Quote Originally Posted by acos1 View Post
when u say good subtractive eqing lets u boost the level of the track do u mean it lets u take out unwanted frequencies which in turn lets u boost the level yourself, or do u mean by removing unwanted frequencies that audio actually sounds louder itself?, (probably a stupid question but i couldn't resist asking).
Kind of both.
On the individual level, by removing conflicting frequencies between sounds, you can increase the volume of certian sounds without affecting the whole mix drastically, as when the volume is increased they aren`t conflicting and clouding over each other.

Then when it comes to getting to a good mastering engineer, if your subtractive EQ is good, and you haven`t used compression to try to make everything "stand out" then the engineeer can then begin to increase levels with compression and such, and not have to worry about sounds spreading together too much, and forming a mash. Thus with a quiter pre master, you can still end up with with a loud final mix that has that all important "punch" and clarity that will make it stand above something mashed and flat.

Kind of like comparing a carefully prepared recipe, using the best ingredients, that all complemenet each other, with a fine and subtle use of herbs and spices, to a huge microwave pizza with tomato ketchup and some chilli sauce to make it taste of something.