Stupidest **** You Ever Heard in a Mastering Session

  • Thread starter Thread starter jaynm26
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I don't really have one specific thing to add but it always interests me how little the majority of people know about mastering.

They know they need it. They know it's important. They just have no clue why.

This becomes a difficult point of sale. For example, I ALWAYS recommend my preferred mastering guy, who charges almost twice what I do for mastering. I generally try to shun them away from asking me to master their material and instead try to explain the benefits of going with the pro. Nine times out of ten they'll still go with me because they believe the cost outweighs the benefits.

I'm not complaining, I don't mind the extra income, but I spent too many years destroying my own mixes and eventually learned that its best to let another set of ears attached to a dedicated mastering guy handle it.

Cheers :)
 
Most mastering engineers will charge EXTRA if you sit in on the session.
 
moresound said:
Most mastering engineers will charge EXTRA if you sit in on the session.
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Top dog MEs or just hacks? Maybe they like to hide behind their lack of skills. At least for me, I'd still be nervous about a client sitting in while I mix :o
 
sixer2007 said:
Top dog MEs or just hacks? Maybe they like to hide behind their lack of skills. At least for me, I'd still be nervous about a client sitting in while I mix :o
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Top Mastering Eng or just hacks!!!!?????:confused:
 
sixer2007 said:
At least for me, I'd still be nervous about a client sitting in while I mix :o
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Having them there at the start of the process is counterproductive because that's when most of the ugly detail work is done, like soloing things and trying different corrective eq etc. Invariably the client starts trying to put these operations in the context of a finished product and you have to fend off their insecurities and premature requests. At that stage you don't need someone asking for mix changes when there isn't really a mix yet.

But once the technical issues have been addressed and you have a "correct" mix built up then it's a good idea to have the client there to creatively "mess up" the mix to their satisfaction.

Mastering is a simpler process (not to say easier) in many ways so a meeting beforehand to establish a direction and a round of revisions based on samples posted online works pretty well.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
Having them there at the start of the process is counterproductive because that's when most of the ugly detail work is done, like soloing things and trying different corrective eq etc. Invariably the client starts trying to put these operations in the context of a finished product and you have to fend off their insecurities and premature requests.
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Couldn't have put it better my self the mystery of why mastering eng charge extra for a listening session while the master lol. Most people do no understand the real process of mastering and bieng so niaeve to the practice could cause unnecessary tension and questioning during a mastering session. It's like watching a intense surgery take place on a loved one you don't want to be there for all the cutting open, blood and gore you jus want come when thier in the recovery room, in the bed all better, feeling vibrant and in good health.
 
Most mastering guys I know don't charge anything different for attended vs. unattended...

I have to admit at this point that although I have a "per program minute" rate for unattended, I'm straight hourly for attended. Simple reason that something I could've done in 5 or 6 hours can take 7 or 9 if the client is in the room (asking questions, starting up conversations, etc., etc., etc.). Or it can take 4...

Although frankly, attended sessions almost invariably wind up costing the client more -- but almost invariably again, it's not exactly my fault that the sessions go so long (hence, I try to do a "hybrid" of sorts, where they have 'test' files in hand before we book an attended session where it's more or less "quick tweaks" & spacing and such).
 
Confused ? You will be !

jaynm26 said:
It's like watching a intense surgery take place on a loved one you don't want to be there for all the cutting open, blood and gore you jus want come when thier in the recovery room, in the bed all better, feeling vibrant and in good health.
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I'm the opposite. I want to see the operation, no holds barred. I blame all those medical dramas I used to watch. :D

Mo Facta said:
it always interests me how little the majority of people know about mastering.

They know they need it. They know it's important. They just have no clue why.
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But if you think about it logically, why should the majority of people know about mastering ? For many just starting out or immersed in recording, it's often a long while before it becomes part of the equation.
On the one hand you get the view that "Your mix should not need to be mastered to be fixed - all that should take place during mixing". On the other one is told how mastering can add life and punch and clarity to the mix and take it "to the next level".
And before your mix is mastered, how can you know what it will sound like once mastered ? The topic for many people is confusing and seems to go around in circles. It's like trying to catch water.
To add to the confusion, here's something I read in the glossary of terms from the engineer and producer Ken Scott's autobiography;
Mastering ¬> The process of transferring the contents of a master tape or audio file to a different medium such as a vinyl record, CD or MP3. In Europe it's considered the first stage of manufacturing while in the U.S. it's considered the last stage of the creative process.
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grimtraveller said:
I'm the opposite. I want to see the operation, no holds barred. I blame all those medical dramas I used to watch. :D
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What if you're the patient, or it's your kid they're cutting into? I think I'd want general anesthesia either way.

grimtraveller said:
On the one hand you get the view that "Your mix should not need to be mastered to be fixed - all that should take place during mixing". On the other one is told how mastering can add life and punch and clarity to the mix and take it "to the next level".
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My argument against the former is that most people don't have the combination of objectivity, specialized equipment and a proper room needed to fix everything and take it to the next level, so they go to someone who has those things.

By the way, I have a meeting with Jon Gold at Airshow Mastering today for a listening session, so I think I have a very relevant perspective. I recorded, mixed and mastered the last several projects with these particular musicians and this is the first time in many years we've gone to professional mastering. I think I did a pretty good job mastering that stuff and I could do it again, but I'm excited to see what a specialist does with my mixes. If he does better than I could it makes me look that much better. If he doesn't do much or any better then I know I can trust my own mastering abilities. There's no downside.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
What if you're the patient, or it's your kid they're cutting into? I think I'd want general anesthesia either way.
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I've watched the doctors slicing up my wife a couple of times while she was giving birth and I've been around while they've had to do things with the kids because it calmed them down a bit, knowing Daddy was there. I've watched the docs operate on my hand {never again is anyone going to inject me in the web of my hand ! } and I used to like those dentists' chairs that had mirrors so I could see what was going on in my mouth.
But I don't like flying !
 
Most don't know about mastering because where can you learn. You know it's needed as you are told and if you get it done you hear the difference but what exactly it is and how it differs from mixing is a mystery to most. And Most Master Engineers work without you so it's not like you can learn
 
So.................what's the stupidest thing you've ever heard during a mastering session? :D
 
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