There was a discussion about the recent Maroon 5 album, “Hands All Over” produced by the legendary Mutt Lange and much of it recorded and mixed by his long time collaborator, Mike Shipley (Def Leppard, Shania Twain, Aerosmith). In the midst of all of the comments, pro and con about the sound of the album (mostly pro!) a few people made some negative comments about the Mastering by Brad Blackwood (one of the most respected mastering engineers in the Industry) and Mike Shipley chimed in to explain why the mastering is the way it is.
I was so struck by his comments not just because of the heartfelt honesty, but to see how clearly the guys at the very top of the recording game have to deal with the same struggles about loudness, and ultimately creative direction as those of us a couple rungs down the ladder.
The “Loudness War” is one of the most controversial subjects in the world of recording, and usually the most misunderstood. If people feel something is mastered too loud, the blame is almost always put on the mastering engineer, and almost always incorrectly. I have never met a mastering engineer of any merit that loves how loud and distorted they are forced to make albums, and very few mixers that savor it.
Here is the gearslutz.com post in its entirely, but it is well worth checking out the original post and following the context of the conversation.
Originally Posted by shipshapeOk here we go if this is about the mastering , NO WAY is it the fault of the mastering engineer
Originally the mastering was 2 db lower , Brad and I thought it was spot on ! The label said it wasn’t loud enough. I actually stopped ALL the pressing plants to stop while I re valued the mastering. My point being. I just care so much how loud records are. I would really like this record to be quieter and keep the extra lo end octave !! And keep the balance we went for.
It’s politically hard to say this , but when the “label ” asked for it louder , I was upset as tho it wasn’t as loud as recent releases , I liked it and figured anyone would turn it up if it was quiet etc. The label wanted it louder to ” compete “. But we had ” dialogue ” over it Yes I was totally bummed. Brad and I had dialed in a modern record that WAS not involved in ” level wars ” with other artists.
I tried to convince the label that what we had was great. It went over my Head. So no wonder I’m pissed. I don’t work my ass off and put my whole life into a record to find out the label went over my head level wise. It’s VERY disturbing to a passionate person , but it happened.
I hate it and hate level wars etc. It can ruin within hours what ivve spent a year on !! U have no idea
I take this so personally because of the type of person I am. Therefore it kinda hurts when records I work on. Which are normally kinda odd records get pissed on by others. I really do the best I can , like all of us do.
I hate the ” no rules ” mastering that exists these days. But what can WE ALL DO to change this. I hate it and it depresses me .
Therefore I can’t say anything about the mastering , other than Brad is brilliant.
All the haters. Have a beer and move on to porcupine Tree or something. We are here doing the absolute best we can. It’s hard work
Shipshape
When we posted dates for the next Recording Boot Camp on January 24-29, 2011, It sold out almost immediately, and we have had to turn people away. So we have added another Boot Camp March 7-12, 2011. The cost is $1000(usd) with early registration.
feeling more experienced mixers will get frustrated at the lack of fine tuning capabilities. That being said, even though I am a pretty advanced mixer, with a big analog console and a wall of outboard hardware, I would probably be tempted to pull it up from time to time and get the CLA spin on things. It contains a lot of his default start points for EQ and delay etc, and just checking that out was a bit of a learning experience.