Clearing the Clutter
I’m mastering a song right now for a client. The mix is good, but it could be better. The main issue is the drums and bass not having clarity and definition. This takes me back to an article I wrote a few years ago for EQ Magazine, Better Bass and Drum Recordings. In short, it [...]
More on Infrastructure
It seems like I’m starting a lot of posts lately with, “I’ve mentioned this before, but I’d like to elaborate on it.” Well, I’m sure I’ve brought up infrastructure of a recording studio before but here’s what I think is important… “Clean” electrical (no groundloops) Quality cabling Acoustically Balanced listening space. Set up by an [...]
Perceived vs. Real
If you’ve got any money in the stock market, chances are you’re feeling a lot less rich today than you did a month ago. But chances are a month, six months, or a year from now you’re going to feel a lot better (as long as you don’t do something dumb like sell a stock [...]
Synergy
I’ve touched on this topic before somewhere in this blog, but I want to expound a bit on the concept of mixing-and-matching various audio components to get the desired result when it comes to mastering. There’s a million ways to record and mix a song…from completely dry to heavily processed, and everwhere in between. So [...]
Audio Bone
Here’s something interesting: Audio Bone conductive “headphones”. Long story short, these headphones transmit vibration through your jawbone straight to you cochlea, bypassing your eardrum. The company’s web site credits Beethoven as inventing the conductive method by biting a rod attached to his piano…obviously after he’d lost a lot of his hearing. Check ‘em out!
Take the Long View
Last night I saw a short weekly news spot on Warren Buffet. If you don’t know, he’s arguably the world’s most successful investor…ever. And he didn’t become successful by running short-term investment “gambles”, he holds long-term positions based on solid financial data. It reminds me, once again, that this is the way to succeed, whether [...]
What’s in a Phrase?
ZenMastering’s tagline is “analog warmth, digital precision”. I think everyone’s aware (at least in their own mind) what analog warmth means. But what does digital precision mean, exactly? Well, I’m glad you asked… If you’re a mastering engineer, repeatability is key. Consider this example: If you work on a client’s album, after you deliver the [...]
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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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