Waveform
R&B / Soul typical envelope
EQ Profile
Vocal Warmth (200 to 400 Hz) & Presence (2.5 kHz)
LUFS Target
Audiomack integrated
Spectrum
Pink-noise reference
R&B / Soul Mastering for Audiomack
Smooth low-mids, vocal warmth, gentle dynamics · Tuned for Audiomack playback
Target: -13 LUFS · True Peak: -0.5 dBTP · Dynamic Range: 8-12 LU
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R&B / Soul Mastering Specification. Audiomack
| Parameter | R&B / Soul Specification |
|---|---|
| Loudness Target | -13 LUFS integrated (Audiomack optimized) |
| True Peak Ceiling | -0.5 dBTP. Inter-sample peak limit |
| Dynamic Range | 8-12 LU LU. Genre-appropriate |
| EQ Focus | Vocal Warmth (200 to 400 Hz) & Presence (2.5 kHz) |
| Stereo Image | Wide mid-high, mono sub below 80 Hz (M/S) |
| Platform Algorithm | Audiomack normalizes to approximately -13 LUFS and is the leading streaming platform for hip-hop, Afrobeats, and Afropop in Africa and the diaspora. |
Mastering R&B / Soul for Audiomack
Mastering R&B / Soul for Audiomack means hitting -13 LUFS integrated with a -0.5 dBTP ceiling, while preserving the 8-12 LU dynamic range that defines the genre. Audiomack normalizes 1 LU quieter than the -14 LUFS streaming baseline, at -13 LUFS, which changes how much limiting a r&b / soul master can absorb before it fights the platform's own normalization instead of working with it. R&B mastering is built around the relationship between sub-bass warmth and vocal intimacy. The 200 to 400 Hz range. The warmth zone. Is simultaneously where vocal body lives and where excessive low-mid buildup creates mud that obscures the groove. A 1.5 to 2 dB dynamic cut at 250 Hz, triggered only when low-mids exceed a threshold, keeps warmth without buildup. R&B vocals are the most sensitive element to limiting artifacts. A fast-attack limiter clamps vocal consonants and creates a dulling effect. Set limiter attack above 3 ms to preserve vocal transients. The 808-style bass patterns in contemporary R&B demand sub-bass control below 40 Hz. A high-pass at 30 Hz removes inaudible content that wastes headroom. Stereo imaging in R&B features a wide mid-high stereo field and mono sub-bass. M/S EQ to high-pass the side channel at 80 Hz keeps the bottom end phase-coherent on any playback system. Gentle saturation at 3rd harmonic adds warmth to synthesized basslines that sound artificially clean. Compression ratio for R&B should not exceed 3:1 on the master bus. The genre's gentle dynamics are a core identity feature.
Audiomack context: Audiomack normalizes to approximately -13 LUFS and is the leading streaming platform for hip-hop, Afrobeats, and Afropop in Africa and the diaspora. Tracks stream on a wide range of devices including budget Android phones. Prioritize sub-bass clarity and mid-range punch that translates on smaller speakers.
Loudness targets for R&B / Soul on Audiomack
How the -13 LUFS target affects a R&B / Soul track.
R&B / Soul masters naturally land at -16 to -13 LUFS. Roughly 1.5 dB quieter than Audiomack's -13 LUFS target. Audiomack will boost the master at playback, which means sample peaks that read clean against your DAW meters can approach 0 dBFS once the algorithm adds gain. True-peak limiting at -0.5 dBTP becomes a hard requirement, not a stylistic choice. Inter-sample peaks that survive a -0.5 dBTP ceiling at -16 LUFS will clip after Audiomack normalizes your track upward. The -0.5 dBTP ceiling specified for Audiomack prevents inter-sample peaks from clipping during the codec's reconstruction filter, which is especially relevant for R&B / Soul's 200-800 Hz vocal body content where high-amplitude transients accumulate against the limiter.
Codec Reality for R&B / Soul on Audiomack
Audiomack streams AAC at 192 kbps, with the codec's artifact tendency clustered at 60-100 Hz sub-bass on budget Android playback. For R&B / Soul, the vulnerable 4-6 kHz vocal sibilance and 80-200 Hz warmth overlaps with the codec's weak zone, so masters that sound clean on monitoring loudspeakers can develop swirly, modulated artifacts on Audiomack playback. Bake a -1 to -2 dB shelf cut around the artifact band into the master, or accept that Audiomack's mid-tier playback will compress the genre's character. The dynamic-range character of R&B / Soul (wide dynamics for vocal phrasing, 10-14 LU) interacts with this codec tier specifically: compress conservatively, then let the codec do the rest. Over-compression at the mastering stage stacks with the codec's loudness handling and produces a flat, fatigued listening result.
R&B / Soul EQ Profile for Audiomack
Vocal warmth: Gentle boost at 200 to 300 Hz for chest voice warmth. Avoid cutting this range.
Low-end: Tight high-pass at 35 to 40 Hz. Keep 80 to 100 Hz full for bass guitar warmth.
Presence: Gentle 3 to 5 kHz boost for vocal intelligibility without harshness.
Air: Subtle 10 to 12 kHz boost for modern R&B sheen without compromising warmth.
Compression & Limiting for Audiomack
Gentle glue: Very light master bus compression (ratio 1.5:1 to 2:1). R&B needs natural dynamics.
Smooth limiting: Use lookahead limiting (5 to 10ms) to avoid transient clipping. Preserve vocal peaks.
Low-mid management: If 250 to 400 Hz is muddy, apply gentle reduction to clarify the vocal.
R&B / Soul LUFS Targets. All Platforms Compared
How R&B / Soul mastering specs differ across every major streaming platform.
| Platform | Integrated LUFS | True Peak | Current page |
|---|---|---|---|
| -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → | |
| -16 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → | |
▶️YouTube | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → |
| -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → | |
| -11 LUFS | -0.5 dBTP | View guide → | |
| -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → | |
🎧Audiomack | -13 LUFS | -0.5 dBTP | You are here |
🎛️Beatport | -9 LUFS | -0.3 dBTP | View guide → |
| -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → | |
| -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → | |
| -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → | |
| -15 LUFS | -1 dBTP | View guide → |
Technical Methodology. R&B / Soul Mastering for Audiomack
Target: -13 LUFS integrated · -0.5 dBTP true peak · EBU R128 / ITU-R BS.1770-4 compliant
We measure integrated LUFS using K-weighted filtering per ITU-R BS.1770-4: a high-shelf pre-filter at 1681.97 Hz (+3.9998 dB gain) followed by a 75 Hz high-pass (Q=0.5) to remove DC offset and low-frequency rumble. The mean square of the filtered signal gives us integrated loudness in LUFS.
True peak (dBTP) is measured at 4× oversampling to detect inter-sample peaks that occur between digital samples. Sample-peak measurement alone misses these peaks, which cause audible clipping during AAC and MP3 lossy encoding on streaming platforms. We enforce the true peak ceiling at -1 dBTP for all standard platforms.
Genre EQ profiles apply frequency-specific gain based on each genre's sonic characteristics: mud reduction at 250 to 400 Hz for hip-hop and trap, presence enhancement at 2 to 4 kHz for vocal clarity on phone speakers, sub-bass high-pass at 30 to 35 Hz for all genres to remove inaudible subsonic content that wastes headroom.
Master bus compression uses a VCA-style algorithm with genre-tuned attack and release times. Lo-fi and jazz use 50 ms attack to preserve transients; EDM and techno use 5 to 10 ms for density. Parallel compression blends the compressed signal at 20 to 40% wet to lift room sound without eliminating the uncompressed transient attack.
The final limiter stage uses lookahead limiting (3 to 5 ms) to catch transient peaks before they exceed the true peak ceiling. The limiter targets platform-specific LUFS: -14 LUFS for Spotify, -16 LUFS for Apple Music, -11 LUFS for SoundCloud, -9 LUFS for Beatport. Gain reduction is transparent at 1 to 2 dB of limiting; beyond 3 dB audible artifacts require reducing the input drive.
All processing runs in your browser via Web Audio API. No audio data is uploaded to any server.
R&B / Soul Mastering FAQ. Audiomack
What LUFS for R&B on Audiomack?
-13 LUFS integrated. R&B benefits from being slightly less compressed than EDM. A 10-14 LU dynamic range gives the vocals and instruments natural breathing room.
How do I preserve vocal warmth in R&B mastering?
Boost 200 to 300 Hz gently rather than cutting. Avoid aggressive mid-cut EQ that removes chest voice character. Use gentle multiband compression in the vocal range to control peaks without squashing dynamics.
Does R&B translate well on Audiomack?
Yes. Audiomack's audio quality handles R&B well. Focus on clean low-mids and vocal presence.
R&B / Soul Mastering for Other Platforms
Other Genres on Audiomack
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