REUBEN GHOSE
CentreOne , and DynOne by Leapwing are used all the time ; those guys are geniuses .
PS : What should clients know or have done before sending a mix to a mastering engineer ?
Romanowski : They should listen to their mix in in a handful of different places to know a little bit about how it translates . Get out of the room you ’ re always mixing in , because if you have one TV screen that ’ s calibrated one way and you ’ re colour correcting a movie , you need to know what that ’ s going to look like on different screens . It ’ s kind of the same thing . You want to be able to know what ’ s happening . But the biggest thing , I think , is to have intent . Any question that you do something with , if you can ’ t answer why — when I teach , or I talk to other folks , and somebody goes , “ oh , I don ’ t like that kick drum sound .” Okay , why ? “ I don ’ t know . I just don ’ t like it .” Well , that ’ s not really good answer . Tell me why ; it sounds tubby , it sounds sharp , this sounds like a metal kick drum in a reggae band , it doesn ’ t really work . Or , this is perfect because of what the bass is doing with the kick . Knowing why you ’ re doing what you ’ re doing is one of the biggest things .
Ghose : Just make it as close to your final vision as possible . Don ’ t wait for mastering to fix or
36 PROFESSIONAL SOUND change obvious issues . My job is to take your track , try not to hurt it any way , and then enhance what ’ s great about it . The closer you get on your end , the better the final master will be .
Hutten : Double check if the mix was exported correctly . I know it sounds obvious , but I ’ ve been getting a lot of mixes lately that were either the wrong version or that had an export error . Another thing that really helps is to compile all your information regarding your plan for release into a single email / contact form . For example , if you ’ re releasing digital , your credits ; if you ’ re doing CD , your track listing and your ISRC code . The most important of them all , if you ’ re doing vinyl , think about the length you ’ re putting on each side . Sometimes one gets seven songs to put on one side that turns out to be 23 minutes . Great lacquer cutters can do it , but you don ’ t want to risk it , in my opinion . Also , think about your music , if it ’ s bass-y , you probably want to stick to a cut that is less than 18 minutes long . If you want it really loud , also keep it on the lessthan-20-minutes length . Another thing is , if you ’ re sending several songs or an album , if you decide to take out the limiter from the master track , do it on all the tracks , not only a few . Either send me all the mixes with limiting or all of them without . It ’ s not a big deal , but really helps with getting the same dynamic feel throughout the album .
PS : Can you describe your usual workflow ? How do you know when you ’ re done with a track or album ?
MR : Again , it ’ s knowing why you ’ re doing what you ’ re doing . We want the mix engineer to know what they ’ re doing and why they ’ re doing it . The mastering engineer should have the same sort of mindset . My usual workflow is , somebody reaches out to me , they say , “ Hey , I ’ d love to talk to you about mastering the record .” Great , let ’ s have a dialogue — what do you want to do ? They send me a song or two and I ’ ll listen to it . And I ’ ll tell you if I feel , for example , that this is too compressed , too dynamic , too bright , too dark , not enough of this , not enough of that , way too much of this , whatever , and give some feedback .
Then when I sit down and I work , I just listen . I don ’ t make any decisions until I ’ ve heard it . I never would say jazz pre-set number three is what I ’ m doing for this plug-in set , because this is a jazz record , and I know that that guy is from France , and French jazz needs to sound like this . It ’ s all about perception . I sit down and I listen , and I have a whole bunch of analog gear and tools at my disposal .
The third thing is to consult . “ This is what I ’ m hearing , this is where I want to go with it .” Because again , it ’ s about them , it ’ s not about me . I ’ m there to facilitate their best foot forward , not put my sound on their record . So that ’ s generally the workflow that I go through . When I ’ m done is when we get it to where the client is happy . The artist is excited . Everybody ’ s excited . I call that done .
Ghose : My first step is to listen to the music and figure out what the artistic intention is . What is artist trying to get across ? What element ( s ) should evoke an emotional response in the listener ? It could be anything like the vocal performance , lyrics , groove , tonal colours and textures , etc .
Then I need to judge how much of that is being achieved in the mix , and how much further it can go , based on my personal taste and opinion . My mastering process then bridges the gap between those two points . Before I start turning knobs , I try to have a mental image of what the music can sound like . Then it ’ s just a matter of using my tools to get there . Most of the time , simple EQ moves and selecting the right limiter is all that ’ s needed . Before finishing a master , I like to step away for a bit . When I come back with fresh ears and press play , the music should draw me in immediately . If it does , I ’ m done . If not , I repeat the process until I get to that point .
Hutten : I import the tracks into Sequoia , I listen to the songs and kind of make notes in my mind of what I want to do , then I make a list of what gear or plug-in I want to use ( also in my mind ). Then I start patching everything if I ’ m using an analog chain , which is 90 % of the time . Then I print the master . Then I do any additional plug-in equalizing or compressing ( rare ) and limiting and maximizing ( this is every time ). I know I ’ m done when I play it back and it sounds right ! I don ’ t know , I just listen , and it sounds like it doesn ’ t need anything else .
PS : Automated mastering services ( i . e . LANDR , eMastered , etc .) have grown in popularity with independent artists and producers . What ’ s your impression on the quality of these services ? And when ( if ever ) do you think they ’ re worthwhile for artists with tight budgets ?
MR : I struggle with this sometimes because my initial reaction is , it ’ s all horseshit . I shouldn ’ t say that ; I should say I don ’ t agree with them . Now I ’ ll backtrack a little bit . I think there ’ s some value to them , if you have intent with what you ’ re trying to release , what you ’ re trying to say . And you go through a process of having an engineer , and having a