Dear Self,
I don't care if the other mastering engineers don't reference. You, my dear, still need to reference. What's more, you know HOW to reference effectively, what information to compare, and what to disregard. Had you referenced today instead of listening only to the mixes at hand, the masters you did today might be quite amazing instead of merely impressive yet flawed.
Therefore, effective immediately, or at least effective Monday, when you go back in the studio, please put into effect this first commandment of mastering:
THOU SHALT REFERENCE. Reference for low-end. Reference for high end. Reference for midrange.
(Oh, and yes, that digital EQ you had to work with today wasn't all that nice. It's ok. You still did quite well. But you did pump too much bass into your masters. While it's fixable, it probably wouldn't have happened if you had REFERENCED instead of sitting there questioning and second-guessing whether there was enough bass, deciding there wasn't because last time there hadn't been, and adding more.)
So. Lessons of the day. You don't like the Weiss digital EQ, regardless of how much it might cost. You didn't like it the other day when you heard David use it, and you didn't like what it sounded like under your own control today. The Manley Massive Passive reigns supreme. Too bad gee the owner of the studio thinks so, too, and keeps it in his room lots of the time! And, 3k is your friend for bringing snares and vocals forward and present. As for compression, you like the Tube-Tech multiband well enough, but you still wish for a nice analog stereo compressor. You'd really like to try the Manley Vari-Mu, but that doesn't seem to leave David's room. Perhaps one of these days you'll get to try out the API bus compressor though.
You still have miles to go in figuring out levels and final de-essing and limiting. And you have to learn how to use the NoNoise, which you could make process the signal today, but not effectively in terms of getting rid of the p-pops, the likes of which you've seen Matt fix several times already. You have plenty of questions to ask Matt when he gets back into town! But, you have the potential to be a good mastering engineer, in relatively short order:
...IF YOU REMEMBER TO REFERENCE!
Yours,
Your (kicking yourself at the same time you're patting yourself on the back) Self.
I don't care if the other mastering engineers don't reference. You, my dear, still need to reference. What's more, you know HOW to reference effectively, what information to compare, and what to disregard. Had you referenced today instead of listening only to the mixes at hand, the masters you did today might be quite amazing instead of merely impressive yet flawed.
Therefore, effective immediately, or at least effective Monday, when you go back in the studio, please put into effect this first commandment of mastering:
THOU SHALT REFERENCE. Reference for low-end. Reference for high end. Reference for midrange.
(Oh, and yes, that digital EQ you had to work with today wasn't all that nice. It's ok. You still did quite well. But you did pump too much bass into your masters. While it's fixable, it probably wouldn't have happened if you had REFERENCED instead of sitting there questioning and second-guessing whether there was enough bass, deciding there wasn't because last time there hadn't been, and adding more.)
So. Lessons of the day. You don't like the Weiss digital EQ, regardless of how much it might cost. You didn't like it the other day when you heard David use it, and you didn't like what it sounded like under your own control today. The Manley Massive Passive reigns supreme. Too bad gee the owner of the studio thinks so, too, and keeps it in his room lots of the time! And, 3k is your friend for bringing snares and vocals forward and present. As for compression, you like the Tube-Tech multiband well enough, but you still wish for a nice analog stereo compressor. You'd really like to try the Manley Vari-Mu, but that doesn't seem to leave David's room. Perhaps one of these days you'll get to try out the API bus compressor though.
You still have miles to go in figuring out levels and final de-essing and limiting. And you have to learn how to use the NoNoise, which you could make process the signal today, but not effectively in terms of getting rid of the p-pops, the likes of which you've seen Matt fix several times already. You have plenty of questions to ask Matt when he gets back into town! But, you have the potential to be a good mastering engineer, in relatively short order:
...IF YOU REMEMBER TO REFERENCE!
Yours,
Your (kicking yourself at the same time you're patting yourself on the back) Self.