ProAudio Review - December 2008 - (Page 8)

opinion mastering matters by Alan Silverman Upgrade Escapades A few too many decades ago I became a The Great Normalizer On first listen, it recording addict. My first real gear pur- Upgrading has taught me something about seemed obvious it just chase was a brass-capsule AKG C 414 EB how we hear. The ear is a great normalizer. A would not work out. The sound was so pair, fresh from behind the counter of a neurophysicist friend once explained that completely unfamiliar it was scary. There mom-and-pop pro-audio store with the new connections are made in the brain seemed to be too much of everything. I instruction, "Pay us when you can." (I over a period of time when we make a sig- did a few hours listening in the hopes that did.) nificant change in the daily music playback things would settle in, but no luck. I shut I bee-lined to a friend's attic studio system. What sounds radically different at down the room for the night and took off. where we recorded a primo Ludwig drum first soon becomes normal. Whenever I've The next morning I had high hopes for a kit with the new AKGs and his Neumann made the decision to upgrade the monitor fresh-eared listen, but the sound was still KM84 pair. We recorded to a Scully 4- chain in my mastering room, I've allowed very disorienting. Fortunately, there was track, spending hours experimenting with up to a week of downtime for the adjust- a project in for a friend who did not mind the mics, listening to playbacks being part of the transition. After a and having a whole lot of fun difficult day, I took the results learning what they could do. home—not bad, but not right. This Those days are some of my best sort of thing continued for two memories, but a great thing about more days, each spent partly recording (especially the analog working on new material and the kind) is that the exploration and rest listening to references and the fun continue for as long as you old work. stay in it. There's always someThe fourth day must have been thing that can re-spark the sense the charm. At that point, for the of discovery or bring a fresh perfirst time, the system did not spective. Each acquisition promisseem at all foreign at the mornes new sounds, better results, and ing's first listen. References and anticipated (but unobtainable) past work sounded good; in fact, Is the McIntosh MC252 Alan's last new piec e o f gear at they sounded better than I could perfection. his studio? [We doub t it. - Ed.] recall, even though just the mornSerious Upgrades ing before things were off. As a However, in a mastering context, upgrad- ment to take hold and to get comfortable reality check, I hooked up the old power ing — enticing as it may be — is deadly with the change. A lot of time needs to be amp; it seemed practically unusable, but serious and even dangerous, especially spent listening to familiar reference materi- this was the amp that had carried me when the monitor path is involved. al and to past work. through eight years of successful work! Mastering consoles, converters, ampliA recent upgrade involved bringing in a Evidently, the auditory transition was fiers, and speakers all have a major McIntosh power amplifier to replace the complete, and I was past the point of no impact on mastered results and any sub- amp I had been working with for the last return. This was an illustration of another stitution upsets the bedrock foundation eight years. An opportunity presented madness that we've all experienced: It's for a mastering engineer: the knowledge itself to pick up one from an engineer all good 'til you hear the better device, and understanding of the environment. Of friend at a good price. I'd always loved and then there's no going back. course, if you've been getting excellent McIntosh amps, and we had scores of The amplifier upgrade is now a few results with your present rig, you don't them at New York's A&R Recording months behind me, and I'm finding that I really need anything new, right? My Studios where I was on staff. They could am working more smoothly. My job has friends continue to remind me of how handle any monitor well, from UREI 813 to become easier. The sound in the room is the many times, after an acquisition, I've Westlake BBSM to Yamaha NS10. I waited best it has been. It's a great feeling, and said, "I'm all set! I don't need anything for the opportunity of a few clear days even greater knowing that I'm all set! I don't else new at the studio." and finally did the installation. need anything else new at the studio. Alan Silverman is the founder of Arf! Mastering in New York. www.arfdigital.com 8 ProAudioReview | December 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.arfdigital.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - December 2008

ProAudio Review - December 2008 Contents Technically Speaking New Studio Products Opinion: Mastering Matters Review: BIAS Peak Pro XT 6 Review: Zaxcom Fusion ENG Mixer and Multitrack Recorder Review: Sound Devices 788T 8-Track Digital Audio Recorder Review: Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo DSP Accelerator Review: Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor Review: RME ADI-8 QS A/D-D/A Converter Feature: Converters and Clocks: Engineers on Their Choices New Live Products Opinion: From the Road Review: Yamaha IM8 Series Mixing Consoles Review: NTI Digirator DR2 Digital Audio Signal Generator Review: Sencore SoundPro SP495 Audio Consultant Test Set Single Slice

ProAudio Review - December 2008

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