Scott Hull On Mastering
Scott in the studio
Many websites have lots of information about mastering. Some take a scientific approach, some a creative approach. Both are useful but don''t tell the whole story. My mastering lies somewhere between the two.
Mastering is a very technical art. There are certain requirements, yet there are many exceptions to "rules" and many good reasons to ignore the rules entirely. Even though it's sometimes creative to "shoot from the hip" and let the pieces fall as they may.... Mastering, in my opinion, needs a healthy measure of control. nnJust how loud is "too loud"? Can there be such a thing as too much Hype? Can the quest for radio play make an otherwise exciting album sound boring? For me these questions have to be asked and answered on every single project. If you are familiar with some of the work in my discography, you may find part of the answer in how each project sounds.
For me there is not so much a single "right way" for an album to sound. The grouping of the songs, the sequence, the "art of the album" is so much more important than the actual sound of any single component. It might not be surprising that I mostly master albums. Of course I''m asked to master singles and shorter forms as well as for surround sound.
My main goal with this section of the website is to give you simple and direct answers to those nearly impossible to answer questions. You know those questions that are almost always answered with "It depends.... " Well it does depend. nnI like to let the music of any project that I am asked to master approach me. I mean I let the music try to tell me what it wants to be. Then I listen to what the artist and producer want their album to sound like. I ask questions related to the way the music strikes me and how it should strike me. What type of audience is expected to listen to it? How are they likely to play it back? Is high resolution the most important aspect? Or is it just as important that the listener feel moved in one way or another.nnSomewhere in all of that emerges a "plan" or direction for the sound of the project. It has often struck me as peculiar that I don''t really identify with a particular style of music more than others. I don''t need to have lyrics, or even understand the language that is being spoken or sung. The language of the music guides me and when it all fits - it's like magic.
Many of you may have heard someone say that they don't understand the "how" of mastering. But they do know that when done well, mastering can help them enjoy the production more, not notice as many "flaws", help them stay engaged in the musical experience and in general feel more like they done good. It's as simple and as complicated as that. Thanks for reading...
