Stupid Musical Things I’ve Done, part 1
I’m old enough, at 40, to be able to look back on some truly embarassing moments in my life…and realize I should have known better. Or, at least now I know…which is the mixed-blessing consolation prize of growing up. In Part 1 of a (certainly) multi-part series, here is one truly foolish (if not downright [...]
A Few Words on Subwoofers
To get a full-range playback system, you have two choices: get a big speaker that has a woofer (10″ speaker or larger) built-in, or get a separate sub. I think that getting a separate sub is better, for a few reasons.. You Can Move the Subwoofer to an Independent Location in the Room. Few, if [...]
CD Text and CDDB
I recently finished a project for a client who requested CD Text encoding in the disc, which I supplied. When I sent him the final master, I received this note: “Paul, I received the gold master and it sounds great. However, when I put it in my computer to import, none of the song titles [...]
I Blog, Therefore IM
I had something philosophical and pithy I was going to write here, but the title is better than what I’d written. So, it stands on its own. Take a moment today to think about peace.
History of Recorded Sound
Ever wonder about the history of recorded sound? Check out this site, from the tinfoil cylinder to the iPod shuffle.
Forks, Knives, Spoons
Moving ever forward on the path of audio analogy (which, btw, isn’t audiology), let’s consider those most humble of tools: the fork, knife, and spoon. They’re all implements to accomplish a goal…just like compressors, equalizers, and limiters. But how you use them determines your success. But that doesn’t always mean playing it by the book. [...]
Versatility Is Key
I mentioned in an earlier blog posting that a potentinal client asked if I had much experience working in his specific style of music. I can honestly say that since 2000 I’ve had the opportunity to work on just about every style of music: from electronic (and its numerous sub-genres) to classical…and just about everything [...]
Tis the Season
OK, so this blog is 75% audio, 24% philosophy, and 1% rant. Here comes a rant… Now that I’ve seen both the DNC and the RNC I have a few thoughts. First, John McCain is a helluva guy. Second, Rudy Giuliani isn’t nearly as funny or convincing as he thinks he is. Third, I’m still [...]
Thoughts in Retrospect
Well, I’ve been busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest lately…so sorry for the lag in postings. Thought I’d catch up with general thoughts and opinions. A few months back I upgraded ZenMastering’s monitors to Lipinski L-707s. And, as you can imagine, I’ve been insanely happy with them. They’ve earned their reputation [...]
Stop Trashing the Drums
I’ve blogged before about drums, as well as had an article published in EQ magazine about how to more successfully record them. I’m thinking about drums now because I just did a sample for a potential client. It’s a good recording, but two things made it tough. First, it’s HEAVY stuff. Second, the cymbals were [...]
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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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