and a limited master, with the script.
Mastering · 3 November 2026 · 7 minSaturator making the highs harsh? Turn on oversampling
Why a saturator or clipper makes hats and vocals grainy: distortion creates harmonics above the sample rate's limit and they fold back down as off-key tones. Measured fold-back at 1x, 2x, 4x and 8x oversampling, with the script.
Mastering · 2 November 2026 · 7 minLimiter distorting the bass? Slow the release
Why a fast limiter release makes 808s and bass fuzz and crackle: it recovers inside a single bass cycle and reshapes the waveform. Measured distortion at 1 to 150 ms release, what a short hold does, and what it costs in loudness, with the script.
More topics: Loudness & LUFS Low end, 808s & mix dynamics 432 Hz, pitch & tempo Stem separation, sampling & privacy All essays