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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!
101 Episodes
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Brian Eno is probably the musician, producer and artist who has had the single biggest influence on my music taste and enjoyment over the years. His work speaks for itself and needs no introduction ! So when I heard Emre Ramazanoglu talking on the Working Class Audio podcast about re-mixing and mastering many of Brian's classic albums for Dolby Atmos, my ears immediately pricked up. I just couldn't miss the chance to talk to him in more detail about working with Brian - and the amazing detective work that it involved.So in this episode Emre and I take a deep dive into this fascinating subject, talking about things like:"Audio archeology" – the challenges of mixing Eno's older material, and the unexpected solutions Emre foundHow mixing for Eno is different from Emre's usual workflow, even with brand new releasesThe lessons Emre learned - and why this might be what makes Eno such a great producerNew immersive strategies Emre developed specifically for these albums......and how they're helping his stereo mixing as well !Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE
I wanted to do something a little different to mark the 100th episode, but wasn't sure what. I was wondering about interviewing myself but that seemed a little weird... And then Matt Boudreau from the excellent Working Class Audio podcast invited me back onto his show, and it occurred to me - I could get Matt to interview me, which would be way more fun and get some much more interesting questions !So here it is. Matt and I talk about all kinds of things including:My background in music, production and music technologyHow I got my start as a mastering engineerThe responsibilities of the mastering engineer (and the mistake that nearly cost me my job)My first mastering chain, and how it inspired my Perception AB pluginHow I feel about being 'The Loudness Guy'Hardware versus 'in-the-box' masteringWhy mastering mattersAnd loads more !Full links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-100Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
Stereo, mono, binaural or surround-sound ?I've worked with this episode's guest in all these formats and more over the many years we've been working together - but which does he prefer, and why ?Richard Durrant describes himself as an "Indie Classical" musician, which I think is a pretty good summary - but doesn't really take into account the fact that he also toured with Sky, worked as an accomplished session musician for many years and has released albums in a brilliantly eclectic variety of other genres and styles over the years.In this conversation we talk about:Why Richard records in an "acoustic igloo" (and what that is)Mic techniques for guitar and dealing with "wolf notes" on stringed instrumentsReal spaces versus digital reverbTouring (and performing) with a bicyclePerforming Bach's cello suites on Banjo and Ukulele - how and whyFull links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-99Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE
1'Stem mastering' has provoked a ton of debate recently, with people claiming it crosses the line between mixing and mastering, interferes with the artist's intent, and isn't even really mastering at all !But if that's true, why would Abbey Road, one of the biggest mastering studios in the world, offer a dedicated stem mastering service ?!In this episode I talk to Oli Morgan, who specialises in stem mastering and mixing in mastering in Dolby Atmos at Abbey Road, about all these questions and more. We talk about:How he got started in mastering (and what that has in common with me)His perspective on stem mastering – when and how it can be helpfulHow (and why) stem mastering is a key element for working in Immersive Audio and Dolby AtmosWhat we can learn about dynamics from working in Dolby AtmosWhy the 'pressure sound' may not be all about heavy limitingHow we might be able to have our cake and eat it in the quest to balance loudness and dynamicsFull links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-98Mentioned in this episode:ToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
The term “legend” gets thrown all the time in audio production circles, but my guest this episode really deserves it. I’m sure you already know this but Ken Scott has worked with the Beatles, David Bowie, Elton John and Supertramp amongst so many others, so I was delighted when he agreed to join me for this episode !There were so many things we could have talked about it was hard to know where to start, but here are just a few of the topics we covered:* Why Abbey Road trained their engineers in mastering before they were ever allowed to engineer a recording session* The value of mentors - and being thrown in at the deep end* Mixing in sections (instead of using automation)* When limited resources are a Good Thing* Re-mixing Ziggy Stardust in Dolby Atmos (with added drum samples…!)* …and how the new mix translates to stereoFull show notes on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-97Mentioned in this episode:ToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
We’ve been using “soft clipping" in mastering for over 20 years at this point, but it suddenly feels as if it’s all anyone is talking about ! New plugins, new suggestions about how to use it, and wild new claims about how amazing it sounds. Except it doesn’t.At least – not all the time, and not for all material.In this episode Joe Caithness and I dig deep into the details and talk about:* What clipping is, and what it isn’t* The crucial differences between hard and soft clipping* What makes a great clipping plugin (and why comparing them is a nightmare)* Some of our favourite clipping plugins and how we use them* The kinds of material that work best with clipping, and what type to use* The golden rule to follow if you want to experiment with clipping yourselfFull show notes and links on our website:https://themasteringshow.com/episode-96Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE
The Billboard Top 50 global singles from the first half of 2024 have an average loudness of -8.3 LUFSSo that’s how loud we should be making our masters, right ?Well…It certainly might seem that way, but in reality it’s a bit more complicated than that. This is only one of the interesting results that Ian Stewart presented in his latest blog post for iZoTope, and in this episode I asked him back on to really dig into some of the details and nuance.Plus I also wanted to talk to him about the amazing plug-in that got invented during the last episode he was on ! (Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it 😛)During the show we talk about: * What that -8 LUFS average result REALLY means, and how much attention you should pay to it * Who the most successful artist in the Top 50 is, and the loudness statistics of their music * The problem with the title iZotope chose for the post * All the other results, trends and biases in the data * Basslane Pro, the plug-in Ian worked with Tone Projects to develop, why it’s unique - and how The Mastering Show helped it happen !Full show notes on our sitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-95Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
People are always asking me about mastering for vinyl, and I’m happy to try and help based on the experience I have. I don’t actually cut vinyl myself though, so that advice is always limited and second-hand. So for this episode I decided to talk to a genuine expert on the topic - Scott Hull from Masterdisk - and really get into the details. Scott’s knowledge and experience of cutting vinyl is enormous, as you’ll hear, and I took full advantage of that in this episode ! Some of the things we talked about include: The 4 stages of vinyl production, and why each is important How making assumptions about vinyl mastering can backfire Why choosing which plant is going to press the records is crucial The crucial role of the lathe - and it’s setup The myth of duration on vinyl - why “20 minutes per side” isn’t a hard and fast rule Why less limiting allows you to cut louder on vinyl What is the magic of vinyl ?Full show notes and links on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-94Mentioned in this episode:ToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
I’m always arguing for balanced dynamics rather than loudness for it’s own sake, but some people have a different opinion - high loudness is important, and even beneficial.Nick Di Lorenzo is one of them - he says that loudness is important regularly on his YouTube channel. So in this episode I invited him on to explore that idea in more detail, and really get into the nuances of the topic. Do you need to be mastering loud ? Topics include:* The practicalities of loudness* What makes things sound loud anyway ?* Record labels versus loudness* Why loudness IS important* Why LUFS don’t matter, and* The difference between loudness and LUFSFull show notes on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-93Mentioned in this episode:ToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
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 masteringFull show notes on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-92Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE
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-91Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
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 ?!?Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
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 !Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
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 loudnessAnd much more !Full shownotes on our sitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-88Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
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 issuesAnd many more !LinksMike 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-87Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
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-86Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
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 websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-85Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins
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-84Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
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-83Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
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-82Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
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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! 😤