The Mastering Show

The Mastering Show Podcast

with Ian Shepherd and Jon Tidey

The Mastering Show #59 - More questions answered (Q&A 6)

February 15th, 2019 BY Jon Tidey2 Comments

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 ?

Configuring Voxengo Span - by Dan Worrall
Inter-sample peaks versus loudness (video)
Ethan Winer on speaker isolation
Bob Katz on speaker isolation (Facebook)

2 comments on “The Mastering Show #59 - More questions answered (Q&A 6)”

  1. Good show. Nice short answer to trying to use a spectrum analyzer to make up for poor monitoring--uh, NO.

    Interesting to hear the various thoughts on ISO pads, concrete blocks and bricks.

    I use a combo of Ultimate speaker pads and foam to de-couple my Yamaha HS8's from my old school L shaped desk. Its all solid wood and the low end absolutely transfers thru the desk, so I needed some kind of isolation.

    Im not really a fan of speaker stands, but I know a few audiophiles that use them with their $30k speakers to play their vinyl collection. These are also the kind of people that would not tolerate concrete blocks or bricks in their listening space either.

    Spotify could set the new level standard. Only time will tell.

  2. Singles taken from albums that always seem to end abruptly are live recordings. Applause often carries over from the end of one song into the next song. There is no good place to break without being abrupt... unless, of course, you master singles separately with fade out/in.

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