Recording - October 2009 - 34

one of my regular mastering guys has no problems with using sections of each of these three mixes within a given track! Sequencing Sequencing the tracks on an album can be a bit more involved than simply dragging all the files into Toast and burning the disk. In addition to figuring out the song order (something I decide before it goes to the mastering house), a competent mastering engineer may well adjust the silence between the tracks for the most effective presentations of each song. Sometimes it’s 2 seconds, but sometimes it may be 2.5 seconds, or 1.8 seconds; when he listens to the project as a whole, he may alter them if it makes the project flow better from song to song. Audio chores There are a number of tools (software and hardware) to do these kinds of things, but the most important (in my opinion) are the mastering engineer’s ears, along with great monitoring and an acoustic space that allows the engineer to hear what’s actually going on with the project. Oh—did I mention that mastering engineers can also use their tools to help minimize the inequities of speakers that were used in the mixing process? More than one engineer I know has a preset eq curve labeled ‘NS10’ and another labeled ‘KRK’, since they have to deal with so many mixes done on these monitors. It’s nice to have a mastering engineer who understands what a given style of music should sound like, so he can work to keep my projects sounding similar to other, similar projects; a mastering engineer who works primarily with rock and metal records may not be the best choice for an acoustic record or a jazz record. Some of these processes, by the way, may be better done without the client (in my case, me) there, while others may be best suited to working with the producer and/or artist present. Non-audio chores The competent mastering engineer also deals with a number of things that don’t have anything to do with audio. For example, ISRC codes may be obtained (for free) and can be embedded in the subcode of the disk; these are worthwhile because ISRC 34 RECORDING OCTOBER 2009 codes are the method used by a number of radio stations to track airplay (and pay royalties). There’s also the subcode that allows some CD players to display what song is playing and who’s playing it. After the production master (that is, the one you don’t play—you send it off to the mastering house sealed away from prying eyes and sticky fingers ) is created, the mastering engineer should print out a page of PQ codes: start and finish times for each song, the amount of space between songs, and some other information that the production house will find useful. In addition, the mastering engineer should be able to check the production master for errors—both correctable and uncorrectable. By the way, correctable errors are tolerable as long as the number of them isn’t too high, whereas uncorrectable errors are not allowed. The real deal In any case, while quite a number of projects that I’ve worked on are subjected to ‘faux mastering’ (that is, they’re made louder and brighter), when budget allows, I would always prefer a real mastering job done by a real mastering engineer. Since this is the last point in the production cycle where changes can be made, I want someone whose ears I trust—Bob Olhsson in Nashville and Brad Blackwood in Memphis are two of those, along with guys like Ken Love at Mastermix. There are a number of competent and qualified mastering engineers around; those mentioned here are simply guys that I’ve used in the past (and will use in the future). Should you want to hear samples of the projects that I’ve sent out for mastering, feel free to go to http:// cdbaby.com/group/cuppajoerecords —keeping in mind, of course, that MP3s on computer speakers don’t really show anything other than if the song’s got a good beat and you can dance to it Dave Martin (martin@recordingmag .com) owns and operates Java Jive Studio in Nashville, and runs the studio’s label Cuppa Joe Records. He’s also a producer, engineer, bassist, and science fiction fan. Learn more about Dave’s projects at www.javajivestudio.com.
http://www.recordingmag.com http://www.cdbaby.com/group/cuppajoerecords http://www.cdbaby.com/group/cuppajoerecords http://www.recordingmag.com http://www.javajivestudio.com
Recording - October 2009

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