Recording - April 2010 - 2

PUBLISHER: ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Thomas Hawley Brent Heintz EDITORIAL EDITOR: Lorenz Rychner ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Mike Metlay WEB EDITOR: Justin Peacock MÚSICO PRO EDITOR: Fernando Curiel CONTRIBUTORS Mastering For the fix-it-in-the-mix crowd who like to shoot first and ask questions later, mastering is the last production stage to fix the mix and get it right. But professional mastering engineers will tell you that’s not how it should be. Things should be made right before they get to the mastering house. So—if the mastering engineer would prefer not to have to fix your mix, what’s his role? We asked two pros, and they tell us how they work. As it happens, they operate in very different musical realms. James Cruz of Zeitgeist Sound Studios, his own facility in Queens, NY, has a long list of mastering credits for major-label releases, including some Grammy winners, almost all in the Rap and Contemporary R&B genres. Jim Wilson considers himself to be “the Rock and Indie guy” at David Glasser’s Airshow Mastering in Boulder, CO, a studio that has won its share of awards for work on folk, acoustic, and audiophile material. As James Cruz tells you in this issue, not everybody is cut out to be a mastering engineer, just as James says of himself that he might not make a good mixing engineer. It’s not just about the expensive equipment that—as we keep hearing—graces the acoustically perfect rooms of mastering engineers. It’s also about the objectivity and the years of experience in doing just that—listening to otherwise finished material with a view to making it better—making it as good as it can be. Jim Wilson describes eliminating flaws that might come as a surprise to those who submitted the flawed material—he tracks down non-musical audio content that prevents the music from shining. Just days before this issue went to the printers I returned from a quick trip to Sydney, Australia, via Hong Kong and a sliver of mainland China, courtesy of Behringer. I attended the Eurotec Electronics 8th Anniversary Celebration, a yearly award show that Uli Behringer and his team stage in the city of Zhongshan, near the company’s Eurotec production facility. The evening was an extravaganza of the first order, with much colorful entertainment from superbly talented employees. A sightseeing excursion and an impressive in-depth factory tour rounded out the stay that began in Hong Kong with a lavish dinner at the fabulous R66 Revolving Restaurant. I was one of just a handful of magazine folk; the bulk of the 105-strong visitor contingent was made up of personnel working for Behringer distributors from the world over, and of Behringer staff from the company’s many global locations. The immense organisational effort came off splendidly, and my thanks go not only to Uli personally for his invitation and hospitality, but also to his ever-so-competent people who planned the events and shepherded the multi-faceted and polyglot crowd with much good cheer and nary a glitch. I’ll bring you more in the next issue of the magazine—meanwhile don’t miss my extensive Editor’s blog, with lots of photos, about the Behringer production facility, the festivities, that somewhat non-typical part of China, and more, at www.recordingmag.com. Also at www.recordingmag.com you will find the online portion of our NAMM report, covering software/soundware goods and services, while the hardware products from NAMM are covered in this print issue, beginning on page 8. All the above is rounded out by a good number of articles with tips, tricks, techniques, and product reviews, to enhance your learning experience and lead to— Happy Recording. Paul J. Stamler, Devon Brent, Scott Dorsey, Brian Tarquin, Paul Vnuk Jr., Justin Peacock, Gregg L. Perry, Bruce Kaphan, Bob Emmet, Gary Eskow, Marty Peters TAXI METER EDITOR: Kenny Kerner ART & PRODUCTION ART DIRECTOR: Scott Simmonds PRODUCTION MANAGER: Colin Courtney PHOTOGRAPHY: Brent Heintz PLAYBACK PLATINUM SERIES EDITOR/PRODUCER: Lorenz Rychner CIRCULATION CIRCULATION MANAGER: Tiffany Sepe ADVERTISING SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR: Brent Heintz CLASSIFIEDS MANAGER: Stephanie King ADMINISTRATION ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE: Stephanie King EXECUTIVE OFFICERS PRESIDENT: Thomas Hawley VICE PRESIDENT: Brent Heintz Subscriptions/Address Changes: 1-800-582-8326 281-261-2581 Advertising/Classifieds/Main Office: (303) 516-9118 RECORDING MAGAZINE (ISSN 1078-8352; USPS 002-298) is published monthly, 12 times per year, by Music Maker Publications, Inc., 5408 Idylwild Trail, Boulder, CO 80301-3523. Tel: (303) 516-9118 Fax: (303) 516-9119 email: info@recordingmag.com Periodicals Postage is paid at Boulder, CO and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to RECORDING, Subscriber Services, P.O. Box 334, Stafford, TX, 77497. Tel: 1-800-582-8326 or 832-886-1126. Subscription rate: $19.95 per year. All material is subject to worldwide copyright protection, and reproduction or imitation in whole or in part is expressly forbidden without written consent from the publishers. All reasonable care is taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of the magazine, but Music Maker Publications, Inc. cannot be held legally responsible for its contents. The publishers cannot assume responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or materials. All trademarked names, whether indicated as such or not, are owned by their respective companies. Canada Post: Publications Mail Agreement #41491032. Canada Returns to be sent to Bleuchip International, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2 © Copyright 2010 Music Maker Publications, Inc. PRINTED IN THE U.S.A. RECORDING APRIL 2010

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Recording - April 2010

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