I may have spoken too soon…
Just when I declare that clients seem to have “gotten over” the loudness fixation, I get a client who asks for the loudest project I’ve ever mastered. The recording and mixing he had done were good, but more clean-and-vanilla than I think he’d wanted. Or, very “neutral-and-unproduced” sounding. So, he was hoping I could give [...]
New Year’s “Resolution”
Now that a lot of the busy events of 2011 (listed in the previous post) are behind me, I want to share my audio intentions for ZenMastering in 2012. Simply put, the focus is on world-class quality. Over the past few years I’ve seen the interest in the volume wars of the 1995-2005 era wane, [...]
2011 Year-end Missive
Season’s greetings! As I’m wont to do around this time of the year, here’s a wrap-up of some noteworthy events that took place at ZenMastering in 2011… New Location Probably the biggest news is that we moved locations this year. The studio now resides in a tony little neighborhood in Encinitas, CA…just three miles from [...]
Food for thought
In the world of professional audio, a lot of value is placed on equipment. What gear do you have? Do you have that latest-greatest tube compressor? Those amazing speakers? That vintage mic? Yeah, it’s all important. But something happened recently that made me realize what is really important to clients who are looking for professional [...]
Trust has increasing value in the ever-expanding audio world
One relevant point recently impressed upon me by a musician friend is the importance of trust between a musician and recording studio. I’ve been running ZenMastering for a little over 10 years and, in that time, have realized that there’s no shortage of talent in the audio community (local, national, or global). However, the number [...]
Lightbulb Moment
I recently mastered a project for a client who was interested to see if I could make his music REALLY LOUD. He liked the way my mastering sounded, but wanted something ‘radio ready’. I explained the myth of making it loud for radio. In the end, he saw the light. It was gratifying. It went [...]
New Interview
Long time no blog. Sorry. Life’s been busy, work’s been busy…yada yada. I was recently interviewed for an article on audio engineers in the July 2011 issue of the San Diego Troubadour. Check it out.
No Silver Bullets
I’m sure I’ve alluded to this concept in prior posts, but I’m reminded often that there is no silver bullet in mastering. Like everything in life, successfully executing a project or concept is the culmination of doing everything (or, just about everything) right. The due diligence required to make sure all the “i”s are dotted [...]
Deep Thoughts
With some rare time on my hands today, I started thinking…and wondering. Namely, about the decade I’ve been running ZenMastering. About the changes I’ve seen in the music industry in that time, and how I think mastering (and my business) has changed through that time. While the landscape of mastering studios is more crowded than [...]
The Future of Audio
My mixing/mastering endeavor, Iconic Audio, just finished up a project with a great San Diego-based band. We had a quick interact about levels of the master disc that Kyle (the mix engineer) and I were able to steer in the right direction. I wish more of this would go on in the world of up-and-coming [...]
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From Ohm to Om reflects the opinions of mastering engineer Paul Abbott, owner of San Diego's ZenMastering.
We welcome comments from readers...pro or con!
