Things You Want a Lot of
Posted on | August 27, 2008 |
Being a mastering engineer is like being a makeup artist. You want a lot of different brushes and various hues in your pallete because different pieces of music, like people’s faces and complexions, need different treatments.
Things you want a lot of are equalizers, compressors, limiters, and dithers. They all need to have high resolution and transparent sound (i.e. mastering-grade processors), along with a good differentiation between their sound. Some should be neutral, other should be colored. But all will be useful at one time or another for different applications.
So, after years of trial-and-error, I’ve picked a handful of processors that I think are ideally suited for mastering. The processors I personally use are digital, and I don’t think that in 2008 that’s a compromise. DSP power and software coding have evolved to a point where computers can handle the very high-resolution compressors, limiters, and equalizers that a handful of the better software companies are creating. And I’m trying to strike the balance between maximizing efficiency in workflow and providing the processors that deliver the best (and most appropriate) results.
And, as I always like to say, these elements all work together…intertwined. Paring a really clean equalizer with a colored compressor and/or “soft” limiter will give you one sound, and utilizing a colored equalizer with more minimalist compressor and/or “hard” limiter will give you another effect.
Having access to a good pallete of processors is the toolbox for an audio engineer. Knowing how and when to use them is something that is learned through experience, trial-and-error, and objective discretion.
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From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
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