Mastering’s Value in the DAW World
If you own a computer then you can buy software that promises you the ability to “record, mix, and master”. And even though this is a compromised solution (even under the best circumstances), the concept has chipped away musician’s perception of the need for professional mastering in the DAW world.
In the forward to Bob Katz’s [...]
Q&A
I received some questions from a student doing a case study about the loudness wars in modern mastering. Following are his questions and the answers I provided.
How and why is compression used in mastering?
Compression is used in a variety of ways in mastering, but the end goal is always to reduce dynamic range. If done [...]
The F Word
I hate failing. I think it’s embarrassing and it makes me feel…not so smart. But how it makes me feel is more a reflection of me and my personality.
In fact, failure is the best chance you have of learning something new. This was proven to me recently while working with a client. I didn’t deliver [...]
Dermabrasion for Your DAW
Have you ever looked at a person who’s had cosmetic surgery? If it’s done in small increments it can remove some wrinkles and look really stunning.
But we’ve also all seen the people who’ve had one too many peel, lift, or tuck. We’ve seen them whether we know it or not. Things seem uncomfortably taut, or [...]
Clarity
I get a lot of mixes from indie artists, and they want their masters to sound like the big guys (or gals). Hey, who doesn’t? And a lot of times (for specific genres) this means VOLUME. “Make it sound big and slammin’” is a request I often get.
To do this, I need a CLEAN mix. [...]
Listen and Learn
I have a good reputation as a mastering engineer, built over the last 9 years working with hundreds of clients all over the world in just about every genre. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have things to learn, or that I never miss the mark.
A good example of this is a band I recently [...]
Gauging Bass with Inexpensive Speakers
I work with a producer who has speakers that start rolling off around 100Hz. So, his mixes usually are hit-and-miss as far as accurate low-frequency representation…depending on what he’s working on.
Here’s my suggestion to him:
In your mixes, mute the bass. Get the mixes sounding as good as you can, minus the bass, then add the [...]
Taking the Long View
I’ve been working with a label, mastering one of their band’s latest albums. We’re going into a few revisions, and I received this note from the band’s A&R rep:
“Paul,
I wanted to take a moment to thank you for the revisions on the record and your responsiveness to our questions / requests.
As much as the controlling [...]
Human Nature
I know it’s human nature to question decisions, but an important part of working with people is also trust. If you’ve chosen a good mastering facility, you need to trust that they’re working from a perspective of experience…and that they know what they’re doing.
I recently mastered a song for a client who felt the mastered [...]
In Perplexity
One thing that constantly puzzles me about mastering is how some people can make very mediocre (or downright bad) recordings, and then become extremely critical about how the mastering is being handled.
If they’re such perfectionists, how did they turn out such a sketchy mix in the first place?
I always tell people that making a good [...]
About This Blog
From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
We welcome comments from readers...pro or con!
