Claim OwnershipThe Mastering Show
Subscribed: 837Played: 11,655
Subscribe
© All rights reserved
Description
This is the show where we cover all aspects of mastering. If you're interested in mastering, want to learn how to get better results mastering your own music, or even want to be a mastering engineer, this is the show you want to hear.
94 Episodes
Reverse
You can't go a day without someone telling you how loud your music should be, these days.
"Everything has to be -8 LUFS"
"EDM has to be -6 LUFS or louder"
"-11 is the perfect balance"
"Just master everything to -14"
...but they can't all be right !
In fact, none of them are, and even more importantly, they may not even be talking about the same thing. And the differences are really important. So in this episode I try explain really clearly and concisely:
The 3 different types of LUFS
The difference between them
Why it’s crucial to know which type you’re talking about
Why mastering to integrated targets makes no sense
When -14 LUFS isn’t loud enough – and why ?
Why it’s not about ‘how loud’, it’s about how you make it loud
Why integrated LUFS values are the result, not the goal of mastering
Full show notes on our website
https://themasteringshow.com/episode-92
It’s virtually impossible that you haven’t heard music of some kind mixed by Alan Meyerson by this point - he’s one of the most prolific and successful film score mixers in the business.
And luckily for us, he’s also super-generous and open about the information he shares, including his perspectives on mixing and ‘mastering’ music for the movies. So in this episode we dig deep into all the details, including topics like:
* Is there really such a thing as ‘mastering’ for film ?
* What needs to be delivered, and what is the process ?
* How loud does it need to be - are there any standards ?
* When does Alan deliver mixes in Atmos, and why ?
* How he uses the centre channel and surround channels
* Why you might want to use saturation or pitch-shifting (!) in a movie score mix
Show notes
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-91
Everyone is talking about inter-sample peaks and True Peak limiters - or in fact it’s more accurate to say they’re arguing about whether ISPs are audible or not, and whether True Peak limiters sound bad !
In this episode I’m joined by Alexey Lukin, iZotope’s “godfather of RX”, to talk in detail about exactly what ISPs are and why they’re so confusing - including:
* How are inter-sample peaks measured, and why do you see different results with different meters ?
* What are DSP overshoot peaks, and how are they different ?
* What does over-sampling have to do with all this, and why is it important ?
* Do True Peak limiters really sound bad, and how should we test them ?
* Why will they NOT prevent lossy decoder clipping, sometimes ? And
* What the hell are we supposed to do about all this ?!?
If you’re not already listening to Matt Boudreau’s fantastic podcast Working Class Audio, you need to start now !
Matt is a highly respected mixing and mastering engineer who has recently moved into working in Dolby Atmos, where he’s already picked up some seriously impressive credits - oh, and also produces one of the top Audio podcasts around.
Which is why if I try to think of anyone better to learn the fundamentals of good audio for podcasting and journalism from… well, I can’t. And the great news is that Matt has put together a new “PodClass” course to help people with just that.
In this episode we talk about the course and what inspired it, but also plenty of other great stuff, including
Making the move from pro musician to audio engineer
Getting started in Atmos - workflow, dynamics and more
Work-Life balance - is it better to be a lark, or a night-owl ?
The secret advantages of running your own podcast...
…and the crucial importance of great audio (And what it has to do with COVID lockdowns !)
Enjoy - and if you want to try Matt’s course, make sure to use the discount code TMS to get a 30% discount and help support The Mastering Show at the same time !
DJs get a lot of flak, especially about loudness. There’s a deep-seated belief that “loud” masters are still a requirement for club music, and that DJs are somehow to blame.
But is this fair ? The reality is much more complicated and interesting than the popular cliche that DJs will only play loud masters, and in this episode Ian dives deep into the issue with Joe Caithness, who works as both a DJ and a mastering engineer. Topics include:
The reality of DJ-ing
The problem with peaks
Loudness ? Or consistency ?
The power of Pioneer
The shocking missed opportunity of loudness metadata
The ‘sound’ of loudness
And much more !
Full shownotes on our site
https://themasteringshow.com/episode-88
It’s amazing what mastering can achieve - but it’s also amazing how many things can influence the results we get right from the recording stage.
In this episode Ian talks to Mike Senior about how to fix mastering problems at the recording stage, without using a time machine ! Topics include how to avoid:
Muddy mids
Harsh guitars
Sibilance
Resonant snares
Boomy or hollow vocals
Exposed vocals
Stereo image issues
And many more !
Links
Mike has put together a fantastic page of resources for this episode, including an excellent video about stereo mic technique - click here make sure you check it out !
https://cambridge-mt.com/misc/mastering-show-2212-resources/
https://themasteringshow.com/episode-87
As mastering plugins become more sophisticated and more technical, there’s an interesting trend towards making the interfaces… less so.
As well as traditional technical terms and numbered scales, controls labelled with less technical terms like “warmth”, “bite” and “colour” are becoming more common. And some interfaces are just… bizarre !
Is that good ? Or not ? In this episode Jon and I like at some more unconventional plugin user interface designs, and discuss:
Why technical interfaces can be a problem
When a more creative approach can be a good thing...
…and when it’s not
Some of our favourite ‘unconventional' plugin designs
But are they better than just closing our eyes ?!
Should plugins emulate the design of the hardware
And does it make them sound better ?!?
Full show notes - http://themasteringshow.com/episode-86
You’ve probably heard of Eric Sarafin, aka Mixerman, but have you heard what he has to say about mastering ?
As always it’s entertaining, potentially controversial but also thought-provoking, so it seemed like a good idea to get him on the show and ask him to explain himself ! We talk about:
* Why he thinks if you don’t make money from your music, you shouldn’t pay for mastering
* Whether an online mastering service is actually a better option for a musician starting out (gasp)
* Eric's favourite limiter, how he uses it and why
* How loud he makes his mixes
* Recent potentially game-changing developments...
* And why they might make mastering engineers obsolete !
Full show notes on our website
https://themasteringshow.com/episode-85
This is huge - Apple have finally started using LUFS for their loudness normalisation, which means all the major streaming services now use the same method to measure loudness !
And perhaps more importantly, they’ve enable Sound Check by default on new devices. As always there are plenty of devilish details to be aware of though, so in this episode we talk in detail about this change, including:
* Why it’s so important
* How much music online is REALLY normalised anyway ?
* Why the answer is surprising to many musicians and engineers
* Why Apple finally made this change
* A few quirks and gotchas
* Why it’s good news
* And what to do about it (and what NOT to do!)
Full show notes on our website
https://themasteringshow.com/episode-84
In this episode we tackle one of the biggest challenges in modern mastering - the demand for super-loud masters in the dance & EDM genres.
Our guest is Luca Pretolesi, and we talk to him in-depth about his approach to mastering for clubs & DJs. Luca’s masters are loud and we're always emphasising the value of balanced dynamics in mastering on this show, so you might think it would be an uncomfortable conversation... or you might be surprised.
Some of the topics we cover include:
* Why do DJs demand loud masters for club playback ?
* Luca’s strategy to deliver this without sacrificing dynamics for streaming
* Hint - it’s NOT all about limiting and compression
* How loud Luca's masters are (which may not be quite as loud as you think)
* The club genres that DON’T demand extreme loudness
* Where things might go in future
Full show notes on our website
https://themasteringshow.com/episode-83
Dolby Atmos has moved the goalposts for loudness, all the way down to -18 LUFS.
This was one of the main topics of conversation for this year’s Dynamic Range Day, with the Atmos versions of 5 albums being nominated for the award - and in fact, the overall winner was an Atmos mix & master.
In this episode I talk to Nick Rives from Capitol Studios, who mixed the winning album, and we discuss:
* Nick's approach to mixing immersive audio
* How he got started with Dolby Atmos
* Using spatial effects to enhance the musical impact
* How the -18 LUFS guideline works in practise
* The benefits and challenges of Atmos dynamics
Full show notes on our website
https://themasteringshow.com/episode-82
Apple’s announcement of Dolby Atmos support has caused an explosion of interest in the format - after all, it means almost any iOS user can stream immersive audio, even if they only have a pair of earbuds to listen on. But how does that even work? And for that matter, what is Dolby Atmos, and why should we care? And what about mastering for Atmos? Is it possible, or even necessary?
In this episode we talk to Mike Hillier from Metropolis, and producer and mixer Emre Ramazanoglu about all things Atmos, including:
* Why Atmos is different
* Why mastering in Atmos is different
* How it works in practise
* Why the binaural render is so important - and what is binaural ?
* Why binaural Atmos sounds different on Apple devices
* How does head-tracking affect all this ?
* Getting started working in Atmos
Full show notes on our website
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-81
Time for another Q&A show! Thanks for all your comments, reviews and questions, please keep them coming.
In this episode we tackle:
* Are tools like SplitEQ fundamentally changing mastering?
* Level automation - before or after the limiter?
* Should you make separate masters for broadcast?
* Can (and should) we correct absolute phase in mastering?
* Do you need a dedicated headphone amp?
* What have we changed our minds about in mastering, over the years?
See full show notes and links on our website
https://themasteringshow.com/episode-80
1What is non-linear processing, and why does it matter?
In this episode we dive deep into the topic with our guest Dan Worrall, and talk about: what non-linear processing is, why it can sound great and when it can sound terrible, and how to know the difference. Along the way, we also discuss
* Is reverb non-linear ? And why it’s confusing
* How linear processing makes top-down mixing a good idea
* The difference between saturation and distortion
* …and how to use them creatively
* The difference between a perfect 5th and a power chord
* ...and how to play chords on a trombone
Full show notes on our website
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-79
The Audio Engineering Society has just released new recommendations for the loudness levels streaming services should distribute their audio at - but they’re not for you and me.
Having said that, understanding how they work is a powerful tool for predicting what will happen to your music when it's streamed. In this episode we talk about:
* Who the TD1008 guidelines are for
* Why they’re needed
* How they can make normalization more effective (and more musical)
* Why the numbers are slightly different for speech and music
* What the numbers are, and why
* Why you should care
Full show notes on our website
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-78
We round up a few different “loudness news” topics this episode, including:
* Why Spotify have removed their limiter
* But when they haven’t
* And what it means for the way your music will sound
* Plus, how the new loudness normalization options in Reaper might be useful for you
* But why you need to be careful with them
* What we think of Apple Music’s new lossless streaming feature
* And more !
Full show notes and links on our website
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-77
People are interested in mastering for vinyl again - and stereo bass is a big problem, right? You should always mono it to avoid problems? Well actually, no. There are some challenges raised by a very wide stereo image on vinyl, especially in the bass, but as always it’s not as simple as it seems.
In this episode we talk to our guest Ian Stewart in-depth about this issue, and dig into some of the juicy detail on the topic, including:
* Why stereo bass is a problem on vinyl
* Why stereo bass isn't a problem on vinyl
* Why you might want to avoid it anyway
* And why you might not
* What all this has to do with mid-side, and secret hidden messages from the anti-phase
* The best plugins for dealing with low end width in mastering
* …and why they’re not perfect
Full show notes at https://themasteringshow.com/episode-76
It’s either the most powerful mastering technique known to man, or it isn’t really mastering at all, depending who you ask. Some people love it, others hate it, and some are mortally offended just by it’s name.
Why does stem mastering provoke such passionate debate ? In this episode we dig into the topic to figure out the answers to these and other questions...
* What is stem mastering ?
* In fact, what really is a stem, anyway ?
* Why do some mixers find the idea offensive ?
* What are the benefits and pitfalls of stem mastering ?
* Why will stems often not sound exactly like the mix ?
* Does stem mastering really help your client ?
full show notes and links on our website
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-75
It’s happening. Spotify are switching to using LUFS for their loudness normalization. If you’re thinking ‘I thought they already used it', that’s understandable - but they didn’t.
They will in future though, and in this episode we talk about why the change matters, especially in the short-term. But also about when it doesn’t matter, and why it will hopefully matter even less as time goes on.
Topics include:
Why we don’t use Spotify
What we use instead, and why - and some of the differences
How normalization on Spotify used to work
How it’s going to work
What happens in the meantime
Why we mostly ignore the numbers, despite all this !
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-74
Let’s face it, LUFS don’t work.
No-one understands them, when you set a load of different songs to -14 LUFS they all sound a different loudness, and they weren’t even developed using music. RMS is just better, right ?
These are just some of the objections we’ve been hearing about LUFS recently, and in this episode we investigate them. Is there any truth to these claims and statements ? (Hint - Yes !)
Along the way we also cover:
* Why loudness is like the weather
* How EQ affects loudness, and how we hear it
* Loudness on the radio
* The ideal podcast loudness
* What’s up with Spotify’s loudness recommendation
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-73
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States
I'm not sure I quite got whether 44.1KHz sample rate was degraded in comparison to 48kHz. "Smoother" in comparison is what I have noticed too. That could be desirable I guess but is it still subjective at this point?
The more I hear this podcast the more I am rethinking my approaching how I treat the final rendition of my musical recordings. Great consideration of recording engineering theory. 👍
I really look forward to this. Sounds like the mindset I aim for expressed in the first podcast.
this is a fantastic podcast
You could also use the difference between JPEG and TIFF (lossless) and lossless compression of RAW format image files to talk about lossy vs lossless compression... goes with the contrast vs compression example.
Vigil bleiben rest Ich bin nicht sicher. End chulung dankr
The Mastering Show is like premium dog food.... No filler! Ian does a fantastic job explaining everything in a way everyone from newbies to veteran audio enthusiasts understand. Once I have caught up to all the episodes, I will go back and listen to the first 11 again
REAPER is not Free! 😤