The Devil’s in the Detail
Posted on | September 24, 2008 | No Comments
You’ve probably heard that a million times without batting an ear. To me, it means that 1% change sometimes takes 99% effort. Or, it’s the small things that are really hard to nail.
I just wrapped up a mastering project for a great band from Pennsylvania. Great recording, songwriting, and performances. After they heard the first version of my mastering for their album, I got this note: “Both the drummer and bass player asked to hear a bit more tone from the bass. They both said the overall volume seems pretty good and definitely didn’t want it boomier in the low end, just would like to hear the instrument itself a little clearer.”
This is one of those things that’s tough to pull off. Add low end without making it boomy, and keeping definition between the kick and bass. I tried a few different things and settled on a subsonic enhancement, around 30Hz. This is useful because it’s really too low a frequency for anyone to get picky. It’s in the “felt more than heard” category.
Seems my assessment was right. After I created new masters I received this e-mail: “We’re all good with the latest changes. The bass player and drummer are really feeling this latest one and I don’t feel that the rest of the eq spectrum has been adversely affected at all. Really awesome job!”
Happy happy, joy joy.
P.S. This is why you need full range speakers with a well-calibrated subwoofer in a balanced listening environment. Without an accurate monitoring system, you’re just guessing.
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From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
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