The Mastering Show

More and more people are choosing to get vinyl copies of their music made one at a time, rather than having hundreds of copies pressed at once. Or in very small batches, or allowing fans to order copies on demand.So how does this work, and what does it mean ? How do you get the best quality results, and minimise the risk of getting something back that you're not happy with ?Mastering for vinyl is a whole different ball-game, as I discussed in detail with Scott Hull in Episode 94. So in this show, Joe Caithness and I dig into the topic in detail, discussing:What is a "lathe cut" or "dubplate"How are they made, and how are they different to traditionally pressed vinyl ?Do you always need to have your music mastered by a dedicated vinyl cutting engineer ?How do you get the specs for the audio you should supply ? AndWhy this can be trickier than it soundsDo you really need to mono the bass on vinyl ? And what about phase ?Links and more episodes here:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-107Mentioned in this episode:MasteringClick HERE to work with IanToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

I see it every day: “The Loudness Wars are over - loud won. Get over it”And it’s easy to see why. The average mainstream release hits -8 LUFS integrated or more; club releases regularly hit -6 or even -4 LUFS and are peaking well above zero; every other post you see on social media is about a new limiter or clipping strategy…As the creator of Dynamic Range Day and Loudness Penalty, I should probably just give up and get my hat, right ?Maybe….But maybe not.In this episode I dig into the evidence in 2026, and try to decide whether dynamics really are dead or not, looking at:The LUFS of the biggest recent releasesWhy no-one hears itAre mixes built too loud to be dynamic ?Why music fans don’t care (which could be good news) - and who doesWhat do we do about it ?Reasons to be optimistic about dynamics in 2026Links and more episodes here:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-106Mentioned in this episode:MasteringClick HERE to work with IanLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

It was the Grammys this week - you can't have missed it !And somewhere along the way I saw an article by Ian Vargo assessing the loudness and dynamics of the nominees for Best Song.In this episode I talk about what he discovered, and what my reaction is – and along the way, I talk about:The highest (and lowest !) LUFS measurements of the Best Song nomineesHow I feel about thatWhat these songs sound like with more dynamicsWhat difference does it make ?Is loudness really "part of the aesthetic" ?And what really does make a difference ?Links and more episodes here:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-105Mentioned in this episode:MasteringClick HERE to work with IanLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE

Getting your music "synced" for licensing in TV, movies or ads can be an amazing opportunity for indie musicians to make money and gain exposure. But is it just a pipe dream, and is mastering a necessary part of the process ?Chris SD from Sync Songwriter is an expert in this topic – just in the last year they've had artists get songs placed in the soundtrack for the Oscar-winning movie "Anora", for example! And this episode I talk to him about this whole topic, including:What sync licensing isWhy song supervisors might be interested in hearing your musicHow people normally submit their music for possible sync opportunitiesA better way that you can connect with them to improve the odds of getting your music taken on for use in film, TV and advertsWhich types of songs and artists are most likely to be taken on andThe role mastering and audio production play in this processAnd lastly we talk about the free Sync Songwriter Music Supervisor Panel that he's put together to help you find out more about all this - which is taking place this January. For more details, click here – if you decide to give it a try, you'll be helping support The Mastering Show at the same time.Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesMasteringClick HERE to work with IanLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

This started out as a Q&A episode, but one way or another there turned out to be a real theme to many of the questions, namely - how do you choose between technical and creative considerations, when mastering ?Questions like:When the client wants songs to sound differentWhen to use mid-side processing (or not)Transient shaping - hardware or software ?How much distortion ?When is unbalanced EQ am artistic choice ?What to do when the "correct" thing to do goes against the emotion of the songTake a listen and find out how these questions all connect !Full links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-103Mentioned in this episode:MasteringClick HERE to work with IanLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

Translation is one of the main goals of mastering - make the music sound great on any platform, and any delivery format.But how is that possible ? How can we optimise the audio to sound great on both a huge PA and crappy earbuds, or via any data-encoded stream, when we don't have any control over those playback systems or streaming platforms ?The answer to this paradox is deceptively simple - and powerful. In this episode I explain the common misconception of what 'translation' is; what the term really means to me, and share three simple suggestions to help you get your music to translate - on any playback system.Full links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-102Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesMasteringClick HERE to work with Ian

Brian Eno is probably the musician, producer and artist who has had the single biggest influence on my music taste and enjoyment over the years. His work speaks for itself and needs no introduction ! So when I heard Emre Ramazanoglu talking on the Working Class Audio podcast about re-mixing and mastering many of Brian's classic albums for Dolby Atmos, my ears immediately pricked up. I just couldn't miss the chance to talk to him in more detail about working with Brian - and the amazing detective work that it involved.So in this episode Emre and I take a deep dive into this fascinating subject, talking about things like:"Audio archeology" – the challenges of mixing Eno's older material, and the unexpected solutions Emre foundHow mixing for Eno is different from Emre's usual workflow, even with brand new releasesThe lessons Emre learned - and why this might be what makes Eno such a great producerNew immersive strategies Emre developed specifically for these albums......and how they're helping his stereo mixing as well !Full links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-101Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE

I wanted to do something a little different to mark the 100th episode, but wasn't sure what. I was wondering about interviewing myself but that seemed a little weird... And then Matt Boudreau from the excellent Working Class Audio podcast invited me back onto his show, and it occurred to me - I could get Matt to interview me, which would be way more fun and get some much more interesting questions !So here it is. Matt and I talk about all kinds of things including:My background in music, production and music technologyHow I got my start as a mastering engineerThe responsibilities of the mastering engineer (and the mistake that nearly cost me my job)My first mastering chain, and how it inspired my Perception AB pluginHow I feel about being 'The Loudness Guy'Hardware versus 'in-the-box' masteringWhy mastering mattersAnd loads more !Full links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-100Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

Stereo, mono, binaural or surround-sound ?I've worked with this episode's guest in all these formats and more over the many years we've been working together - but which does he prefer, and why ?Richard Durrant describes himself as an "Indie Classical" musician, which I think is a pretty good summary - but doesn't really take into account the fact that he also toured with Sky, worked as an accomplished session musician for many years and has released albums in a brilliantly eclectic variety of other genres and styles over the years.In this conversation we talk about:Why Richard records in an "acoustic igloo" (and what that is)Mic techniques for guitar and dealing with "wolf notes" on stringed instrumentsReal spaces versus digital reverbTouring (and performing) with a bicyclePerforming Bach's cello suites on Banjo and Ukulele - how and whyFull links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-99Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE

'Stem mastering' has provoked a ton of debate recently, with people claiming it crosses the line between mixing and mastering, interferes with the artist's intent, and isn't even really mastering at all !But if that's true, why would Abbey Road, one of the biggest mastering studios in the world, offer a dedicated stem mastering service ?!In this episode I talk to Oli Morgan, who specialises in stem mastering and mixing in mastering in Dolby Atmos at Abbey Road, about all these questions and more. We talk about:How he got started in mastering (and what that has in common with me)His perspective on stem mastering – when and how it can be helpfulHow (and why) stem mastering is a key element for working in Immersive Audio and Dolby AtmosWhat we can learn about dynamics from working in Dolby AtmosWhy the 'pressure sound' may not be all about heavy limitingHow we might be able to have our cake and eat it in the quest to balance loudness and dynamicsFull links on our website:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-98Mentioned in this episode:ToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

The term “legend” gets thrown all the time in audio production circles, but my guest this episode really deserves it. I’m sure you already know this but Ken Scott has worked with the Beatles, David Bowie, Elton John and Supertramp amongst so many others, so I was delighted when he agreed to join me for this episode !There were so many things we could have talked about it was hard to know where to start, but here are just a few of the topics we covered:* Why Abbey Road trained their engineers in mastering before they were ever allowed to engineer a recording session* The value of mentors - and being thrown in at the deep end* Mixing in sections (instead of using automation)* When limited resources are a Good Thing* Re-mixing Ziggy Stardust in Dolby Atmos (with added drum samples…!)* …and how the new mix translates to stereoFull show notes on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-97Mentioned in this episode:ToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

We’ve been using “soft clipping" in mastering for over 20 years at this point, but it suddenly feels as if it’s all anyone is talking about ! New plugins, new suggestions about how to use it, and wild new claims about how amazing it sounds. Except it doesn’t.At least – not all the time, and not for all material.In this episode Joe Caithness and I dig deep into the details and talk about:* What clipping is, and what it isn’t* The crucial differences between hard and soft clipping* What makes a great clipping plugin (and why comparing them is a nightmare)* Some of our favourite clipping plugins and how we use them* The kinds of material that work best with clipping, and what type to use* The golden rule to follow if you want to experiment with clipping yourselfFull show notes and links on our website:https://themasteringshow.com/episode-96Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE

The Billboard Top 50 global singles from the first half of 2024 have an average loudness of -8.3 LUFSSo that’s how loud we should be making our masters, right ?Well…It certainly might seem that way, but in reality it’s a bit more complicated than that. This is only one of the interesting results that Ian Stewart presented in his latest blog post for iZoTope, and in this episode I asked him back on to really dig into some of the details and nuance.Plus I also wanted to talk to him about the amazing plug-in that got invented during the last episode he was on ! (Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it 😛)During the show we talk about: * What that -8 LUFS average result REALLY means, and how much attention you should pay to it * Who the most successful artist in the Top 50 is, and the loudness statistics of their music * The problem with the title iZotope chose for the post * All the other results, trends and biases in the data * Basslane Pro, the plug-in Ian worked with Tone Projects to develop, why it’s unique - and how The Mastering Show helped it happen !Full show notes on our sitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-95Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

People are always asking me about mastering for vinyl, and I’m happy to try and help based on the experience I have. I don’t actually cut vinyl myself though, so that advice is always limited and second-hand. So for this episode I decided to talk to a genuine expert on the topic - Scott Hull from Masterdisk - and really get into the details. Scott’s knowledge and experience of cutting vinyl is enormous, as you’ll hear, and I took full advantage of that in this episode ! Some of the things we talked about include: The 4 stages of vinyl production, and why each is important How making assumptions about vinyl mastering can backfire Why choosing which plant is going to press the records is crucial The crucial role of the lathe - and it’s setup The myth of duration on vinyl - why “20 minutes per side” isn’t a hard and fast rule Why less limiting allows you to cut louder on vinyl What is the magic of vinyl ?Full show notes and links on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-94Mentioned in this episode:ToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

I’m always arguing for balanced dynamics rather than loudness for it’s own sake, but some people have a different opinion - high loudness is important, and even beneficial.Nick Di Lorenzo is one of them - he says that loudness is important regularly on his YouTube channel. So in this episode I invited him on to explore that idea in more detail, and really get into the nuances of the topic. Do you need to be mastering loud ? Topics include:* The practicalities of loudness* What makes things sound loud anyway ?* Record labels versus loudness* Why loudness IS important* Why LUFS don’t matter, and* The difference between loudness and LUFSFull show notes on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-93Mentioned in this episode:ToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERELearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

You can't go a day without someone telling you how loud your music should be, these days."Everything has to be -8 LUFS""EDM has to be -6 LUFS or louder""-11 is the perfect balance""Just master everything to -14"...but they can't all be right !In fact, none of them are, and even more importantly, they may not even be talking about the same thing. And the differences are really important. So in this episode I try explain really clearly and concisely: The 3 different types of LUFS The difference between them Why it’s crucial to know which type you’re talking about Why mastering to integrated targets makes no sense When -14 LUFS isn’t loud enough – and why ? Why it’s not about ‘how loud’, it’s about how you make it loud Why integrated LUFS values are the result, not the goal of masteringFull show notes on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-92Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsToolsFor Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE

It’s virtually impossible that you haven’t heard music of some kind mixed by Alan Meyerson by this point - he’s one of the most prolific and successful film score mixers in the business. And luckily for us, he’s also super-generous and open about the information he shares, including his perspectives on mixing and ‘mastering’ music for the movies. So in this episode we dig deep into all the details, including topics like: * Is there really such a thing as ‘mastering’ for film ? * What needs to be delivered, and what is the process ? * How loud does it need to be - are there any standards ? * When does Alan deliver mixes in Atmos, and why ? * How he uses the centre channel and surround channels * Why you might want to use saturation or pitch-shifting (!) in a movie score mix Show notes http://themasteringshow.com/episode-91Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

Everyone is talking about inter-sample peaks and True Peak limiters - or in fact it’s more accurate to say they’re arguing about whether ISPs are audible or not, and whether True Peak limiters sound bad ! In this episode I’m joined by Alexey Lukin, iZotope’s “godfather of RX”, to talk in detail about exactly what ISPs are and why they’re so confusing - including: * How are inter-sample peaks measured, and why do you see different results with different meters ? * What are DSP overshoot peaks, and how are they different ? * What does over-sampling have to do with all this, and why is it important ? * Do True Peak limiters really sound bad, and how should we test them ? * Why will they NOT prevent lossy decoder clipping, sometimes ? And * What the hell are we supposed to do about all this ?!?Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

If you’re not already listening to Matt Boudreau’s fantastic podcast Working Class Audio, you need to start now ! Matt is a highly respected mixing and mastering engineer who has recently moved into working in Dolby Atmos, where he’s already picked up some seriously impressive credits - oh, and also produces one of the top Audio podcasts around. Which is why if I try to think of anyone better to learn the fundamentals of good audio for podcasting and journalism from… well, I can’t. And the great news is that Matt has put together a new “PodClass” course to help people with just that. In this episode we talk about the course and what inspired it, but also plenty of other great stuff, including Making the move from pro musician to audio engineer Getting started in Atmos - workflow, dynamics and more Work-Life balance - is it better to be a lark, or a night-owl ? The secret advantages of running your own podcast... …and the crucial importance of great audio (And what it has to do with COVID lockdowns !) Enjoy - and if you want to try Matt’s course, make sure to use the discount code TMS to get a 30% discount and help support The Mastering Show at the same time !Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

DJs get a lot of flak, especially about loudness. There’s a deep-seated belief that “loud” masters are still a requirement for club music, and that DJs are somehow to blame. But is this fair ? The reality is much more complicated and interesting than the popular cliche that DJs will only play loud masters, and in this episode Ian dives deep into the issue with Joe Caithness, who works as both a DJ and a mastering engineer. Topics include: The reality of DJ-ing The problem with peaks Loudness ? Or consistency ? The power of Pioneer The shocking missed opportunity of loudness metadata The ‘sound’ of loudnessAnd much more !Full shownotes on our sitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-88Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

It’s amazing what mastering can achieve - but it’s also amazing how many things can influence the results we get right from the recording stage.In this episode Ian talks to Mike Senior about how to fix mastering problems at the recording stage, without using a time machine ! Topics include how to avoid: Muddy mids Harsh guitars Sibilance Resonant snares Boomy or hollow vocals Exposed vocals Stereo image issuesAnd many more !LinksMike has put together a fantastic page of resources for this episode, including an excellent video about stereo mic technique - click here make sure you check it out !https://cambridge-mt.com/misc/mastering-show-2212-resources/https://themasteringshow.com/episode-87Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

As mastering plugins become more sophisticated and more technical, there’s an interesting trend towards making the interfaces… less so. As well as traditional technical terms and numbered scales, controls labelled with less technical terms like “warmth”, “bite” and “colour” are becoming more common. And some interfaces are just… bizarre ! Is that good ? Or not ? In this episode Jon and I like at some more unconventional plugin user interface designs, and discuss: Why technical interfaces can be a problem When a more creative approach can be a good thing... …and when it’s not Some of our favourite ‘unconventional' plugin designs But are they better than just closing our eyes ?! Should plugins emulate the design of the hardware And does it make them sound better ?!?Full show notes - http://themasteringshow.com/episode-86Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

You’ve probably heard of Eric Sarafin, aka Mixerman, but have you heard what he has to say about mastering ?As always it’s entertaining, potentially controversial but also thought-provoking, so it seemed like a good idea to get him on the show and ask him to explain himself ! We talk about: * Why he thinks if you don’t make money from your music, you shouldn’t pay for mastering * Whether an online mastering service is actually a better option for a musician starting out (gasp) * Eric's favourite limiter, how he uses it and why * How loud he makes his mixes * Recent potentially game-changing developments... * And why they might make mastering engineers obsolete !Full show notes on our websitehttps://themasteringshow.com/episode-85Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

This is huge - Apple have finally started using LUFS for their loudness normalisation, which means all the major streaming services now use the same method to measure loudness ! And perhaps more importantly, they’ve enable Sound Check by default on new devices. As always there are plenty of devilish details to be aware of though, so in this episode we talk in detail about this change, including: * Why it’s so important * How much music online is REALLY normalised anyway ? * Why the answer is surprising to many musicians and engineers * Why Apple finally made this change * A few quirks and gotchas * Why it’s good news * And what to do about it (and what NOT to do!) Full show notes on our website https://themasteringshow.com/episode-84Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

In this episode we tackle one of the biggest challenges in modern mastering - the demand for super-loud masters in the dance & EDM genres. Our guest is Luca Pretolesi, and we talk to him in-depth about his approach to mastering for clubs & DJs. Luca’s masters are loud and we're always emphasising the value of balanced dynamics in mastering on this show, so you might think it would be an uncomfortable conversation... or you might be surprised. Some of the topics we cover include: * Why do DJs demand loud masters for club playback ? * Luca’s strategy to deliver this without sacrificing dynamics for streaming * Hint - it’s NOT all about limiting and compression * How loud Luca's masters are (which may not be quite as loud as you think) * The club genres that DON’T demand extreme loudness * Where things might go in future Full show notes on our website https://themasteringshow.com/episode-83Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

Dolby Atmos has moved the goalposts for loudness, all the way down to -18 LUFS. This was one of the main topics of conversation for this year’s Dynamic Range Day, with the Atmos versions of 5 albums being nominated for the award - and in fact, the overall winner was an Atmos mix & master. In this episode I talk to Nick Rives from Capitol Studios, who mixed the winning album, and we discuss: * Nick's approach to mixing immersive audio * How he got started with Dolby Atmos * Using spatial effects to enhance the musical impact * How the -18 LUFS guideline works in practise * The benefits and challenges of Atmos dynamics Full show notes on our website https://themasteringshow.com/episode-82Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

Apple’s announcement of Dolby Atmos support has caused an explosion of interest in the format - after all, it means almost any iOS user can stream immersive audio, even if they only have a pair of earbuds to listen on. But how does that even work? And for that matter, what is Dolby Atmos, and why should we care? And what about mastering for Atmos? Is it possible, or even necessary? In this episode we talk to Mike Hillier from Metropolis, and producer and mixer Emre Ramazanoglu about all things Atmos, including:* Why Atmos is different* Why mastering in Atmos is different* How it works in practise* Why the binaural render is so important - and what is binaural ?* Why binaural Atmos sounds different on Apple devices* How does head-tracking affect all this ?* Getting started working in AtmosFull show notes on our websitehttp://themasteringshow.com/episode-81Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

Time for another Q&A show! Thanks for all your comments, reviews and questions, please keep them coming. In this episode we tackle: * Are tools like SplitEQ fundamentally changing mastering? * Level automation - before or after the limiter? * Should you make separate masters for broadcast? * Can (and should) we correct absolute phase in mastering? * Do you need a dedicated headphone amp? * What have we changed our minds about in mastering, over the years? See full show notes and links on our website https://themasteringshow.com/episode-80Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

What is non-linear processing, and why does it matter? In this episode we dive deep into the topic with our guest Dan Worrall, and talk about: what non-linear processing is, why it can sound great and when it can sound terrible, and how to know the difference. Along the way, we also discuss * Is reverb non-linear ? And why it’s confusing * How linear processing makes top-down mixing a good idea * The difference between saturation and distortion * …and how to use them creatively * The difference between a perfect 5th and a power chord * ...and how to play chords on a trombone Full show notes on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-79Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

The Audio Engineering Society has just released new recommendations for the loudness levels streaming services should distribute their audio at - but they’re not for you and me. Having said that, understanding how they work is a powerful tool for predicting what will happen to your music when it's streamed. In this episode we talk about: * Who the TD1008 guidelines are for * Why they’re needed * How they can make normalization more effective (and more musical) * Why the numbers are slightly different for speech and music * What the numbers are, and why * Why you should care Full show notes on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-78Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

We round up a few different “loudness news” topics this episode, including: * Why Spotify have removed their limiter * But when they haven’t * And what it means for the way your music will sound * Plus, how the new loudness normalization options in Reaper might be useful for you * But why you need to be careful with them * What we think of Apple Music’s new lossless streaming feature * And more ! Full show notes and links on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-77Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

People are interested in mastering for vinyl again - and stereo bass is a big problem, right? You should always mono it to avoid problems? Well actually, no. There are some challenges raised by a very wide stereo image on vinyl, especially in the bass, but as always it’s not as simple as it seems. In this episode we talk to our guest Ian Stewart in-depth about this issue, and dig into some of the juicy detail on the topic, including: * Why stereo bass is a problem on vinyl * Why stereo bass isn't a problem on vinyl * Why you might want to avoid it anyway * And why you might not * What all this has to do with mid-side, and secret hidden messages from the anti-phase * The best plugins for dealing with low end width in mastering * …and why they’re not perfect Full show notes at https://themasteringshow.com/episode-76Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

It’s either the most powerful mastering technique known to man, or it isn’t really mastering at all, depending who you ask. Some people love it, others hate it, and some are mortally offended just by it’s name. Why does stem mastering provoke such passionate debate ? In this episode we dig into the topic to figure out the answers to these and other questions... * What is stem mastering ? * In fact, what really is a stem, anyway ? * Why do some mixers find the idea offensive ? * What are the benefits and pitfalls of stem mastering ? * Why will stems often not sound exactly like the mix ? * Does stem mastering really help your client ? full show notes and links on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-75Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

It’s happening. Spotify are switching to using LUFS for their loudness normalization. If you’re thinking ‘I thought they already used it', that’s understandable - but they didn’t. They will in future though, and in this episode we talk about why the change matters, especially in the short-term. But also about when it doesn’t matter, and why it will hopefully matter even less as time goes on. Topics include: Why we don’t use Spotify What we use instead, and why - and some of the differences How normalization on Spotify used to work How it’s going to work What happens in the meantime Why we mostly ignore the numbers, despite all this ! http://themasteringshow.com/episode-74Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

Let’s face it, LUFS don’t work. No-one understands them, when you set a load of different songs to -14 LUFS they all sound a different loudness, and they weren’t even developed using music. RMS is just better, right ? These are just some of the objections we’ve been hearing about LUFS recently, and in this episode we investigate them. Is there any truth to these claims and statements ? (Hint - Yes !) Along the way we also cover: * Why loudness is like the weather * How EQ affects loudness, and how we hear it * Loudness on the radio * The ideal podcast loudness * What’s up with Spotify’s loudness recommendation http://themasteringshow.com/episode-73Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

This is so good it just needed it’s own episode. It’s a groundbreaking, unique new way to make music online - and everyone should try it out ! It’s not just bleeps and beats, either - there are plenty of people using it to make fantastic acoustic and sample-based live-looping music as well. I’m talking about Endlesss, the new live-looping-jam-with-friends-online iOS app developed by musician Tim Exile that I mentioned at the end of the last episode - and now it’s going to be available on Mac & PC ! I loved chatting to Tim for this episode, and there’s a ton of interesting ideas here even if you’re not that interested in the idea of Endlesss. We talk about: * The problem of perfectionism in music production, and why it’s a mastering engineer’s super-power * The best way to develop a new musical instrument * How to fit 40kg of music tech in an iPhone - and why it’s worth it * How not-live can feel live and how THAT can overcome anxiety and imposter syndrome * And how Endlesss got Ian back into creating music after a 20-year break as a result Full show notes on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-72Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

Real-time remote audio work IS possible - with surprising quality and flexibility ! In this show I’ll describe techniques and strategies to help you mix, master, teach and even record remotely - and even suggest some ways to jam live. Kind of. Amongst other things I’ll describe how to: Stream lossless, low-latency audio to any DAW or browser, for up to 40 people Combine this audio stream with multi-user video chat Screenshare in sync for easier collaboration during mixing, mastering and even recording Take control of someone else’s screen for teaching or training purposes Use other people’s analogue gear in your project “Jam” virtually online - on an iPhone ! Thanks to Ian Stewart and Lij Shaw for help with ideas and testing for this episode. Check out the website for full links and show notes http://themasteringshow.com/episode-71Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

Our guest this episode is LA mastering engineer John Greenham who just won a Grammy for his work on Billie Eilish’s album. We talk to him about how he came to work with Billie, and dig into his work on the album in depth, discussing topics including: * John’s mastering chain and philosophy * Whether “Xanny” is the loudest song ever * How to get RMS levels above zero (!) * Loudness, confidence and client relations * Are loud mixes a problem for mastering engineers ? * What it’s like to win a Grammy http://themasteringshow.com/episode-70/Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

We talk on this show about making a master sound great all the time - but what does that mean ? How can you tell the difference between a good or a great master, or whether you’re doing great work yourself, or not ? In this episode we discuss all these questions, plus: * Is it even possible to tell a good or a great master ? If not, why not ? * Is it about great sound, or great work ? * Why “great” doesn’t have to mean “perfect” * What about great re-masters ? * How to know if you’re doing great work * The only person who can really decide Full show notes and links on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-69Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

I often get asked if it’s possible to restore dynamics to a heavily limited, clipped or compressed source, to achieve a more dynamic master. The answer is… it’s complicated ! So in this episode we do our best to answer the question. Topics include: Why you shouldn’t do this When you might have to do this When doing this is a bad idea How to do it (the simple way, the complicated way and the really messy way) How compression can sometimes add dynamics What these techniques can never do Full links and shownotes on our website: http://themasteringshow.com/episode-86Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

People are talking about minus 14 LUFS loudness more and more these days, but why ? What does this number mean, where does it come from, and why should you care ? In this episode we answer all these questions and more, including: * Which streaming services are using -14 LUFS * Why Spotify aren’t using -14 LUFS, and why it matters * Why you shouldn’t use minus 14 LUFS as a target (or any number) but * Why it’s still important and useful to know about anyway * Will mastering to -14 LUFS make your music sound bad ?!? Full links and show notes on the website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-67Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

Time for another Q&A episode ! As always you’ve been asking great questions, so in this episode we discuss: * Why Ian talks too much * How dynamic is too dynamic ? * Fade-outs - before or after compression ? * How has the loudness war changed production and arrangement styles ? * Mastering for gaming streams (like Twitch TV) * Mastering in different genres http://themasteringshow.com/episode-66Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

Can you make money from mastering ? And if so, how ? If you’re already charging people for your work, how can you be more effective and productive ? Our guest in this episode is Graham Cochrane from the Recording Revolution website, which has been so successful that he’s started helping other people use some of the same ideas and strategies to get them started making money in the audio business themselves. You don’t have to be an audio blogger or YouTuber to achieve this - in this episode we talk about strategies anyone can use: * How to get started charging money from mastering * How to decide how much to charge * What makes you different - why people really might choose you to master their music, even though you don’t have a million-dollar studio or a legendary credit list * Simple strategies to become more effective and efficient with almost everything you do in your business * Why telling some clients to use online mastering instead of you might actually be a good business strategy http://themasteringshow.com/episode-65Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

There’s been lots of buzz and discussion about aliasing online recently, and lots of confusion, too. Is it a flaw in the whole idea of digital audio ? Does it explain why analogue modelling plugins can never sound exactly like the real thing ? Or is it just inaudible mathematical theorising ? In this episode we try to answer all these questions, plus Ian attempts to give an easy visual explanation of what aliasing is and how it relates to audio, with - er… questionable results. Along the way discuss: * What wagon wheels have to do with audio sampling * And vinyl turntables * And digital audio * How (and why) to avoid aliasing * Why high sample rates may help and * Why all this is important when using plugins Full Show Notes http://themasteringshow.com/episode-64Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

Usually on the show we’re talking about mastering music for CD, download and streaming, but there’s another important final destination for the audio we work on - broadcast. And the difference with broadcast audio is - there are standards. Having said that, there often isn’t a dedicated mastering stage ! In this episode we dig into the whole fascinating topic with our guest Dallas Taylor from Defacto Sound, and host of the superb Twenty Thousand Hertz podcast. Dallas has a wealth of experience in sound design and mixing for broadcast on trailers and ads for shows like Game Of Thrones and games like Fallout, amongst many others. In a wide-ranging conversation we talk about: * Why sound design is like being a conductor * American versus British mixing style in drama * What are “emotional FX” ? * The loudness wars in broadcast * Dialnorm - what and why ? * How to make dragons talk http://themasteringshow.com/episode-63Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

Everything gets streamed these days, and almost all streaming platforms use lossy data encoding: mp3, AAC, OGG etc (OMG!) And these lossy codecs do a pretty remarkable result of preserving the quality, considering they strip out anywhere between 60-90% of the original data. But it’s not perfect - far from it ! In this show we talk about: * How your audio can be damaged by lossy data encoding * Why this happens * How you can test for it yourself * Why it’s worth doing * How it can help you hear the artefacts for yourself * Whether we should optimise our audio to avoid them and (most importantly!) * The two simple steps you can take to minimise these problems and help your audio SURVIVE streaming Full show notes on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-62Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

You might argue that reading about audio is like dancing about architecture. Or something. But you’d be wrong! In these days of podcasts and YouTube it’s easy to forget how many great books there are about audio, and what a fantastic resource they are for getting inspiration, ideas and learning new topics and techniques. in this show we share some of our favourites, including: * The book that took Ian several years to read, how to access it's Secret Bonus Content, and why * A book that tells you how to use a potato as a filter, amongst other things * Books about a band that Ian says you NEED to read * The only two books about mastering (that we know of) * The books we haven’t read but know we should * Invaluable writing about audio that isn’t in books * Several things that aren’t books at all See full show notes on our website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-61Mentioned in this episode:LeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

This show is short & sweet - but essential listening if you’re interested in getting better results with online loudness - and balanced, musical dynamics for your masters. In this episode Ian describes: - How he increased playback loudness on Spotify by 3.3 dB for a song by reducing it’s overall loudness by 1.5 dB, and why it sounded better afterwards - What to do if your song gets turned down more than you expect online - Why you have to be careful with contrast on Spotify - How reducing dynamics can make your music sound more dynamic - Why musical decisions work better than technical ones full show notes at http://themasteringshow.com/episode-60/Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins

It’s been a while since we had a Q&A episode, so - here it is ! In this show we discuss: * Can a spectrum analyser make up for poor monitoring ? * Is allowing peak levels up to -0.1 wrong ? * Do speaker isolation pads work ? * Handling client payment issues * What to do when songs overlap (segued) * Do dynamic masters sound worse on a PA ? Full show notes on the website http://themasteringshow.com/episode-59/Mentioned in this episode:Learn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resourcesLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's plugins