Oh, and hey, Paul - Matt Finley's comment (just before my post) is entirely true. He is Wise in the ways of the Force.

In addition to that "extra room", Pro Engineers also insert a spike of Pink Noise just before the audio starts, as a Best Practice. Why?!?

Well, when the tune gets to Mastering, the Mastering Engineer is probably going to apply some compression, expansion, and/or limiting. Some mastering software just can handle a "cold-start". The Pink Noise burst let's the Compressor kick-in just before the music begins, so there are no artifacts. They then edit-out the noise.

Even if you do your own Mastering (I do, myself), it's a really helpful idea. Thanks, Matt!


We get 168 hours a week to be alive, for as many weeks as God lets us live. What shall you do with yours?