Professional Audio Mastering

Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A: Have you worked with anyone famous / we would have heard of? Well several, but one springs to mind... At the time, she wasn't famous; but I mastered Amy Winehouse's debut single "Stronger Than Me" in 2003. She won an Ivor Novello award in 2004 for that single. It was a really proud moment for me. But I was just lucky to get the gig! That song would have shone regardless of the mastering engineer...

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Apart or together. Why? Because they add different dimensions and one is not always better than the other. The feel of the music always leads the way... Man! ;)

Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

A: I will continue relentlessly to achieve the end result that they can be proud of. Within reason, I will revist the EQ as many times as need until my client is 100% happy. Normally, this is a few EQ tweaks on the 1st print, but I have had double figures too! Quite often, mastering shows up things that my clients want to change in the mix and we play a bit of "MIX > < MASTERING" ping-pong!!! I can totally deal with this though, if we achieve the result we are both after...

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Just immersing myself into the music and getting the best out of it I can. I want to be proud of everything I submit as a master. I know my clients want to receive the best I can offer. Just to add, I love listening back to stuff I've done, days, months, years after... ;)

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: I normally don't ask and just do what I do. If my client wants to throw me a reference track from an album they like, that's totally fine. If the mix engineer has done his reference mix (ie EQ'd and limited on the master bus), that's totally fine too. But I confess, if they do, I normally listen to it after I've mastered the track! I don't want to hear any influence before. If I'm off the mark sonically, I'll rein it in. More often than not, I prefer mine though... But it's all subjective, right?

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Respectful when needed. Full on when not.

Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

A: Any of The Beatles - because I loved (and still love) The Beatles! This band created my first love of music and the intricacies of music production.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: Perform it well. Record it well. Mix it well. The mastering will be a breeze.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: I am a perfectionist and will not stop until we have achieved what my clients are after.

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: I have the experience / confidence to leave well alone the things that don't need to be touched for the sake of "doing something" in mastering. As an inexperienced mastering engineer starting out, I was always tempted to "DO" something. Nowadays, I only interfere where necessary... but, I do always interfere! Ha ha! :)

Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

A: Wow! Where do I start? George Martin would be my first mention, being the producer and realizer of all of the Beatles' ideas. The Beatles & George Martin were pioneers in terms of arrangement, recording and pushing all the boundaries and possibilities of what can be done with sound at that time. We still struggle to better it nowadays, in spite of the advancing audio technology. Some musicians I have worked with have commanded my total respect and awe just due to their desire to see the whole thing through to the end and make it brilliant. I am always happy to go that extra mile too. The one I'm thinking of has the same initials as George Martin...

Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

A: These days, I master only, but I did start my studio career as a mixing engineer.