The Mastering Show

By The Mastering Show Podcast

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, ... more

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FAQs about The Mastering Show:

How many episodes does The Mastering Show have?

The podcast currently has 104 episodes available.

The Mastering Show episodes:

March 01, 2022 The Mastering Show #81 - Dolby Atmos Mastering
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
Mentioned in this episode:
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
...more
1h 19min
December 18, 2021 The Mastering Show #80 - You Asked, We Answered (or tried to!)
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
Mentioned in this episode:
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
...more
37min
November 20, 2021 The Mastering Show #79 - Dan Worrall on non-linear processing
What 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
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
...more
48min
October 11, 2021 The Mastering Show #78 - These guidelines are NOT for you
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
Mentioned in this episode:
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
...more
43min
July 17, 2021 The Mastering Show #77 - Spotify disable their limiter (and other loudness news)
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
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
...more
42min
March 17, 2021 The Mastering Show #76 - Is stereo bass a problem on vinyl ?
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
Mentioned in this episode:
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
...more
53min
February 16, 2021 The Mastering Show # 75 - Stem Mastering - or is it?
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
Mentioned in this episode:
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
...more
36min
January 07, 2021 The Mastering Show #74 - Spotify begins the move to LUFS Normalization. So What?
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
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
...more
37min
November 07, 2020 The Mastering Show #73 - Are you having a LUF ?
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
Mentioned in this episode:
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
...more
42min
June 17, 2020 The Mastering Show #72 - Off-topic but SO good !
This is so good it just needed it’s own episode.
It’s a groundbreaking, unique new way to make music online - and everyone should try it out ! It’s not just bleeps and beats, either - there are plenty of people using it to make fantastic acoustic and sample-based live-looping music as well.
I’m talking about Endlesss, the new live-looping-jam-with-friends-online iOS app developed by musician Tim Exile that I mentioned at the end of the last episode - and now it’s going to be available on Mac & PC !
I loved chatting to Tim for this episode, and there’s a ton of interesting ideas here even if you’re not that interested in the idea of Endlesss. We talk about:
* The problem of perfectionism in music production, and why it’s a mastering engineer’s super-power
* The best way to develop a new musical instrument
* How to fit 40kg of music tech in an iPhone - and why it’s worth it
* How not-live can feel live and how THAT can overcome anxiety and imposter syndrome
* And how Endlesss got Ian back into creating music after a 20-year break as a result
Full show notes on our website
http://themasteringshow.com/episode-72
Mentioned in this episode:
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
Mastering
Click HERE to work with Ian
...more
42min

FAQs about The Mastering Show:

How many episodes does The Mastering Show have?

The podcast currently has 104 episodes available.

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