The Mastering Show #95 - Loudness trends in 2024: should you follow them ? with Ian Stewart

We all want great low end - deep, fat, solid and punchy. But it can be one of the hardest things to get right - especially knowing how much of it is needed. Too much bass can sound boomy, flabby, muddy or dull. And as a result, it’s easy to be scared of bass. It’s easier to be cautious and avoid all those possible problems, right ? Well, maybe. Except if the low end isn’t working in your master, you risk the opposite problem - everything can sound weak, thin and harsh. In this week’s episode we talk about ways to avoid all these problems, including: Topics we cover include: * The one thing you shouldn’t do - and why * The deceptively simple thing you should always do * Will a sub-woofer help, or hinder ? * How EQ for better bass can sometimes make things worse - because phase * Dynamic EQ versus multiband compression * How distortion might help * Ah, duck it http://themasteringshow.com/episode-53Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

4 Juli 201859min

All the online streaming services play music back at roughly -14 LUFS, so that’s the level we should aim for when we’re mastering, right ? Wrong. That may sound strange, given how much we’ve talked about online loudness over the years - but we’re serious. In this show we dive deeper into one of the points we discussed in the last show: why you shouldn't be aiming for specific integrated LUFS values when mastering you music for online streaming. But, why it is still useful to know how your music will be affected. Topics we cover include: * A quick introduction to normalization * How it works * Why peak normalisation is useless for matching loudness * Why mastering songs to a specific LUFS value doesn’t work * So why are LUFS measurements of streaming services useful AT ALL ? * When Spotify’s normalization fails * The biggest problem with normalization right now Full show notes and links at http://themasteringshow.com/episode-52Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

8 Juni 201833min

"How loud will my music sound online ?" It’s the question everyone is asking these days, and the answer has always been “it depends”. Until now. In this episode Ian Kerr from MeterPlugs talks about the new tool he has been developing with Ian Shepherd to answer this question. It’s a website called Loudness Penalty, and it’s free ! Along the way we also discuss * Why -14 LUFS isn’t the right target for online loudness * Why Ian Kerr decided to make plugins that won’t change your audio - but will make it sound better * How coding 3D computer game graphics helped him develop LCast and Dynameter * Why the Ians decided to make Loudness Penalty free * How to use Loudness Penalty to find out what your music will sound like online * Why different streaming services all manage loudness in different ways http://loudnesspenalty.com http://themasteringshow.com/episode-51Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

26 Maj 201837min

You can’t master on headphones, right ? Well, let’s see… This year’s Dynamic Range Day Award-winner broke all the streaming records in it’s first week, debuted at Number 1 in the Billboard chart and... it was mastered on headphones. In this episode we talk to Glenn Schick, the engineer who mastered KOD by J Cole about his decision to become a “mobile” mastering engineer, including: * How (and why) he closed his analogue mastering studio to go mobile * Why he thinks it actually helps him to get better results... * And makes his job easier * The type of headphones he uses, and why * His mastering process for KOD, and * The decision to master with more dynamics Full show notes at http://themasteringshow.com/episode-50Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

10 Maj 201846min

As well as running our own show, we’re huge fans of other podcasts too, and in this show we take a little time to wander off-topic and recommend some of our favourite audio-related shows. We each choose four podcasts, and suggest great episodes of each to get started with. If you listen to all the episodes we recommend, you’ll get to hear hours of useful, interesting and amusing content, including things like: * A podcast with higher production standards than ours (gasp!) * Career advice from Andrew Scheps * How to turn a studio mistake into a win * How to cope with Imposter Syndrome * One of Ian’s biggest heroes * Why it’s good to fail - and much much more. Seriously, it’s a great list ! http://themasteringshow.com/episode-49Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

18 Apr 201829min

Our guest in this episode is Katie Tavini, who shares the inspiring story of how she got into mastering. It’s something we’re asked all the time, and Katie is a great example of one way to start in the industry, in a time when internships and junior positions are becoming less and less accessible. She also talks about the great network of engineers she’s discovered through Red Bull’s Normal Not Novelty initiative. Other topics include: * Why Katie got into mastering * Do you need expensive gear to master effectively ? * Katie’s favourite piece of gear * Does understanding classical music help with mastering ? * The challenges of being a female engineer * The pros and cons of attended sessions Full links and show notes on the website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-48Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

30 Mars 201848min

It’s a question we get asked regularly, and our answer may surprise you. To answer the question, we put together a “shopping list” for the ultimate DAW, and then discuss which of the applications is the best fit, and why. Topics include: * Which DAW sounds best ? * What does that mean ? * Do all digital EQs sound the same ? * What’s a DDP file ? * Pro mastering applications * Workflow versus features Full show notes and links on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-47/Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

10 Mars 201846min

Another chance for us to catch up with some of the questions you’ve been asking us. In this episode we talk about: * Bass - where does it start, where does it begin ? * How to use an analyser to assess EQ balance * When NOT to use an analyser to balance EQ and * What to do instead * Adding saturation in mastering - should you do this, and if so, how ? * The most difficult projects we’ve each worked on * How to extend an abrupt fade-out Full show notes and links http://themasteringshow.com/episode-46Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

23 Feb 201841min