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Episodes from The Mastering Show
The Mastering Show #112 - When louder is easier ?!
As much as I love dynamics, in some ways mastering loud is easier. So what do I mean by that, and what does it mean for the loudness of your masters ?In this episode I explore the benefits of loudness, including:Why "more dynamic" isn't always betterThe benefits of loud mastersThe effect louder…
The Mastering Show #111 - Fix it in the master ?!
I hear this question all the time - would it be better to fix this in the mix, or in the master ?It’s a fascinating question, and you may think you already know my answer - but it may not be that simple !There are actually several things I think are better addressed in the master rather than the…
The Mastering Show #110 - What makes a REAL mastering engineer ?
I'm seeing several different discussions online about what makes a "real" mastering engineer – and some of them are getting pretty heated !So what really matters the most ? Expertise, experience, or credits ?In this episode I talk about my own opinions and reasoning, talking about:Why credits can…
The Mastering Show #109 - Audio repair & fixing faults
Audio repair and restoration has always been a huge part of mastering – and not only for re-mastering vintage material.Even modern recordings can have problems like clicks, thumps, hiss, amp buzz, distortion and many more. Ideally they’d all be fixed in the mix, but sometimes it’s not possible or…
The Mastering Show #108 - Why I was wrong about Loudness Range
I used to say that the Loudness Range (LRA) measurement wasn't really useful when mastering - but recently I changed my mind. In this episode I explain why, and how loudness range is actually something you might want to pay attention to, as well.Topics include:What is the Loudness Range ?How is it…
The Mastering Show #107 - Mastering for 1-Off Vinyl (and short runs)
More and more people are choosing to get vinyl copies of their music made one at a time, rather than having hundreds of copies pressed at once. Or in very small batches, or allowing fans to order copies on demand.So how does this work, and what does it mean ? How do you get the best quality…
The Mastering Show #106 - Are dynamics dead ?!
I see it every day: “The Loudness Wars are over - loud won. Get over it”And it’s easy to see why. The average mainstream release hits -8 LUFS integrated or more; club releases regularly hit -6 or even -4 LUFS and are peaking well above zero; every other post you see on social media is about a new…
The Mastering Show #105 - Loudness at the Grammys: is there REALLY a secret sauce ?
It was the Grammys this week - you can't have missed it !And somewhere along the way I saw an article by Ian Vargo assessing the loudness and dynamics of the nominees for Best Song.In this episode I talk about what he discovered, and what my reaction is – and along the way, I talk about:The highest…
The Mastering Show #104 - Mastering for Sync ? What, Why and How
Getting your music "synced" for licensing in TV, movies or ads can be an amazing opportunity for indie musicians to make money and gain exposure. But is it just a pipe dream, and is mastering a necessary part of the process ?Chris SD from Sync Songwriter is an expert in this topic – just in the…
The Mastering Show #103 – Technical versus Creative Mastering (Q&A)
This started out as a Q&A episode, but one way or another there turned out to be a real theme to many of the questions, namely - how do you choose between technical and creative considerations, when mastering ?Questions like:When the client wants songs to sound differentWhen to use mid-side…
The Mastering Show #102 - What IS 'translation' in mastering ?
Translation is one of the main goals of mastering - make the music sound great on any platform, and any delivery format.But how is that possible ? How can we optimise the audio to sound great on both a huge PA and crappy earbuds, or via any data-encoded stream, when we don't have any control over…
The Mastering Show #101 - Mixing and mastering Brian Eno - with Emre Ramazanoglu
Brian Eno is probably the musician, producer and artist who has had the single biggest influence on my music taste and enjoyment over the years. His work speaks for itself and needs no introduction ! So when I heard Emre Ramazanoglu talking on the Working Class Audio podcast about re-mixing and…