The Mastering Show #1 - The Basics of Mastering

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

19 Juni 20241h 30min

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

21 Feb 202421min

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

19 Dec 202355min

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

14 Okt 202349min

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

6 Aug 202349min

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

15 Feb 20231h 26min

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

17 Dec 20221h 15min

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

16 Nov 202243min