SOUND
PART 2
SOUND
ADVICE
By Noah Mintz
The Curious Case of Mastering Your Boy Tony Braxton ’ s Adult Contempt
PART 2
Last issue , I explained the different methods I tried out when mastering Your Boy Tony Braxton ’ s Adult Contempt , with the mandate of making it sound like it was released in 1990 .
I sent the various test mixes to Shad ( aka Your Boy ), mixer Howie Beck , producer Matt Johnston , and Gurav , Shad ’ s manager . In the end , and to my surprise , they chose the digital master as their favourite . They were looking for something different and this was it – but not different enough . They asked for one more version with something that ’ s not normally done in mastering : reverb . So I added a Lexicon hall reverb with a short decay , sent this off , and the test-master was approved .
Approved “ in theory ,” that is , because I was told by the time the mixes were ready for mastering , the actual mixes would sound quite a bit different than the test mix . At least we had a methodology .
After I got the final mixes and did my first round of mastering , the list of revisions and delivery of new mixes was exhaustive , so I was glad it was all done in the box . It saved me from having to rerun it through the analog system every time .
Here are some of the highlights and more interesting signal paths :
Whole Album
For the whole album , I kept the UAD Ampex ATR 102 at 7.5 ips with 456 tape and used a UAD Pultec with 100 Hz and 20 kHz attenuation . I also used the UAD Lexicon large hall reverb and a FabFilter Limiter .
The FabFilter is my go to limiter . I sometimes use others , but to me , it ’ s the most flexible and can sound the most transparent . It also doesn ’ t have many settings , which is something I look for in a limiter . I want it to be as simple as possible so I don ’ t really have to think about it . I set the limiter to 3dB gain . This way I can have a lower level going to my plug-ins , and for vinyl mastering I can take it off and have a lower level ( very important for vinyl mastering ) and increased dynamic range .
“ Conviction ”
I used a FabFilter C2 Comp with a bus-style compressor and a pretty high ratio ( 5:1 ) for mastering . Also some side chain filtering .
I used an Ozone dynamic EQ to dial out a bitey vocal at the times it was too much and to boost the kick a little . A dynamic EQ works similar to a multi-band but only applies to an EQ curve when it reaches a certain dynamic threshold .
“ Fall ( Girl )”
I used a mid-side EQ , the FabFilter Q2 . I cut the lows in the mid but put back in some of the kick frequency . I took out some 2 kHz in both mid and side .
I also felt this song needed some dynamic lift . I could have used an upwards compressor but it didn ’ t create the effect I wanted , so I used a transient designer , the UAD Sonnox Oxford Evolution , to bring back some lost transients . To be honest , I don ’ t actually know how transient designers work ; I just know how they sound and for mastering , it ’ s usually not a desirable sound . It fits into that category of “ effect that sounds pretty good until you take it out and realize how much damage it ’ s actually doing .” But in those rare cases , it does what nothing else can do and it ’ s exactly what a mix needs . The UAD Sonnox Oxford Evolution is the first transient designer that I think is flexible enough to be used for mastering .
“ All I Think About Is You ”
For this song , I really missed the sound of my Neve 2087 Mastering EQ , so I dialed up a UAD Neve 1081 ( the 2087 is basically a stereo stepped line-level version of the 1081 ) and dialed in 1dB at 4.7 , 1dB at 56 , -1dB at 380 Hz , and a 27 Hz filter , which is my go-to preset on the Neve ( save the 380 Hz cut ).
“ KIK ”
This song needed a little widening . The Nugen Stereoizer is the only plug-in I like for widening . It has a natural sound and never pushes anything out of phase , which is a common problem with stereo widening .
There was a bit of demo-itis on this album , where they really liked the rough mixes from early on in the recording , so we ended up using a bunch of those . For those , I did almost no EQ or compression ; I just shaped the EQ to compensate for how they sounded different with a louder level from the limiter . I felt these mixes were perhaps sonically inferior to Howie ’ s final mixes but the artist and producer were happy with them , and in the end , that ’ s all that matters .
When listening to this album , you get a sense it ’ s not a typical recording and that ’ s exactly what they wanted . The mastering reflected that .
I worry because this album is so atypical for Shad and doesn ’ t follow any current trends in audio recordings that it will get looked over , which would be a shame . It ’ s an amazing album by a very adventurous artist who assembled a fantastic team to make it a reality . I ’ m honoured and privileged to be a part of it . I hope you give it a good listen .
NOAH MINTZ
Noah Mintz is a Senior Mastering Engineer at Lacquer Channel Mastering in Toronto . With nearly 20 years of experience specifically and exclusively in professional audio mastering ( and many more previously in audio production ), Noah ’ s philosophy has always been “ less is more .” With a strong emphasis on “ vibe ,” Noah ’ s sonic signature has been left on some of Canada ’ s most successful indie and major-label acts . www . lacquerchannel . com .
56 PROFESSIONAL SOUND