http://theproaudiofiles.com/mastering-roundup-mastering-in-a-changing-industry/

http://theproaudiofiles.com/getting-the-most-out-of-mastering/

It’s been an enjoyably slow and steady rate of growth since, each year picking up more pieces for the arsenal. It started with a set of Dynaudio BM6A’s, a Benchmark DAC converter, and a move to a more symmetrical spot in the dining room. Wow, a stereo field! The next year, I began building my analog chain with a Cranesong HEDD and a Pendulum OCL-2 compressor. Wow, vibe and tubes! Then we bought a house and built the studio, throwing out a couple years of “knowing” my monitors and trading it for a happier spouse. The next year, a Manley Massive Passive EQ and an Avenson Mid-Side box. Holy smokes… just, wow.

A couple weekends ago, the wife and I drove to Chicago and picked up my newly eBay’d pair of B&W Nautilus 804 speakers. Two days later, my Bryston power amp arrived from a lovely fellow on Audiogon. I spent half a day reorganizing and reassessing the studio, and spent the better part of the evening enjoying some drinks and listening to my favorite records on the new set-up.

I am a firm believer that you can do good work on modest gear, it just might be a little harder and take a little longer. If I truly believed that the gear alone made the engineer, I never would have even attempted any of this. That said, I’m really enjoying the new speakers and am starting to feel pretty good about my set-up. At this point, with the tools I have at my fingertips, the only limitations I now have are my own skills and the quality of the source material. It’s both daunting and exciting.

In keeping with gear talk, I would like to call out Benchmark Media Systems for going above and beyond what I expect from a manufacturer. Over the past couple years, the volume pot on my converter has been getting a bit scratchy. I’ve known that I needed to have it taken care of… nothing screams half-assed to a client like that unnerving “sshhhhhh” sound when turning a knob. I just depend on the damn thing so much that I couldn’t imagine being without it for even a day while it was being repaired. I got in touch Benchmark and explained my predicament. They issued an RMA and told me it would be turned around the day it came to them, for FREE no less (keep in mind I bought it 4 years ago and the warrantee has long expired). I sent it on a Monday and wouldn’t you know it, I got it back on Friday! Totally incredible, such a great experience, works like a champ.

Contrast this with another hi-tag item I currently own. It’s been exhibiting a particular infrequent “issue” since about a year after I purchased it. I’ve researched the problem online and there have been numerous reports of this issue plaguing other users. It’s not a normal wear and tear problem, nor is it a problem from use or abuse. It’s clearly a manufacturing defect. I contacted the company and asked them what could be done, sending them links to several forums where the problem is discussed. The company told me to send the item back to them and there would be a $130 bench charge on top of materials (again, this is somewhat of a big ticket item and components aren’t cheap), not to mention who knows how long I’d be without it. In my opinion, a pretty crappy way to run your customer service department.

Deep breaths. Positive thoughts.

So… I couldn’t be happier with the quality of work I’ve been receiving lately. I am in the process of finishing not one but 2!!! TRAVELOGUE full-lengths, the first dropping in January, and the second in April. Incredible synth stuff… dude makes his own instruments is all I am saying. And the songs are super catchy too. I also mastered for vinyl the debut release for hometown heros FOUNDING FATHERS… crazy, dirty, and sweet, just like Cleveland. As I write this, the OCCUPY XMAS benefit compilation (featuring Os Ovni, Textbeak, Aaimon, and tons more) is about to drop today. Thankfully, I tag-teamed the mastering effort with Australia’s Toby Borrow, since the compilation is pretty immense. Also just finishing up a rippin’ EP of punk barn-burners from Cleveland’s THE ZAPGUNS (recorded by Restless Hab shredder Peter Woodward), and this weekend I’ve got the fourth album from instrumental juggernauts SPY-FI, and a new book-on-tape from dark storyteller LORIN MORGAN-RICHARDS.

And… I’m putting the finishing touches on mixing (yes, mixing) a new 3-song EP from ROBERT CHERRY, featuring the likes of Craig Ramsey (Bears) and John Curley (Afghan Whigs), and yes, it is as amazing as it sounds like it would be. Pure, excellent power pop. I’m really excited about this one.

I’ve got a some really cool stuff coming up before the holidays, and then I’ll be taking a break from studio work to make the outside of the studio look as nice as the inside. Plus, there’s still that DAMN floral wallpaper in the stairway that I vowed to remove 2 years ago. Oh, btw, did you see the interview by troubadour DAVID ULLMAN of yours truly in Chez Cauliflower? You didn’t? Well, click this LINK, fool! David has been documenting every step of the production of his forthcoming record, and he stopped by to talk to me about mastering for vinyl in addition to just taking a mini-tour around the studio. It was a lot of fun, and if you’ve got a few moments, check out some of his other videos (and tunes!); they are good stuff.

Finally, I got my hands on more product. Look.

Anyhow, thank you everyone for making this year an absolutely incredible one. I’m not going to lie, it looked a little bleak at the beginning of the year, but 2011 is officially going to go on the books as being one of the most enjoyable years I’ve spent in a studio, period.

Now then, the mastering of their newest record is beyond upsetting, even taking into account the current trends in loudness. Even on the lowest settings in my car, I can hear the kick drums and low end collapse into a wobbly, farty mess. The mids are grating and exhausting at any level, the sibilance of the voice is piercing and just sounds like bursts of white noise. Aside from that, there doesn’t even seem to be any sonic consistency from one song to the next. It’s as if the mastering engineers have finally been pushed as far as they can go, and they are just throwing up their hands in defeat. I don’t blame them per se; there’s probably a lot of pressure from all sides to deliver a loud product. It’s just a really disappointing sign of the times.

Look, I’m not championing the levels of CDs pressed in 1989. Frankly, it’s annoying when I can’t turn them up loud enough in my car. I appreciate a little bit of attitude from some of the music I listen to, and if that comes from a bit of aggressive compression or even clipping, so be it. If it sounds good, who cares how it was done. Not all music needs to be treated this way, but it suits some styles just fine.

That said, COME ON GUYS. At a certain point, it just stops doing anything other than just being loud. Any inkling of sonic integrity has been zapped out of it. And honestly, at this point, if this is what passes for mastering these days, then my job is obsolete. There’s no reason to hire me or anyone else calling themselves a “mastering engineer.” You can do this at home.

And I’m being 100% serious: if you’re a budding engineer (or even a musician with some plugins & a laptop) and the new Coldplay CD sounds good to you, don’t waste your money hiring me. Master your record yourself.

Unlike modern mastering, maybe I’m being a bit heavy handed to make a point. Good engineering does mean something. Yes, the song and performance is 80%, but the recording itself is a snapshot in time. Do we really want this era of our lives to be remembered for being ugly, grating, annoying and hateful? I don’t. Like I said before, that blown-out sound certainly has its place, but not applied to everything.

Thankfully there are ripples in the underground, and if that is any litmus test for the future, things might not be so dire. 50% of my work these days is spent mastering for vinyl, and it doesn’t seem like people give a crap about the competitive loudness of LPs… at least not to this extent. I’ve only had one client in the past 4 years ask me to revise their CD master to be louder, and I usually am fairly conservative from the get go. The people I work for seem to be a little more aware of the so-called loudness wars. Unfortunately (and I’m sometimes guilty of this sort of self-consciousness as well), until big dudes start backing off the limiters, selling good-sounding records is going to increasingly become a niche business.

Or maybe not. It seems like trends and progress in the music industry always flow from the bottom up, right? Maybe, just maybe, if us little people keep doing what we’re doing, keeping our heads down and making great-sounding, tasteful records… maybe the big guys will eventually take notice and follow suit. Because, dammit, I’d like to buy a new record by a band I like in the future without it causing me to have an existential crisis.

This year, I just don’t know. I really enjoyed Summer… the cycling, the adult drinks in the backyard, the t-shirts, the blaring of douche-house and the scaring of the neighbors. Plus the thought of Winter in Ohio again… hmm. I’m having some very strange feelings right now.

Enough of that. Good number of vinyl pre-masters in the works. Today, I am finishing up the FOUNDING FATHERS‘ incredible debut LP. Also did singles for NYC legends DEAN AND BRITTA (ex-Luna) and Cleveland’s soon-to-be-legends EXPLODING LIES. In the digital realm, I finished instrumental EPs from ROOFBEAM (member of CLEMENS/excellent IDM/awesome packaging) and TEXTBEAK (witchy electro DJ/Tundra Dubs). Last but not least, I did some preliminary mastering work for full-lengths from up-and-comers LIGHTWEIGHT SLAMS and the return of STATE OF BEING. Not to mention a bunch of neat stuff in the pipeline.

And speaking of witchy… a remix I did awhile back for the aforementioned TEXTBEAK made its way onto the recently-released (Grandma, cover your eyes) COVENFVCK mixtape. That was a pleasant surprise… I had almost forgotten I had done it, and there it is! Some really cool, minimal dark synth stuff going on in that scene. Haven’t done a remix in ages and I kinda miss it. Has anyone had a chance to play with the new Reason?

What else??? Hmmm, well… I built an XLR jack-field (pretentious-speak for “patch-bay”) for the studio using Redco and Canare parts. That was a fun project. I haven’t done too much soldering since school but holy crap, after 200 solder points I HOPE I got the hang of it. I was no longer happy with a permanently-patched signal chain, and crawling around to re-patch gear had gotten old fast. A mastering console at this stage of the game would be overkill for me, so this was the only logical option. So far I’m loving it. Also did some fun tube-swapping in the Pendulum (replaced the stock 12AX7s with ’60s vintage GE 6072A’s) and I’m pretty much loving the studio these days.

Yep, good stuff. Keep in touch fools!

Ltd. Ed.