Originally posted by Henrik Ammitsboel:
Dear All,

What kind of console do you use to put all your rack gear in?
I'm very interested in the one Joe Lambert uses! who makes it?

Best regards

Henrik,
Why are you interested in what Joe uses in particular?

While I have your attention, I was wondering what your professional credits are? Thanks, Kurt

Henrik,
Why are you interested in what Joe uses in particular?

While I have your attention, I was wondering what your professional credits are? Thanks, Kurt

Joe's console fits my room better than any argosy would do.

As you could tell by all my questions I'm starting out in the mastering field. I've done concert mixing and location recording + mix and master for a few bands here in DK but none of them has any label for now. By doing recording and mixing I've found out that my talent is in mastering music and searching to get it better in the audio reproduction field.

Best Regards

Henrik,
Thanks for the reply, I was just curious. I would guess that Joes installation (as in the case of many pro mastering rooms and tracking studios), is custom built. Most pro studios I have seen are constructed by the best finish and cabinetry carpenters who can whip that stuff out in a couple of days ... and often the actual dimensions and placements of the studio furniture are part of the room design with how they affect the audio being figured into the design.

A lot of people are getting the idea of going into mastering I think because it is a last bastion of the professional engineer. Pro studios and recording engineers are being squeezed out by the home computer recording revolution so a lot of recordists are looking at the pastures of the mastering industry as "greener". However, it takes a lot more than an accurate monitor system and a rack of great processors to become a “real” mastering studio. A sense of aesthetics and propriety, highly trained and extremely good ears are a necessity as well as expertly designed rooms, which in themselves, can run into hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions sans equipment. Then there is the need to keep up with all the newest technology both in terms of hardware and in the computer realm. It is a “high roller” game to play, not for the faint of heart. The stakes are very high, especially if you are dealing with major labels and artists.

The Mastering game is a deep pocket game. I don’t mean to be discouraging and I will say keep doing what you are doing but please don’t ever think that this is a simple or affordable endeavor. There is much more to it than meets the eye.

I know Kurt.
It's very deep pocket...
I've been researching the different aspects since I desited to go into mastering.
I've also been to a sesion here in DK mainly to see if what i got matches up to the standart(or better :D ).
I've also talked buisness with another big fish and Kurt; Yes it's very hard!!
But I belive in myself and my skills, that's why I have started my firm(getting registeret the first of january).

I'm doing this because I see no way out.

My Mastering studio will be up and running in marts/april, then you could get a sample of my work.

Best Regards :c:

Henrik,
I wish only the best and good luck with your endeavour. I look forward to hearing some of your work.. Kurt

Thanks Kurt,
and Happy NewYear :D ;) :p :c: :tu:

I started doing mastering full time 8 years ago. It has been a hard road but it was well worth it. I can't think of anything I would rather be doing. I came from a college background running an audio department and doing all the concert sound and recording for the college. My room was the biggest hurdle and luckily I had the help and support of a superior acoustician (Don Mitchell, DSM and Associates http://www.dsmassociates.com/) to design the room from the ground up. He was savvy enough to let me build the room in stages. It sounded very good from the start but all the tweaks he has suggested since have made the room sound incredible.

I would suggest you find someone similar and get them involved from the very beginning. If you don't have the room and the equipment needed to monitor your mastering you will not be able to do a good job.

What a lot of people fail to realize (from reading various posts on this webboard) is that having all the latest doodads (read equipment and software) is only one third of the battle. It is the experience and the monitoring environment that make for a great mastering experience.

Without a proper room and monitors you will be unable to judge what you are mastering. The room, the speakers, the amplifiers, the furniture and the acoustics all contribute to that experience. To start off with you can use a DAW with plugins or discrete equipment but to do mastering well you are going to need the best equipment you can afford. Based on personal experience I would say spend the money on the room. It is your best investment and will give you the best "bang for your buck" A good hardware equalizer and a good compressor/limiter will set you back a couple of thousands but a good room may set you back 10 times that amount.

It sounds from your post that you are trying to do things correctly.

Best of luck and let us know how things are proceeding.

Without a proper room and monitors you will be unable to judge what you are mastering. The room, the speakers, the amplifiers, the furniture and the acoustics all contribute to that experience. To start off with you can use a DAW with plugins or discrete equipment but to do mastering well you are going to need the best equipment you can afford. Based on personal experience I would say spend the money on the room. It is your best investment and will give you the best "bang for your buck" A good hardware equalizer and a good compressor/limiter will set you back a couple of thousands but a good room may set you back 10 times that amount.

I'm allready set back for several thousands and more to come...
I have a good room to start with that's treated with my own bass traps and small thin curtins.
From what I've heard in other pro rooms I would say that it's fairly good.
Right now I'm testing different monitor amps and researching comp/EQ, it looks like it's going to be some custom build ones...

It sounds from your post that you are trying to do things correctly.

Yes I am. :)

Best of luck and let us know how things are proceeding.

Thank you very much Thomas!!
I will let you know how it goes.

Best regards

And yes Thomas, I used a B&K to analyze my room :)

A B&K what? Sound level meter? I would like to know....Thanks

I used the B&K investigator to mesure the spectrum in every corner and wall of the room.
That way I could place the basstraps where they should be.
But no instrument can do the job perfect so i used my ears to fine adjust.
It's good to have an acoustic engineer to do your room but I also think you have to get lucky to find a really good one. The results I've seen and auditioned here in DK let me to do it myself.

Best Regards.

Sorry it took so long to reply. I'm on vacation for one more day and my wife keeps telling me to stay off the &*^%( computer!

The furniture was designed by Fran Manzella. He does studio and now speaker design as well. I'm very happy with it.