Re: [microsound] digital audio genius Bob Katz

[Bill Jarboe <billjarboe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

 hi Kim, 

  I almost didn't start this post since it might sound like arguing ,
bickering. 

  This is a list about aesthetics , and this discussion on mastering brings
to my mind several issues.

  I've worked with some pretty impressive engineers , never a so called
'mastering engineer' , I don't know what they can do for the sound.My
immediate reaction is the question: "if they are so good , why don't more
commercial releases impress me?" I know that's hardly fair , since the
mastering engineers don't comprise the band , songwriters and so forth, yet
it is a starting point.

  To approach making something that sounds like a 'nice sounding record'; I
could see how a mastering engineer could be extremely valuable. In the case
of audio which has no precedent , nothing to really compare it to , I can
imagine the situation of the only thing mattering in the sound is the way it
came off the speakers when the perpetrator , composer ,
whatever-you-want-to-call-the-person decided: Yes! it's a take.

  In many cases it might be difficult to decide what actually makes it work
, what makes it music , whether it's the bass ,the lack thereof , the rough
parts ,the contrasts between good and bad digital audio.

  It could be more difficult to determine such things when the listening
space is shared with a "professional"; meaning some overfed jerk who sits on
his ass in a swivel chair most of the day in his little mastering boudoir
and makes a comfortable living by telling people "what sounds good".

  I mean , much electronic music is a really personal thing. It's conceived
in solitude and often listened in solitude.To listen in close proximity with
someone who has different professional interests can radically , physically
change the way one hears the music. Even if the mastering engineer is
extremely competent and doesn't change hardly anything, still one is left
with sorting out the subjective and the objective afterwards . Sometimes the
only thing that makes it bearable is knowing that the piece is unchanged.

  I've known studio engineers who exuded cool . So much that it was like
standing in front of an open refrigerator. That's ok I guess , yet I don't
compose music to worship refrigerators.

  I've read articles by mastering engineers and been really impressed by
what they've had to say..then I've listened to their records: oh, was that
the one I thought was a low budget home recording?I've also been involved in
successful recordings that didn't sound like anything else in way  shape or
form , and that was part of the reason for the success.Somtimes even a 'bad'
or uncoventional sound can be a plus, since it gives the release it's own
space , separates it from the pack , so to speak.One then has to change
something in oneself, adjust one's attitude in order to listen. That in
itself can make it less mundane , change the situation into a party.

 I've never knowingly listened to anything engineered by Bob Katz. I did
work with a guy who raised cougars and sometimes he'd wake up in the morning
with tooth marks , claw marks.

      ( I wonder how many times he's heard that ,similar ,or even worst
jokes)
           
                            Bill

on 1/9/03 2:24 PM, Kim Cascone at kim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> in my experience it is ALWAYS better to leave mastering to the pro's unless
> you have interned under a respected mastering engineer and have a lot of
> field experience...
> FWIW: I tried my hand at mastering a CD once and will never do it again! I
> now know why mastering is considered a 'black art' - good mastering
> engineers are worth every dollar you spend!
> in any case here is THE man for all things dealing with digital audio: Bob
> Katz...I've been reading his stuff for around 10 years now and have learned
> a lot from his papers online...
> http://www.digido.com/
> this guy is *the shit*
> 
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