Well the AUDIO MASTERING SAGA continues... If Less is MORE, then it's safe to say that MORE = LESS? Contemporary mastering practices continue to push the "limits" (pardon the pun) of today's music levels closer and closer to the brink of the BRICK! Here's a cool video on youtube outlining how crazy it's getting out there:
The alpha compressor is a mighty tool for professional dynamics processing. Some of the great features are the innovative functions that provide perfect technical implementation and an absolutely uncompromising quality of sound. New standards for mastering applications have been set with this compressor and it is made for cultivating any kind of audio material. It offers MS processing, parallel compression as well as sidechain and audio filters, just to name a few.
The circuitry is a complete new development that provides an amount of openness and clarity which can hardly be found in present gear. Every single part of signal processing is realized by using single transistors running in constant Class-A mode, and even sidechain and power supply use discrete circuits. All components are of the highest grade available and were exclusively chosen according to their tonal properties.
Check out www.elysia.com for more product information.
There are those mastering engineers who use their training and years of experience to help those turn something good into something extraordinary and then there are those who help those annoying T.V. marketing firms. I'm sure you can guess what I am speaking of. It's those darn commercials! You know the ones that come in super LOUD when you least expect it. Instead of those commercials grabbing your attention they send you searching for the remote so you can hit the mute button.
However, there is now a simple product that actually controls the sound levels automatically for you. It's called the T.V. Sound Regulator. Check out this website for more information: TV Sound Regulator
Whether you are a mixing, mastering, or live sound engineer you can have better control over stereo ambiance, the forward and backward positioning of images in the stereo field, and manipulate source material. Well with the Portico 5014 Stereo Field Editor you have a width adjustment, depth control, and a difference channel/ EQ and insert. This new tool is simply used for creating dimension and life in the modern engineer's palette. Check out Rupert Neve Designs website for more information about the Portico 5014.
MIDEM 2007- Cannes, France: This is home to the world's largest and most popular international music fair that is taking place from January 21st through the 25th. It is probably a little too late to get your tickets for this year! So if you plan ahead you can make it next year especially if you are looking for the best place to network in the music industry. However for those of us who are not able to attend the MIDEM there is still some exciting news to share.
JVC, the company well-known for its development of the VHS video standard, is co- hosting a booth at the MIDEM along with Victor Entertainment, and will be demonstrating their K2HD technology. The K2HD mastering is used for high quality CD sound mastering. Mastering engineers have extreme control over the fidelity by using 24-bit high resolution information, and a wide frequency range that extends up to 100kHz based on this K2HD technology.
If you would like more information on the MIDEM check out the link midem.com.
When it comes to music and movies, sound is such an important factor in our line of business, especially when it comes to experiencing theater-like sound at home. That is why there is a yearly award, called the Masaru Ibuka Award, given out by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), to a deserving individual who has significantly contributed to the field of consumer electronics technology. Check out IEEE's website for more information about the award.
This year's recipient is Tomlinson Holman, an author, a current instructor at the University of Southern California, and once served as chief engineer and technical director at Lucasfilms for over fifteen years. He has several U.S. patents and developed the THX, Home THX, and THX Digital Mastering programs. THX, mainly a quality assurance system, was created so that when a movie is shown in an approved THX theater, the film's soundtrack will sound just as the mastering engineer intended for it to sound.
Holman will receive his award at an upcoming International Consumer Electronics Conference in Las Vegas. More information about the conference can be found at the following link IEEE Conferences.
Many mastering engineers have heard of or read the book "Mastering Audio: The Art of the Science" by Bob Katz. Bob Katz is not only an author and well known mastering engineer, but he also can add to his list of accomplishments that of inventor. Bob was recently awarded a U.S. patent for his K-Stero and K-Surround circuit designs.
These K processors will help recover lost ambience, space, and depth, it also provides post-production control of reverb returns, as well as preserving the mix, plus much more.