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Music Mastering

amirm

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Here is a good video that goes over the role of the "Mastering Engineer," in this case, Mandy Parnell:


Quite fascinating that she almost always works in analog domain. Digital files are played, EQ, Level, etc. is applied in analog domain and content re-digitized! So a generational loss is introduced.

Can somewhat see why though. Digital manipulation requires careful attention to headroom because you can easily increase levels and cause clipping. In analog, this is not nearly as much of a problem and at any rate, the results can be heard immediately.

And then there is the convenience of having lots of knobs to change with tactile feedback than mouse clicks.

Definitely worth a watch.
 

DonH56

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A lot of others work in the digital domain, and there are many digital controllers that give us analog-type knobs. I have always said that mixing and mastering are where you really do need 24-bit class converters as you are sliding various channels all over the place to optimize the mix. You need to give yourself a decent amount of headroom for when you start mixing things together, and without the noise floor getting so high it is noticeable.
 

Sal1950

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Quite fascinating that she almost always works in analog domain. Digital files are played, EQ, Level, etc. is applied in analog domain and content re-digitized! So a generational loss is introduced.
As is often the case, maybe it's the distortions being introduced in the analog domain she finds to be pleasing?
 

Blumlein 88

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Well you can do lots of processing and sliding around levels in 64 bit DAWs, and then fix it all up before exporting the file without any issues at all in regards to clipping or losing resolution. So that isn't really an issue. As Don said, plenty of devices to give knobs which control the DAW so you have that tactile feedback.

It would be more the coloration no doubt. The soft compression and soft limiting of tape. Many master on large consoles and are quite open about the transformers involved giving the kind of sound they are looking to find. So it isn't about fidelity. It isn't a generational loss, it is a generational enhancement.
 

Blumlein 88

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I wonder about her saying despite all the talk about loudness issues she finds clients are asking for it louder than ever. It certainly looks as if ole Tom Jones is going to be well squashed as is the current fashion. Seems there is no killing the idea. Talking about phase, and the excellent converters and all seems pointless when you work so hard to squash it that much. I can abide the multiple gain stages to add color if you like it, but why the need to scrunch nearly to death dynamically. She needs that digital limiting it would appear.

You'll have to forgive me for ranting on that a bit. A group of friends recently recorded in a studio. Acoustic Irish music. The first mastering sent back was rather striking. The one that torqued my head was an old Christmas lullaby done with acoustic instruments and delicate vocals. It was a DR4! For reference the infamous Metallica Death Magnetic album was about a DR4. Really? For a lullaby with delicate vocals, really? It took two more remasterings before the point was gotten across they did not want it squashed. Even though this was voiced to the mastering guy prior to the first one. He nodded his head and appeared to hear them speaking. Maybe most of his clients insist on this. I don't know, but it seems literally insane to me.

The video interview is very nice though. You read audiophile forums about all the things worried about, discussions of minutia at incredible levels to obtain the sound everyone intended of utmost fidelity. Then you see this interview at what all is going on (and this lady's approach is much less intense than many mastering people do now), and all that blather on the audiophile forums seems foolish in the extreme.
 
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amirm

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I wonder about her saying despite all the talk about loudness issues she finds clients are asking for it louder than ever.
Yeh I noticed that too. The people paying the bills still want them loud.
 
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amirm

amirm

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The video interview is very nice though. You read audiophile forums about all the things worried about, discussions of minutia at incredible levels to obtain the sound everyone intended of utmost fidelity. Then you see this interview at what all is going on (and this lady's approach is much less intense than many mastering people do now), and all that blather on the audiophile forums seems foolish in the extreme.
I am with you. Even if she did nothing, she went through two passes of digitization. I suspect noise floor is also easily raised through all that old analog gear.
 

Blumlein 88

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I am with you. Even if she did nothing, she went through two passes of digitization. I suspect noise floor is also easily raised through all that old analog gear.

No not noise. She was listening to all the space, the spatial enhancement. Not noise, spatial enhancement. :)
 

Don Hills

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... It certainly looks as if ole Tom Jones is going to be well squashed as is the current fashion. ...

You know something's wrong when a heavy metal album ends up less compressed than a semi-acoustic soul/blues album. (Iron Maiden, "The Final Frontier" versus Tom Jones, "Praise And Blame". Both mastered in 2010 by Bob Ludwig.)
 

Sal1950

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It certainly looks as if ole Tom Jones is going to be well squashed as is the current fashion.
So here comes the double whammy. All the old music being once more remastered to,
1. Lock it's code inside MQA's DRM like control of digital music distribution.
2. Squash everything into low single digit DR
The future out look is less than sunny.
 

watchnerd

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And then there is the convenience of having lots of knobs to change with tactile feedback than mouse clicks.

Definitely worth a watch.

Nah, it's not a mouse vs knobs issue.

On my desktop, I regularly use a UA Apollo Twin Thunderbolt MKII digital interface, which has a big honking knob, but still uses digital attenuation and supports 64bit float:

apollo_twin_mkII_carousel_2.jpg


Her preference go use analog is just that....a preference.
 

watchnerd

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Then you see this interview at what all is going on (and this lady's approach is much less intense than many mastering people do now), and all that blather on the audiophile forums seems foolish in the extreme.

Exactly.

This is my personal pet peeve. Audiophiles slobber over, and pay stupid money, for sound qualities (space, detail, presence) that engineers can dial up or down at whim.
 

watchnerd

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So here comes the double whammy. All the old music being once more remastered to,
1. Lock it's code inside MQA's DRM like control of digital music distribution.
2. Squash everything into low single digit DR
The future out look is less than sunny.

Hence the moral rationale for DRM-free peer-to-peer music sharing.
 

Sal1950

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amirm

amirm

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Nah, it's not a mouse vs knobs issue.

On my desktop, I regularly use a UA Apollo Twin Thunderbolt MKII digital interface, which has a big honking knob, but still uses digital attenuation and supports 64bit float:

apollo_twin_mkII_carousel_2.jpg


Her preference go use analog is just that....a preference.
I am familiar with these controllers but this is not equiv. to what she is using. She has selectors with presets for levels, frequencies and such. All shown at one time. It is a small console. If you watch her she toggles back and forth between two settings. That gives her fewer choices but better ability to learn what each one does. Having a controller like above where you have to switch context to apply the same knob to different things is not the same thing.
 

Blumlein 88

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https://www.sweetwater.com/c808--Mixing_Control_Surfaces

There are a variety of mixing control interfaces.

Then there are things like this touch sensitive interface from Slate, the Raven MTX. Maybe not the tactile feel, but certainly mimics having everything available at once and being able to change it with similar ergonomic benefits. Plus it quickly changes from a stereo-centric mix console to 5.1 or 7.1 surround versions.

Raven console MTXST-large.jpg
 

Wombat

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Saw a program today about remastering an old Bernstein/Beethoven recording on a local public broadcasting channel. It will be available soon on 'catch-up' but these Youtube videos cover most of it:



Extra:

This series is called Off The Record on SBS television. Theparticular program is Series 2, Episode 2. https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/ It is free. :)
 
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