Mastering Articles
This is where I write about mastering. The gear, the technique, the decisions behind the work. Some of it is practical. Some of it is what I needed to get down.
Synesthesia in the Mastering Room
When people ask about my mastering work, the conversation often comes back to one detail: I have synesthesia. When I hear sound or music, my brain produces an involuntary visual response. Here's what that means for the records that come through my room.
The Big Crunch Transformer Box | The Nerd Edition
Brooks Harlan and Shawna Potter built me a passive box that switches between a Telefunken, a UTC, and a Neve/St. Ives at matched level. Here is what each one actually does.
Monitoring and Acoustics in a Mastering Studio
People ask which piece of gear makes the biggest difference. The honest answer is the room. If what's reaching your ears is colored, every decision you make is colored. It's that simple.
The Otari MTR-10 in Mastering: Tape, Provenance, and the Music That Yearns for It
A purpose-built mastering tape machine from The Hit Factory, with confirmed Otari delivery records, mystery modifications, and the philosophy behind when tape earns its place in a master.
The History of the ITI Audio MEP-130 Parametric Mastering EQ Modules
The ITI MEP-130 is where parametric equalization began. This is the complete history of serial numbers 001 and 002, from Baltimore Polytechnic Institute to Hunt Valley, a knife in an office door, Baltimore Harbor, a Craigslist listing, and a phone call with Burgess Macneal at 86.