The Mastering Show

By The Mastering Show PodcastEducation Music Music Commentary

The Mastering Show episodes

June 17, 2022 A quick heads-up !
Not a full episode, but something you might be interested in, hopefully ?
For more information about Perception AB: www.meterplugs.com/perception-ab
Mastering demo: https://www.meterplugs.com/blog/2022/06/14/mastering-with-perception-ab.html
Mixing demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKTuxK3ThAk
3 min
June 08, 2022 The Mastering Show #84 - Apple switch to LUFS and enable Sound Check by default
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-84
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
45 min
May 10, 2022 The Mastering Show #83 - Mastering for clubs & DJs with Luca Pretolesi
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-83
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
59 min
April 04, 2022 The Mastering Show #82 - Dynamics in Dolby Atmos - Nick Rives Interview
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-82
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
36 min
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:
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
1 hr 20 min
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:
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
37 min
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
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
49 min
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:
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
Learn to master !
Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources
44 min
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
Leapwing
Find out more about Leapwing's plugins
43 min
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:
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

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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,…