Mastering Engineer

Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

A: There is a an album/project called "COOKER" that we provided the mastering for. It is a 25 song concept album about the chaos and struggles of working as a line cook in the food industry. It is still one of the most unique projects we've ever worked on and we're proud of it because there was a great discussion about how the style of mastering could match and enhance the feeling of chaos that they wanted the album to portray. The results speak for themselves. That album hits HARD.

Q: What are you working on at the moment?

A: Currently we are working on quite a few projects that we're excited about. In particular there is a Rockabilly/Metal album we're working on that is absolutely mind blowing.

Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

A: Yes! Ben Kling is a wonderful music producer and mixing engineer who I work with closely. The mixes he provides are always immaculate and he works so closely with people to achieve their goals.

Q: Analog or digital and why?

A: Both. The reason is that both realms provide their own benefits as well as their own drawbacks. If you use them in tandem, there is almost nothing that you can't accomplish as they balance each other in a beautiful way.

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

A: Our promise is to always be there for our clients in a communicative and kind manner. Music is an invisible and confusing art that relies on peoples' unique perspectives melding to translate ideas. Understandably, the process of music creation as a result can come with a lot of questions and sometimes a lack of answers. Here at Checkpoint Mastering, we are always available to discuss anything that our clients may need and help them reach their musical and life goals. No matter what.

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: The best part about mastering is the responsibility and trust that clients require of you. It is always an honor to be a beacon of both of these things for our clients and it is what keeps us motivated each day as we deliver the most elevated version of their music possible.

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

A: Q: "How should I prepare my mixes before I send them to you? A: Always try to send files with at least -3db of headroom on the mix buss. Realistically anything except clipping would be acceptable, but this is so we can access the most out of the audio and enhance the music as comfortably as possible. Also, unless it is absolutely necessary to the sound of the mix be sure to leave off Limiters and Loudness Maximizers. We will handle that on our end and leaving them off provides us more room to work with! Q: "Does mastering actually make a difference and do I even need it?" A: Yes, because tracks published in today's media landscape, which is extremely competitive, need to be more polished than ever. Tracks that are released after mixing (without being mastered) sound quiet, dull, and underwhelming. But "polishing" that mixed track is much more than making it louder and brighter. It involves careful and judicious equalization, decisive tool selection, and a Mastering Engineer's nuanced understanding of how to make music transfer across systems properly. If you want your music to be as good as it can possibly be, you need to get your music mastered by an experienced mastering engineer. Q: "Why does this master sound so good?" A: Because it's what we do best.

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

A: The biggest misconception about mastering is that all it does is make things louder. The nuances of loudness are very complicated and that is absolutely a part of the process, but there are hundreds of things that have to get done along the way. This is includes things like file organization, proper sample rate and bit depth conversion, suitable saturation processing, and the final critical listen to name a few.

Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

A: The two most frequent questions we ask our clients are "What inspired your project?" and "What do you want to get out of the mastering we provide?". With those two things alone we are able to immediately go to work and craft the vision our clients have in their heads.

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

A: Never be afraid to ask for what you want and always communicate. The most important thing with any business is that the customer leaves happier than they did when they first showed up. This is especially true in audio. In order for us to make sure that you leave with a master that made you're proud of, you need to communicate so we can know more about the vision you have for your music!

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

A: 1. Ollo Audio X1 Headphones for Monitoring. 2. RME ADI-2 DAC FS for Conversion. 3. The highest spec Macbook at the time of being stranded. (Loaded with plug-ins of course) 4. A Nintendo Switch to play Smash Bros. 5. A Zoom H1essential Field Recorder to capture the beautiful sounds of the island.

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

A: Checkpoint Mastering is fueled by having perfected multiple musical disciplines, creating long lasting friendships, and 10+ years of music industry experience. When Owner and Chief Mastering Engineer Brad Tuller discovered mastering, nothing mattered more than the responsibility and dedication it required. Those two things are still the pillars of what drives Checkpoint Mastering to be the sonic force that it is today.

Q: How would you describe your style?

A: Our style at Checkpoint Mastering changes depending on the needs for each project. However, if we were to sum up our style in one word it would be: Focused. In every regard, what we do has to do with focus whether it's focusing the sound of the music itself or the style of business we conduct. Everything we do is focused and very intentional which is why we are able to provide the masters that we do!

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

A: One artist that we would love to work with is Brothertiger. His production decisions and songwriting are incredibly unique and create such fascinating soundscapes that don't seem possible. Providing mastering services for his music would be a dream.

Q: Can you share one music production tip?

A: One production tip everyone should hear is to review you mixes low volumes as well. You can hear a lot when listening at higher volumes, but when you listen to your mixes at lower levels you will immediately hear the most prominent parts of your mixes and determine if any element is overwhelming your mix level wise. This is especially useful when gauging the level of your lead vocals with the other elements in the mix.

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

A: While we work on a myriad of genres here at Checkpoint Mastering, our specialties would be boiled down to Indie Pop and Rock. We have helped hundreds of artists in these genres get their music to a place they never thought it could reach. It has been an honor to have worked with so many artists as they kickstarted their career only to see how much they've grown as well as the success they gained up to this point.

Q: What's your strongest skill?

A: Our strongest skill here at Checkpoint Mastering is communication. It is a pillar of any work relationship and we make sure that everything our clients say is heard in detail. Projects become more fun when there is more conversation and we encourage all of our clients to reach out whenever they want to start talking! We love discussing anything music, gear, theory, you name it!

Q: What do you bring to a song?

A: Finality is the name of our game. It is our job to ensure that all the hard work of everyone involved with the music making process is preserved. This includes not only the sonic nature of the final master, but all the logistics and data needed to bring the final most version of a song to a single point that designates the end of the project.

Q: What's your typical work process?

A: Most of what our job requires us to do is listen with intent. That is why our process starts with a critical listen that determines what adjustments might need to be made to get our clients' music where it needs to be. Once notes about our listen have been made, we start processing the audio according to accomplish where we feel the sonic footprint of the music should be. At the end of the mastering process, we do another critical listen inside of RX 11 Advanced to remove and modify any unsavory artifacts/noises that have been revealed within the mix due to all of the enhancements made during the mastering process. After that, the client gets their first version of the masters and if any revisions need to be made we work from there!

Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

A: Our studio set up is first and foremost focused on monitoring. Here at Checkpoint, we use some of the highest grade DA conversion available with an RME ADI-2 DAC FS. This ensures that the no matter what, we are hearing everything at the highest possible quality to inform the decisions we judiciously make during the mastering process. We also use Mogami Gold cables to send the signal to our various monitor set ups with the Kali IN-8 V2 Three Way Monitors being our current flagship pair. Combined with our Ollo Audio X1 Flat Response headphones, there is virtually nothing that would get past us with regards to making adjustments When it comes to processing audio, we have what feels like an almost infinite amount of options to make sure our clients' work gets its proper treatment. Some of our favorite tools in constant rotation are Izotope RX 11 Advanced and Ozone 11, the full FabFilter Mastering Suite, plugins from UAD, Sonnox, Oek Sound, Weiss, and too many more to name.

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

A: For us, everybody that we work with is who inspires us most. Working with so many professionals, genres and artists it is hard to give a straight answer since every project we work on provides a completely unique perspective from the last.

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

A: Mastering our clients music from Singles to EPs and Albums is our bread and butter. We also provide feedback for our clients' mixes, but we're always working to enhance their final mixes as they like them and push the music to its absolute sonic limit.