Apropos of Nothing…
Posted on | April 13, 2012 | No Comments
I was eating lunch by myself today, and the song “Maniac” came on the sound system of the eating establishment I was in. I’ve heard the track countless times in my life (as everyone has), but never in a setting where I could really think and pay attention to the lyrics and music. It struck me as a bit odd that a song about dancing would have such a robotic, synthesized, and lifeless feel. It didn’t swing. “Something doesn’t add up”, I thought.
So, I went to the Wikipedia page on the song and found out that, although it became famous from the movie Flashdance, Michael Sembello originally wrote it for a film about a serial killer. The original lyrics were:
“He’s a maniac, maniac that’s for sure,
He will kill your cat and nail him to the door.”
Charming. But, yes, it all started making sense. Those are the lyrics that matched the lifeless, computerized beat, music, and melody of the song; like a deranged person with no soul and a relentless drive. But—as the Wikipedia page goes on to explain—the record producer suggested he re-write the lyrics to describe a girl with a passion for dancing. And so the lyrics became,
“She’s a maniac, maniac on the floor
And she’s dancing like she’s never danced before.”
The song was included in Flashdance after Sembello’s wife sent a tape of it to movie producers looking for music for the film.
Sometimes You Don’t Get What You Pay For…
Posted on | April 1, 2012 | No Comments
At the end of last year I decided it was finally time to splurge and get a purpose-built audio computer. Up until now I’d always just used off-the-shelf boxes…either Mac or (more recently) PC. But I’d always wanted a hot-rodded audio computer, and there are a few companies who specialize in these. So I did some research and, in December, ordered one.
A week or so after I had it up-and-running, it spontaneously shut down while I was working one day. “Strange”, I thought. So, I re-booted it and started working again. A few days later, the same thing happened. After a few weeks the incident became a pretty regular occurrence. So I contacted the company and they said that it sounded like a faulty video section on the mother board. After some discussion it was decided there were two solutions: replace the motherboard (requiring I send the machine back) or install a PCI-e video card, bypassing the seemingly faulty video portion of the motherboard. I asked for the PCI-e solution, as I didn’t want to be without the computer since it had my RME 9652 card in it for digital I/O, and pulling that and putting it into my old machine was just another hassle I didn’t have time for.
A week later I received a PCI-e video card and installed it. Although I’ve installed third-party hardware in many machines in the past, this was not a smooth process and it seemed difficult to find the latest driver for the card. After a few days, though, I had things up-and-running properly and the problem seemed solved.
A little while after that I noticed that the PCI-e video card was not being recognized by the computer on every start-up, which led to a lot of blank screens, hard shutdowns, and wasted time. I decided to try jumping back to the motherboard video and didn’t have much luck with that. In fact, it was resulting in a blue screen on more tries than not. So, switching the BIOS back to the PCI-e card, I realized the best thing was to successfully boot the machine with the third-party card and just leave it on. It would at least buy me some time to get my work done and then figure out the best solution to the problem. Then, this morning, as I was wrapping up a project, the machine spontaneously shut down. At this point, I’d pretty much had enough. I asked the company for info on where to ship it for a new motherboard.
As I write this I’ve just boxed the computer up and am going to ship it back tomorrow (at my shipping expense) for repair. But not before putting my audio card back in my old off-the-shelf Compaq computer that has performed flawlessly for the past two years, and cost 1/4 of what my purpose-built audio machine did. As an aside, I think that the Compaq is also quieter (or at least as quiet) as the audio machine I purchased.
If my experience is any indication of what the rest of the audio-built computers are like on the market, I’d suggest users stick to off-the-shelf PCs and Macs. I know that’s what I’m going to be doing from here on out.
The Problem with Plugins
Posted on | March 2, 2012 | No Comments
I know that people use plugins for music production, and this is not going to change. The problem is that A) they’re so easy to get and use they’re overused and B) they don’t necessarily deliver the sound and magic they promise.
I recently worked on 2 projects where the music and mixes were good, but the client didn’t like something about the finished master; a tonality/texture that bothered them. I asked them if they applied anything as buss processor and — in both cases — they said they had used plugins that were emulators of famous gear, designed to impart a ‘vintage’ sound. I asked them to remove that plugin and re-render the mixes so I could work with a cleaner mix. In both cases they immediately were satisfied with the results as soon as the ‘magic box plugin’ was removed. And I hadn’t adjust anything in my processing chain.
In reality, this has happened dozens of times over the years. These two recent examples remind me that something marketed as a solution can often be a problem.
Two adages come to mind: “you get what you pay for” and “do no harm”.
iTunes Ups Its Game
Posted on | February 28, 2012 | No Comments
You may have heard that iTunes is now (or, soon-to-be) allowing musicians to upload 24/96 masters to iTunes for encoding. While the files from there are still being encoded/compressed, this is a big step. Read specs by clicking on the image below…
When you get your music mastered, ask for high-res. files (if you recorded/mixed that way) from your M.E. and use those for iTunes uploading.
I may have spoken too soon…
Posted on | January 13, 2012 | No Comments
Just when I declare that clients seem to have “gotten over” the loudness fixation, I get a client who asks for the loudest project I’ve ever mastered.
The recording and mixing he had done were good, but more clean-and-vanilla than I think he’d wanted. Or, very “neutral-and-unproduced” sounding. So, he was hoping I could give it a sort of production value through volume and brightness. Not my preference, but I understand his perspective. (To read my perspective on the best way to make a professional sounding recording, read my earlier blog post, The “Secret” to Making Great Recordings.)
What ensued was surprising, though. With the help of my newly assembled all-analog signal chain (i.e., not a plug-in in sight) I was able to push volume and EQ to a previously unheard of level and still retain clarity and warmth. In the end, still too loud and un-dynamic for my taste, but the client was happy and I can honestly say that it didn’t sound “digital harsh”.
Long live analog processing!
New Year’s “Resolution”
Posted on | January 2, 2012 | No Comments
Now that a lot of the busy events of 2011 (listed in the previous post) are behind me, I want to share my audio intentions for ZenMastering in 2012.
Simply put, the focus is on world-class quality. Over the past few years I’ve seen the interest in the volume wars of the 1995-2005 era wane, and I think that musicians are re-focused on making the best sounding recordings. They realize that volume-for-volume’s-sake is a losing game.
If you look at our equipment list, you’ll notice we’ve assembled some of the best analog pieces of gear made. I didn’t spend years buying that stuff to make mediocre-sounding masters. It’s there to help musicians make their recordings sound as good as possible. To be competitive, and allow listeners to hear the music in their speakers the way the artist hears it in his (or her) head.
Think about it: as a musician, your recording is your legacy. You want people to be listening to the albums you’ve made years from now and you want them to have a timeless quality. The best way to do this is by infusing your recordings with the properties that have been part of great recordings through time: clarity, impact, power, and detail.
2011 Year-end Missive
Posted on | December 18, 2011 | No Comments
Season’s greetings! As I’m wont to do around this time of the year, here’s a wrap-up of some noteworthy events that took place at ZenMastering in 2011…
New Location
Probably the biggest news is that we moved locations this year. The studio now resides in a tony little neighborhood in Encinitas, CA…just three miles from the beach. Yeah, life’s tough. In the process, I had to start from scratch with room acoustics. A lot of the old George Augspurger stuff I had just didn’t work in the new room, which boasts a higher ceiling from my old location. The new room has a more consistent sound from all perspectives. I’m looking forward to knocking out some great work from “ZenMastering West”.
Hardware
The next big change in 2011 is that we went 100% analog with our processing. I’ve been fortunate to assemble a great chain of hand-picked gear from Dangerous Music, API, TK Audio, and Pendulum Audio. The compressor from TK Audio is a custom shop piece and — to my knowledge — is one of only two in existence. If you’re in search of some “analog warmth”, look no further.
Another exciting addition to the outboard arsenal is that I picked up a nice new turntable for the mastering room. Over the past few years, more and more of our clients are doing small runs of vinyl made to complement their online downloads, and vinyl has been seeing a resurgence overall since 2008, according to industry studies. So, I wanted a nice turntable to reference those finished projects.
Awards
We continued our multi-year run of having clients nominated (and win) at the San Diego Music Awards. This year, four were nominated in various categories:
- Shawn Rohlf and the Buskers (Best Americana Album, “Tiny X’s”)
- Steph Johnson (Best Jazz)
- The Secret Seven (Best Rock Album, “Turn Your Back to the Sea”)
- Todo Mundo (Best World Music Album, “Organic Fire”)
We’re pleased to say that Todo Mundo won their category!
Icon of Audio
Many of you may know that I have a related endeavor called Iconic Audio, which incorporates a long-time friend and expert mix engineer Kyle Thompson. It was a strong year for IA, as we worked on many excellent projects. As time goes by, I see IA growing to a larger part of ZenMastering’s business, as the computer-based home recording revolution continues.
Names and Numbers
Sometime this year — between the move and the gear updates — we mastered our 550th project. That’s a lot of projects in far too many musical categories for me to remember since I started “keeping books” about 10 years ago. A quick survey of this year’s projects reveals music in a broad range of styles: acoustic singer-songwriter, alternative rock, spoken-word, Irish folk-alt rock, Tibetan Lama chants, children’s music, country rock, hip-hop, Christmas songs, film soundtrack music, and big band jazz.
Needless to say, I’m fortunate to be trusted by so many talented musicians and engineers from all walks of life as their choice for professional mastering. I hope to continue to add ZenMastering’s special sauce to many more great recordings in the coming year.
Happy holidays, and hope to hear from you soon!
Food for thought
Posted on | November 20, 2011 | No Comments
In the world of professional audio, a lot of value is placed on equipment. What gear do you have? Do you have that latest-greatest tube compressor? Those amazing speakers? That vintage mic? Yeah, it’s all important. But something happened recently that made me realize what is really important to clients who are looking for professional mastering.
I was contacted by an engineer who has used ZM several times in the past, and asked if I’d do a sample on a project he’s wrapping up so his client could hear it. I did the sample, and this was his reply:
“I have to admit that I wasn’t incredibly excited with what I was hearing so I took the liberty and sent the song to another mastering studio, in N.Y. The engineer mastered a sample, which I am forwarding to you to hear. I would love to get your opinion. I know that we can come up with something that we are all happy with. Just let me know if you still want to work with us at achieving a stellar sound.”
I listened and thought the other studio’s sample was good, and could see where the client wanted the sound to go. Out of curiosity I went to their site and looked at the gear list, to get an idea of how they might have achieved the sound and texture. It was all top-notch gear…as good (or better) than what I have.
I re-did the sample with an ear toward the sound I knew he wanted. He was very happy and we moved forward with mastering the album.
So — needless to say — he could have just as easily gone with the other studio. But I believe that the reason he came back to me was his positive experience in the past. In speaking on the phone after the project wrapped up, he told me that with a lot of other mastering studios there’s not much personalized attention and he likes knowing that if he wants to re-consider or change something that I’m willing to listen and work with it until he gets what he wants.
Yeah…gear’s important. I mean…I needed good gear to match the sound he was looking for. But being an honest business person and giving clients the respect they deserve is just as important. It’s a good thing to remember.
Trust has increasing value in the ever-expanding audio world
Posted on | October 30, 2011 | No Comments
One relevant point recently impressed upon me by a musician friend is the importance of trust between a musician and recording studio. I’ve been running ZenMastering for a little over 10 years and, in that time, have realized that there’s no shortage of talent in the audio community (local, national, or global). However, the number of studios (tracking, mixing, and/or mastering) that I’ve never heard any gripes about is pretty small.
Unlike most professions, there’s no specific training, education, or licensing required for a person to call themselves an “audio professional”. And there’s certainly no governing body to enforce professional behavior. So, as you’d expect, you get all sorts. These days it seems like a computer, a pair of self-powered monitors, and a plug-ins bundle is about all that’s needed to hang out one’s shingle.
So, I can only shake my head (in frustration, not disbelief) when I hear stories from musicians about studios they went to where things didn’t work out as planned, and they have little recourse in the situation. I suggest all musicians pay as much attention to a studio’s reputation as its gear list…maybe more.
Lightbulb Moment
Posted on | August 15, 2011 | No Comments
I recently mastered a project for a client who was interested to see if I could make his music REALLY LOUD. He liked the way my mastering sounded, but wanted something ‘radio ready’. I explained the myth of making it loud for radio. In the end, he saw the light. It was gratifying. It went something like this…
“Man, I am so satisfied and excited about this CD! I am happy with my decision. Nothing lost or missing at all. That other sound, not for me. I stand on the side of real music, not distortion. Did some research re: ‘loudness wars’, made a believer out of us all. Also, everyone in the band loves the work you did.”
It’s always good when a story ends well.
About This Blog
From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
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