Mastering done the right way.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. Digital has come a long way since "the old days" and "the turn of the century" -- I hardly miss tape anymore. But I haven't found substitutes for some of my analog gear. I'll record digitally, I'll mix digitally. But the mastering session almost always includes analog processing.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: Variety. Some days I'm working on a veteran artist's 15th album, other days a budding artist's first release, other days editing and compiling 30 tracks for a dance company's next touring season or working with a music director to come up with the tracks that will make up that season.

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

A: Q. How much headroom should I leave? A. Some. How much isn't really important in the world of 24+ bit digital audio. Mixes that "naturally" (without limiting or excessive buss compression for the sake of volume) don't clip. Whether that winds up with your source mixes occasionally hitting near -1dBFS, or down around -6dBFS, or all the way down to -20dBFS. It really doesn't matter.

Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

A: That "mastering" = "making it loud." True, mastering is when the final apparent level is decided. But it's one of the last concerns. A monkey with a limiter can make any recording "loud" -- Most recordings have a certain "loudness potential" and it's far more important how to go about reaching that potential than just making it loud for the sake of being loud. It needs to translate across the widest possible array of playback systems. It needs to be within the specifications of the medium.

Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A: Check references. Watch out for the scammers. I see sites all the time with "Our award-winning engineers..." and such that never lists who those engineers even are. Fake client lists, fake gear lists, questionable credits, photos, etc.

Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

A: (1) My main EQ - It's a custom unit based on the earlier Sontec and GML designs. Fully-switched, mid-side, the whole 9. (2) Rupert Neve Designs Portico II Master Buss Processor. Can't live without it. (3) Crane Song HEDD 192. Still one of the best converter sets ever. (4) My Tyler Acoustic Decade D1 loudspeakers. What good is a bunch of gear if you can't hear it accurately and consistently? (5) My ears. :-)

Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

A: Started out as a studio rat in my late teens (mid-1980's). Specializing in mastering since 1995.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: You're probably tracking too hot.

Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

A: Just about anything.

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: A freakishly well-controlled space with some of the finest monitoring available (Tyler Acoustics Decade series D1 towers). A carefully selected collection of analog and digital processing.

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

A: Mastering mostly - Editing also (many dance companies - they never use an "off the shelf" version).