The Mastering Show

By The Mastering Show PodcastEducation Music Music Commentary

The Mastering Show episodes

July 18, 2016 The Mastering Show #18 - The Emperor's New Ears
In this show we give a conclusive answer to all those heated online debates about what audio gear sounds best. Mics, converters, cables - you name it. And we tell you how to find out for yourself. But why you probably shouldn't bother. And along the way we discuss:
- When data-identical files sound different (and why)
- What the Three Fingered Mouse Click is, and why you need it
- The ultimate audio test: "5000 dollars or your house" !
- Why you really shouldn't move your head when working on audio
- When expensive cables really CAN sound better, and why - even though they actually don't
And plenty more !
Links
Can you trust your ears ?
http://productionadvice.co.uk/can-you-trust-your-ears/
Does it matter whether or not pain medication is branded?
http://digest.bps.org.uk/2015/11/does-it-matter-if-pain-medication-is.html
Ronan's Drum Recording Bootcamp
http://bit.ly/rcm-drums
More about Ronan
http://www.venetowest.com/rcm/
Mentioned in this episode:
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
1 hr 1 min
July 11, 2016 The Mastering Show #17 - Hi Res Audio (New science proves...what?)
A new study proves that high sample rates really DO sound better. Or does it ? As usual it's a little more complicated than that... in this episode we investigate why, and also discuss how to test this stuff for yourself, plus - when you might choose NOT to mix at Abbey Road, why all CD players don't sound the same, and why Ian hates the sound of swirling ultrasonic birdies. And, what that actually means!
Links:
AES Paper: A Meta-Analysis of High Resolution Audio Perceptual Evaluation
https://secure.aes.org/forum/pubs/journal/?ID=591
Intermodulation distortion
http://productionadvice.co.uk/high-sample-rates-make-your-music-sound-worse/
Test files for intermodulation distortion
http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html#toc_1ch
The importance of loudness matching
http://productionadvice.co.uk/you-must-do-this/
Why mp3 sucks - and how to hear it
http://productionadvice.co.uk/why-mp3-sounds-bad/
The amazing Record Production Dot Com website
http://www.recordproduction.com
Russell Cottier's site
http://www.russellcottier.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
1 hr 10 min
July 02, 2016 The Mastering Show #16 - Podcasts (Mastering, recording & mixing)
How to get great results mastering audio for podcasts - AND record and mix them. Plus - how to build a studio from hay bales (and why you'd want to), what really IS a "home" studio in the 21st century, and the mic Ian uses to record this show.
Links
The Mastering Show - Acoustic treatment
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-8/
The Mastering Show - Loudness
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-6/
Streaming Loudness Recommendations
http://www.aes.org/technical/documents/AESTD1004_1_15_10.pdf
Recording Studio Rockstars Podcast
http://www.rsrockstars.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
1 hr 10 min
June 24, 2016 The Mastering Show #15 - Perspective (How to know what your music is SUPPOSED to sound like)
In this episode I describe a simple, straightforward strategy to make your masters sound more like those of your favourite artists – whether you’re a beginner or a pro. I explain how to decide how loud you want to master your music, and how to make sure you achieve that without becoming a victim of the loudness war - and, using this method you’ll be able to asses objectively what you want your music to sound like, and figure out how to get there.
Links
How to read the new loudness meters
http://productionadvice.co.uk/lufs-dbfs-rms/
What does a mastering engineer do ? My mastering process
http://productionadvice.co.uk/mastering-process/
Using Perception with reference tracks
http://productionadvice.co.uk/using-the-perception-plugin-with-reference-tracks/
More info on Perception
http://perceptionplugin.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
25 min
June 17, 2016 The Mastering Show #14 - Distortion (The good, the bad and the ugly)
In this show we talk about distortion. Good distortion, bad distortion - and how to tell the difference. Find out what Ian REALLY thinks about distortion, how you can use it effectively in mastering - and when you should. What is soft clipping - and how do you use it ? Plus Ian explains why ALL audio processing is distortion, strictly speaking - and the benefits (and costs) of using it.
Links:
Fab DuPont on Death Magnetic
http://www.puremix.net/mixcheck-mix-analysis/metallica-vs-metallica-metallica.html
What is 'aliasing' and what causes it?
http://www.soundonsound.com/sound-advice/q-what-aliasing-and-what-causes-it
When in doubt, dither
http://productionadvice.co.uk/when-in-doubt-dither/
Why you need amazing monitoring
http://productionadvice.co.uk/if-you-cant-hear-it-it-doesnt-matter/
The Home Mastering Masterclass
http://www.homemastering.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
56 min
June 10, 2016 The Mastering Show #13 - Vinyl (This may ruffle a few feathers !)
How to master for vinyl, including key problems to watch out for, plus: why Ian loves everything about vinyl (except for one thing); is vinyl better than CD; why most vinyl in the 80s was actually digital, not analogue (!); why hiss is your friend; what "HD vinyl” is, and why it might help fix that one thing Ian doesn’t like
Links
Why custom mastering for vinyl isn’t necessary
http://productionadvice.co.uk/vinyl-mastering/
It’s a kind of magic – Or: It’s not about the f****** format !
http://productionadvice.co.uk/its-not-the-format/
Why you can’t measure vinyl with the TT Meter
http://productionadvice.co.uk/tt-meter-not-for-vinyl/
The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to Sound Engineering
http://productionadvice.co.uk/hitchhikers-guide-to-sound-engineering/
Star Wars: The original radio drama
https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Original-Radio-Drama/dp/1565110056
Patents filed for HD Vinyl
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/03/15/high-definition-vinyl-will-soon-become-a-reality/
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
45 min
June 03, 2016 The Mastering Show #12 - NOT Mastering
Why you might NOT want to master your music - or get it mastered; what I think of LANDR and other online "mastering" services; when mastering ISN'T mastering; plus the problem with re-mastering; a brief tangent on Dave Grohl; can you master on the mix buss? And why deciding not to master is STILL mastering.
Links
LANDR: Automated online mastering – but is it any good ? My test
http://productionadvice.co.uk/landr/
How the Loudness War is crushing Dave Grohl’s analogue ambitions
http://productionadvice.co.uk/how-the-loudness-war-is-crushing-dave-grohls-analogue-ambitions/
The heart and soul of mastering
http://productionadvice.co.uk/heart-and-soul/
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
41 min
May 27, 2016 The Mastering Show #11 - You're going to love this
Full-length interview with Matt Colton from Alchemy Mastering, who mastered James Blake’s Dynamic Range Day Award-winning “The Colour of Anything”.
Topics include the processing chain Matt used (and why it possibly doesn’t matter as much as you think it might); the limiter he used (which you may already have) and his favourite default settings for it; the unique story of how he became a mastering engineer - and why vinyl really DOES sometimes sound better than CD
Links:
Matt Colton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Colton
Alchemy Mastering
http://www.alchemymastering.com
The Dynamic Range Day Award
http://dynamicrangeday.com/award/
James Blake and the dynamics of The Colour In Anything
http://productionadvice.co.uk/james-blake-dynamics/
Pop goes the loudness war
http://productionadvice.co.uk/pop-dynamics/
Mentioned in this episode:
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
1 hr 11 min
May 12, 2016 The Mastering Show #10 - Dynamic Range Day
Why “Dynamic Range Day” is a really bad name. And come to think of it, why “dynamic range” probably isn’t what you think it is. And neither are “dynamics”! And why the Loudness War hasn’t changed them. At least, not one kind – or not in the way that you think. Because physics. It’s complicated!
Plus special bonus topics: Autotune and Taylor Swift (!)
Links:
Dynamic Range Day
http://dynamicrangeday.co.uk/
How to use the TT ‘Dynamic Range’ Meter – and where to get it
http://productionadvice.co.uk/how-to-avoid-over-compressing-your-mix/
The ‘Dynamic Range’ Database
http://dr.loudness-war.info/
Dynameter
http://www.meterplugs.com/dynameter?a_aid=edmmr&a_bid=3bb60bda
Did they REALLY just auto-tune Aretha ? SERIOUSLY ?
http://productionadvice.co.uk/aretha-autotune/
So Taylor Swift is louder than Motorhead, AC/DC and The Sex Pistols… – wait, WHAT?
http://productionadvice.co.uk/taylor-swift-loudness/
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
45 min
May 05, 2016 The Mastering Show #9 - Analogue versus Digital
Can digital really sound as good as analogue ? Should you use analogue or digital gear when mastering ? Could higher sample rates be hurting your music ? What’s wrong with the phrase “in the box” ? Why is a digital photograph NOT a good analogy for a digital audio file ? Why does Ian think recorded sound is miraculous, and what does that have to do with the answers to all the previous questions ?
Links:
There are no “stair steps” in digital audio
http://productionadvice.co.uk/no-stair-steps-in-digital-audio/
How to test for intermodulation distortion
http://productionadvice.co.uk/high-sample-rates-make-your-music-sound-worse/
When to use dither
http://productionadvice.co.uk/when-to-dither/
Monty’s superb analogue versus digital demo video
https://youtu.be/cIQ9IXSUzuM
Mentioned in this episode:
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
54 min

About The Mastering Show

From the publisher's feed

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,…