Just came back to this video after just 1 year and I'm surprised at how much I can understand about what he's saying. Growth is real guys. To anyone watching this, you'll be surprised at how much growth you will experience when it starts clicking in.
Wow. This dude's confidence is fantastic. He's not pretentious or self involved, you just know from his delivery that he KNOWS his shit. Proper safe pair of hands
@@Musicdudeyoutub Wow!! Sarcasm??? Really??? I thought u were being serious!! Well maybe my quote on quote is not "sarcastic" enough...Hmm nevermind.....
i like how he actually shows with and without the mastering. I think it really breaks the myth that mastering is not essential unless you're putting it online or whatever other reason someone might have. Mastering really does have an actual place in the process and this video highlights that really well.
How to master 101: Step 1: Bob your head pretending like u k o exactly wat to do next Step 2: slap some OTT on the master Step 3: add stereo spreader on full Step 4 limiter on max so ur wave form looks like a brick Done
You know you're a good master engineer when you can talk for ten minutes maybe even more about the details in that last 1% of sound quality. What a craft. Love it!
All these videos make me realize that a good mix is just as important as mastering. The perfect analogy is mixing is the carpenter building a table and mastering is sanding, varnishing and polishing allowing it to be commercially sold.
Reuben is not only an amazing Mastering Engineer he’s incredible at putting context behind every decision and explaining ‘WHY’ he makes those choices and how it effects the audio. Golden 🖤
@@drinkinslim my thoughts exactly. I think it’s the implied “i am an experienced engineer and know stuff” part that the engineer felt like starting off with.
The key to a great master is a great mix. The mix was phenomenal. The master brought all those quieter elements out and they sounded fantastic. Obviously he knows what he is doing but not many people start with Grammy winning mixes like that.
@@drinkinslim Perhaps. I know a lot of engineers who pre-emptively mix a certain way to leave room for the mastering process. So for example, if a certain mastering engineer was known for making mixes brighter and with more stereo width, they'd send them something neutral and narrow. It's not that they can't do it themselves, but that it may be impossible to recreate that certain sound in the studio, as mastering suites usually have very specific high-end gear and also some signal-chain trickery that remains a closely guarded secret...
It's not that complex of a mix. You got a drumloop, claps, congas, Rhodes and a bass guitar. And vocals. I guess the secret here is the sparsity, which of course takes a certain taste.
What did he say though? He keeps talking about adding frequencies and never explaining and where. He mentiones using the compressor musically but then never explains how and in what way. Musical producer of 17 years here, I very much understand the technology and I didn't learn a single thing listening to this video.
I think he delivered enough detail, he mentioned the freqs he cut and boosted and why, and how the gear worked together. I found it incredibly helpful because it was an instruction on how to think about applying the gear, or maybe how not to apply the gear. A light touch.@@milosmilosmilos
@@milosmilosmilos You right but the exolanaition is what the other guy said. This is a Mox with the Masters promo video, they sell premium courses where they charge you to supposedly show you the real formula behin these proven successful records. Maybe he goes deeper in the full thing and if he does well then its cool cause lets agree his premises that you mentioned make sense
This guy is an absolute master (sorry about the pun!). Sick of mastering engineers absolutely butchering all the hard work that goes on previously, just removing ALL the dynamics and making it one loud mess.
I was sooo anticipating him turning on the different processors one by one, with the song playing, to hear the differences being layered. Not disappointed at all, that’s for dang sure, not even a little, not the slightest of bits, no sir.
Was that sarcasm? I can't tell. I mean, he bypassed the entire mastering chain off and on, not each processor one by one, so I don't know what you're talking about, lol.
@@benjihuntrods9658 thats what UNITY GAIN is after you've EQ'd and compressed a track. Otherwise your levels are all over the place when you've levelled already.
This A>B mix/master video is, without doubt, the 'ultimate' example of 'subtle' changes that can be made during the mastering process, that, at the time, created an environment the listeners were never going to be aware of... until now.
It’s unfortunate that they didn’t balance the volumes between mix and master. Hard to hear the subtle tonal and dynamic differences when the master is that much louder.
@@maximthefox I think there was a greater proportion of low end in the mastered mix. I know that's a feature of turning something up but you can really hear it in the kicks.
@@GabrielQuiroz95 sure, but that is no excuse for not balancing the volumes. If they had, we would’ve been able to hear the differences more clearly, even in this short snippet.
Every sentence he uttered out of his mouth was beautifully said lol He could probably talk about the design of a shopping cart at target and it would be like him explaining the universe to me.
Me: How did you master this song? Master: We chained together a bunch of equipment you will never have, then moved a whole bunch of knobs at once in real time. Me: k thx bye
Its not about the equipment (don't get me wrong hardware is a GREAT and all, but a good 60/40 of the hits today are made in box). What its really about, is understanding the "feel" of the record, and how that feel in certain section can translate into multiple "real time" movements on certain volumes, eq, Q bands, sends, gates and etc to help make the song "BREATHE/have air" (notice how in the mix you couldn't really hear/FEEL the notes of the bass line but in the master you could hear not only the bass clearly but each instrumental respectively). Everything he does or any mix engineer with a real console or piece of outboard gear can be done with automation in the box. However it all comes down to how and when based off of the "feel" of that track. Ie.) when song "x" hits at the chorus do you know when it "feels" right to boost "y" instrument in the 7k range and lower "z" instrument's volume at the same time to make this section feel more bright and happy and then in the following verse, filter this other instrument up in real time "riding" to enhance the emotion that the artist is attempting to convey their(weird example hopefully you're still following me). Gear ("CAN" really) help[s] but it's not about gear its about the "feeling" of the record. I could be wrong or confusing in my slightly late night buzzed state but coming from someone whose has learned a fair amount of their mixing and audio engineering skills from youtube and being very plugin heavy prior to working in a real studio to then working a real studio and finally "getting it". I think one of the biggest differences most new people don't get is Music IS alive it and if your song doesn't breath I don't want to say it's not a record because like wtf am I lol but I it ain't it chief. IFYKYK
U dont need those today, a laptop and decent headphones or monitors with the right kinda knowledge and is pretty much enough! Room treatment is very important so spend money there forget about analog u can do same results with plain plugins:)
I thought he did an absolutely spectacular job with his mastering. Everything in the mix became beautifully clear and sat in its own space in the spectrum. He’s got a really interesting approach to Eq. Keen to experiment with some of his ideas
but the master was much louder, and it didn sound like he levelled the mix vs master. Naturally youll think the louder track is better. The loudness difference makes it hard to compare
@@QueArgh that’s what mastering is supposed to do. A good mixing engineer will deliberately leave the mastering engineer some leg room with loudness because it’s the mastering guys job to set that. Also, loudness doesn’t make clarity. It can actually detract from clarity
@@TheEagleFace As someone who understands I wish I could get into one of these mastering studios and listen to those ATC's and see what I have been missing!
As someone who still learning to master beyond using Ozone 11 (I just move knobs around until I find where it sounds what I envision lmao), I appreciate bro talking about his mastering process because he’s explaining his thought process more than anything and it’s kind of how I thought about making music in the beginning of my career. It’s a lot about the feeling that the song can give you, and a good mix is super key to a good song. Mastering is literally the last step to glue your whole mix together and put it in a pocket that allows for the song to flourish beginning to end. Everything really does matter, but this attention to detail is 100% very precise and advanced. You feel the difference of the song in the before and after, before you really “hear” the difference.
I love the "I don't need to add any of these adjustments but it sounds better if I do" mentality here. It's really good to appreciate what other artists or yourself have already done and saying "it's good enough, but I can go a step further if I want"
As a Producer , I think Engineers are underrated next to the producer... without us, your favorite song wouldn't sound like it does with just your favorite artist vocals.
True. Imo a song is 25% artist, 25% producer, 25% engineer and 25% marketing. The marketing includes videoclip and the hype created around the song as human psychology tends to like songs more when their is a videoclip and got some social proof (hype).
@@Invalid07 it's definitely a group effort and sometimes that does not happen as expected. marketing, it takes alot of effort but the music gets out there.
Hahaha, Billie Eilish's brother came by and said he's going to return the Grammys, since he produced his winning single without marketing and without an engineer.
Is there a marketing with the Masters series? I would like to know how a lot of these guys got their starts and eventually started working with famous people.
a lot of the time, it's that they knew a guy who knew a guy who knew these artists. since professional music is a war of attrition and patience to profitability, very tight networks get created this way. watch this video if you wanna see how cory wong got his gigs: ruclips.net/video/qmNEhOKfZ9A/видео.html
I once spoke to the guy who mastered billie eilish's stuff and he said he just took the jump and moved to LA (Cliche i know) and he said its a cliche because its true. Not as clear cut as moving there = big jobs, but he said it made it more accessible and possible. Still had to find the studios, talk to people, work his way up etc
@@imryangallus this, networking is so important. it's a gigantic game of convincing people with money to give you money, and that takes a network of people to give you bargaining power
exactly. A really basic omission that makes much of this video pretty pointless. Good tips to begin with, but the comparison is useless without loudness matching
7:48 for the people wondering about this trick this is how the pultec EQ's curves work, but I presume the reason he doesn't use a pultec is because it's very limited for surgical eq'ing. it's a neat trick tho, and you can do it with plugins as well
This is something I don't understand; everyone goes on about how great the Pultec EQ is, but whenever I've tried a software version of one, it sounds like shite - quite hard/harsh sounding top end, not sweet and musical. Either I'm not doing something right or I just haven't found a good Pultec emulation yet.
The way this dude just described feeding a mix into a compressor as opposed to compressing a track just blew my fuckin mind. Invaluable insight that can only come from years (aeons???) of experience. Mastering is indeed a dark art; and you, my friend... are the darkest of artists. Godspeed, and THANK YOU for sharing this!
Reuben is great! Had the opportunity to sit in while he mastered an EP I made many years back, and it was incredible watching him work. Top of the game!
@@themattshort the best part is they have their own youtube channel where they actually show them using the equipment. that's about it though. they're so advanced i don't think they know how to teach. this dude made a .5db boost with one eq & a .5db cut with another 15hz higher like we'd even be able to hear the difference if we did it. (obviously it does make a difference but to hear that takes a ridiculously advanced ear)
I usually judge audio tutorials by the quality of the vocals of the presenter : if they aren't top notch, I'm not gonna trust that whatever engineer demoing is a top pro. This is by far the best I've heard so far.
Refrain from embarking on a debate with him when your vision of the mastered end product diverges, particularly if you possess certainty in the accuracy of your perspective. It exemplifies how one can transform three button presses and two switch settings into cash through an adorned expression, akin to that of a politician. Ultimately, he emerges as an exceptional salesperson.
Holy crap. Robin is next level!!!! Where did he learn this stuff?? I've been producing, mixing, mastering for years, He makes me feel like a total beginner!
Very good video and information thanks. Only thing is the comparison of before and after is louder therefore immediately perceived better. I wish they would've kept it the same loudness so you can really hear compression, eq, saturation etc.
I felt the same about this song over processing would've kill the life of it. It's light and easy on the ear. Gentle goes a long way as he describes. I bet this song is still racking in millions, just timeless!
This is extremely interesting. That he was attenuating 2db to account for his eq boosting was something I didn't know. He also has incredible analogue tube driven hardware that most of us dont have. But I'll be using his attenuation idea, plus eq'ing before compression in my own mixes.
As a pop/radio record it goes without saying that there needs to be a lot of compression in a track in order to make it pop through different sound media, but I know this guy would have left more space in the track if he didn’t need to account for limited playback conditions.
holy shit just hearing the flat vs mastered version is incredible. this is truly amazing. like somedone else in this commenct section said, he is a mastering assasin
it does but do not be fooled by loudness....there is so much more into it most people do not catch.....etc..he missed or purposely skipped the most important part go the Mastering process....
Kudos!! One of the few that actually gave a big secret in terms of preserving the emotion of a song. How he approached the compression (Tube) to react to the eq made in the lower spectrum of the mix so that it wouldn’t react to the other “info” info in the mix, and automate it so that it stays in that general spectrum and vary when needed is genius. Also, the gain staging is meticulously done.
The amount of times I've been unhappy and have ended up somewhere that I hear this song against will is actually more than you think. The amount of times that it actually made me happy in those instances is zero. It actually always makes me more unhappy than I already was.
And this, my friends, is real mastering. A process that instead of butchering the dynamics, increases musicality and makes the mixing engineer decisions just better!
Not taking anything away from this mastering engineer, but a lot of the people posting comments are perfectly correct in saying that they should have level matched the mix and the master so that we could truly hear the difference. When things are compared at different volumes, we tend to always prefer the louder one. Not a true comparison
@@louselfridge517 loudness is different than volume. You can actually make something louder while still having it technically be the same or even lower volume than before. And no, mixing has nothing to do with making anything louder in volume. That’s the mastering stage
@@HollerAtcherBoi You can hear he made the overall balance better even without it being level matched, if it means that much to people they can always use the youtube volume slider or the volume on their computer.
@@Portal.l_9 it’s just surprising because it’s a super basic technique. I can’t think of anything you have to lose by properly gain matching. And regardless of how he did it in the real mix, I think for this video it would’ve been much more helpful to have things gain matched. Surprised you disagree
The Mastered version sounds much more musically strong. It made those instruments sound exciting, clear, defined, sharp and very cleanly separated. It's too bad we can't hear the 24bit version to really hear how perfect it is.
0:19 Listening through Arcam rDAC -> CI Audio VHP2 -> Beyerdynamic DT770 250Ω I prefer the the flat mix, purely because of its dynamics and vocal quality. The vocal harmonies are exquisite on the flat mix, whereas on the master a degree of sibilance has been introduced and those mids sound to have been pushed forward which makes the vocals sound flatter and a tad more aggressive, imho.
Full video available now on mwtm.org/gl-rc-pharell-williams
This inspires me to go in a new direction! Thank you so much to all involved. 🙏 much gratitude
I’m a mastering engineer and these guys always make me feel like I have no clue wtf I’m doing and I’m cool with that
That probably means you're good at your job but not full of yourself :)
😂😂😂
For real 🤣🤣🤣
Don't say that too loud
@@jaydawg4732 cool input
Robin van Persie is a great mastering engineer.
😂
🤣🤣💀💀
👏🏽😂
😂😂
RVP has mastered everything so no surprise 😂😉
As an artist who engineers their own stuff, this is pure knowledge and wisdom I'm soaking in.
do you master your tracks too?
Yup me too! I do everything from beginning to end.
Same boat
Aye
ruclips.net/video/4Fiw7WrYKBo/видео.html
Realising the song needs to "stay light on its feet", shows such great intuition. What a tasteful master.
I have no idea why I'm watching this but I can't look away
Jehan? you? 😍😍
Make some videos!!
me tooo
why did you stop making videos
You high AF bro. LOL!
Just came back to this video after just 1 year and I'm surprised at how much I can understand about what he's saying.
Growth is real guys. To anyone watching this, you'll be surprised at how much growth you will experience when it starts clicking in.
"So what am i doing? Lets break it down." *Slaps OTT on the master bus*
soundgoodizer if your an fl user like me😂😂
@@tonygibbins3361 FL Users aren’t exempt. Slap your ott
ayo just put a ozone 8 or 9 and do "master assistent" ez master
@@maniacproductions7188 in most cases it ruins your master
more producer jokes pls
The mastered version definitely sounds happier than the original mix
This genuinely made me LOL
That’s what genuinely Mastered Music for.😂
Great work on the mastering, no doubt! Wish there would’ve been a loudness matched demo before and after the processing.
Are you an engineer?
@@nixprod.8517 do you mix and master music?
Wow. This dude's confidence is fantastic. He's not pretentious or self involved, you just know from his delivery that he KNOWS his shit. Proper safe pair of hands
I disagree, I think he’s just gotten good at selling to people why he should be paid to mix their tracks and that he doesn’t really add much
@@PastheRas peak ignorance...
Yo mostly engineers are man
@@Musicdudeyoutub LMAO!!! Pharrell became "enlightened" after speaking with Mr.Pascal...
@@Musicdudeyoutub Wow!! Sarcasm??? Really??? I thought u were being serious!! Well maybe my quote on quote is not "sarcastic" enough...Hmm nevermind.....
i like how he actually shows with and without the mastering. I think it really breaks the myth that mastering is not essential unless you're putting it online or whatever other reason someone might have. Mastering really does have an actual place in the process and this video highlights that really well.
How to master 101:
Step 1: Bob your head pretending like u k o exactly wat to do next
Step 2: slap some OTT on the master
Step 3: add stereo spreader on full
Step 4 limiter on max so ur wave form looks like a brick
Done
Can confirm 👍
😂
Hahahah ew. Can still relate
😂😂😂😂😂
You know you're a good master engineer when you can talk for ten minutes maybe even more about the details in that last 1% of sound quality. What a craft. Love it!
probably the best mastering advice i've seen in countless videos honestly. an entire masterclass in less than 10 minutes
All these videos make me realize that a good mix is just as important as mastering. The perfect analogy is mixing is the carpenter building a table and mastering is sanding, varnishing and polishing allowing it to be commercially sold.
Reuben is not only an amazing Mastering Engineer he’s incredible at putting context behind every decision and explaining ‘WHY’ he makes those choices and how it effects the audio. Golden 🖤
Step 1. Respect the mix
Step 2. Little steps
I could listen to this cat talk about audio all day. He has a tremendous gift for teaching and explaining the process. Dope content.
Really though? He talked a lot but didn't show us a thing.
@@drinkinslim my thoughts exactly. I think it’s the implied “i am an experienced engineer and know stuff” part that the engineer felt like starting off with.
It’s an ad. They’re not going to show you the whole thing.
@@drinkinslim we obviously have different learning styles. What he said completely registered with me. YMMV
This is the definition of mastering to me. When he took off the bypass the song just came alive! Incredible
This guy could be the next Dark arts teacher at Hogwarts.
lol yes!
😂😂😂
He looks like some actor but I can't think of who...
How do people think of this XD LOL.
I was feeling that but couldnt find the words, brilliant.
@@jsnell126 Jonathan Rhys Meyers
The key to a great master is a great mix. The mix was phenomenal. The master brought all those quieter elements out and they sounded fantastic. Obviously he knows what he is doing but not many people start with Grammy winning mixes like that.
I didn't think the mix was all that great, to be honest. They could have mixed it closer to how it sounded after the master.
@@drinkinslim Perhaps. I know a lot of engineers who pre-emptively mix a certain way to leave room for the mastering process. So for example, if a certain mastering engineer was known for making mixes brighter and with more stereo width, they'd send them something neutral and narrow. It's not that they can't do it themselves, but that it may be impossible to recreate that certain sound in the studio, as mastering suites usually have very specific high-end gear and also some signal-chain trickery that remains a closely guarded secret...
It's not that complex of a mix. You got a drumloop, claps, congas, Rhodes and a bass guitar. And vocals.
I guess the secret here is the sparsity, which of course takes a certain taste.
@@xanderpills this!
I am in awe at how clear and articulately he explains everything.
What did he say though? He keeps talking about adding frequencies and never explaining and where. He mentiones using the compressor musically but then never explains how and in what way. Musical producer of 17 years here, I very much understand the technology and I didn't learn a single thing listening to this video.
@@milosmilosmilos It's a promotional video for the course. Why would they spoil it by giving out the details? lol
I think he delivered enough detail, he mentioned the freqs he cut and boosted and why, and how the gear worked together. I found it incredibly helpful because it was an instruction on how to think about applying the gear, or maybe how not to apply the gear. A light touch.@@milosmilosmilos
@@milosmilosmilos You right but the exolanaition is what the other guy said. This is a Mox with the Masters promo video, they sell premium courses where they charge you to supposedly show you the real formula behin these proven successful records. Maybe he goes deeper in the full thing and if he does well then its cool cause lets agree his premises that you mentioned make sense
This guy is an absolute master (sorry about the pun!). Sick of mastering engineers absolutely butchering all the hard work that goes on previously, just removing ALL the dynamics and making it one loud mess.
I was sooo anticipating him turning on the different processors one by one, with the song playing, to hear the differences being layered. Not disappointed at all, that’s for dang sure, not even a little, not the slightest of bits, no sir.
Yeah I'm really confused why they bothered getting close up footage of him turning on bypass for every single module..
Was that sarcasm? I can't tell. I mean, he bypassed the entire mastering chain off and on, not each processor one by one, so I don't know what you're talking about, lol.
The confidence and knowledge from Reuben is inspiring. No umms and aahs, just 100% "I know what I'm doing" expertise.
I wish the before and after versions were volume matched in the post-production of this video....
Yeah, loudness tricks us...
@@benjihuntrods9658 it's BS, you can volume match the eq changes
@@benjihuntrods9658 thats what UNITY GAIN is after you've EQ'd and compressed a track.
Otherwise your levels are all over the place when you've levelled already.
exactly
same thought. only one db more is enough to make any master sound better. you can easily test this with friends and family
i like the way how he is explaining it, not asuming you allready know every term and trick
This A>B mix/master video is, without doubt, the 'ultimate' example of 'subtle' changes that can be made during the mastering process, that, at the time, created an environment the listeners were never going to be aware of... until now.
Automating the mastering process is so key. Glad he puts it out there so bluntly and immediately.
He speaks with so much knowledge and experience, it’s no longer about mastering its quantum mechanics!!!
this is the normal language amongst experienced in the Music profession,,,,,
remember - Quantum mechanics - nobody can hear, feel or see them ;)
Me: I'm just gonna keep twisting knobs til it sounds good.
This is insanely helpful to us artist that do everything from beginning to end entirely ourselves. Thank you!
This guy helped me understand mastering chains more in 10 minutes than any other video I've seen
I have ZERO ideas what he's talking about, but I can't look away. It's so fascinating!
When he started flipping the Knob MIX vs MASTER, I was like "man, I wish it was THAT SIMPLE!"
I said the same thing 😅
You have to have a mastering console which cost a ton of money. Or you could use ozone. There is always a work around.
it will be pretty soon. AI based plugins will take over
It’s unfortunate that they didn’t balance the volumes between mix and master. Hard to hear the subtle tonal and dynamic differences when the master is that much louder.
100% couldn't agree more
yeah that's true, the end of result just sounds louder and you're left wondering what else has actually changed.
@@maximthefox I think there was a greater proportion of low end in the mastered mix. I know that's a feature of turning something up but you can really hear it in the kicks.
This video is 9-minutes-snippet out of a 2-hours-video
@@GabrielQuiroz95 sure, but that is no excuse for not balancing the volumes. If they had, we would’ve been able to hear the differences more clearly, even in this short snippet.
Wow listening to him talk is mesmerising, clearly a very intelligent person mixed with an absolute master of his craft
Every sentence he uttered out of his mouth was beautifully said lol He could probably talk about the design of a shopping cart at target and it would be like him explaining the universe to me.
This guy is so good at giving details and explaining his process
Me: How did you master this song?
Master: We chained together a bunch of equipment you will never have, then moved a whole bunch of knobs at once in real time.
Me: k thx bye
hahaha
haha perfect, this comment made me... "HAPPY"! lol
Its not about the equipment (don't get me wrong hardware is a GREAT and all, but a good 60/40 of the hits today are made in box). What its really about, is understanding the "feel" of the record, and how that feel in certain section can translate into multiple "real time" movements on certain volumes, eq, Q bands, sends, gates and etc to help make the song "BREATHE/have air" (notice how in the mix you couldn't really hear/FEEL the notes of the bass line but in the master you could hear not only the bass clearly but each instrumental respectively). Everything he does or any mix engineer with a real console or piece of outboard gear can be done with automation in the box. However it all comes down to how and when based off of the "feel" of that track. Ie.) when song "x" hits at the chorus do you know when it "feels" right to boost "y" instrument in the 7k range and lower "z" instrument's volume at the same time to make this section feel more bright and happy and then in the following verse, filter this other instrument up in real time "riding" to enhance the emotion that the artist is attempting to convey their(weird example hopefully you're still following me). Gear ("CAN" really) help[s] but it's not about gear its about the "feeling" of the record. I could be wrong or confusing in my slightly late night buzzed state but coming from someone whose has learned a fair amount of their mixing and audio engineering skills from youtube and being very plugin heavy prior to working in a real studio to then working a real studio and finally "getting it". I think one of the biggest differences most new people don't get is Music IS alive it and if your song doesn't breath I don't want to say it's not a record because like wtf am I lol but I it ain't it chief. IFYKYK
@@2094-o7t aint nobody reading all that.
U dont need those today, a laptop and decent headphones or monitors with the right kinda knowledge and is pretty much enough! Room treatment is very important so spend money there forget about analog u can do same results with plain plugins:)
I thought he did an absolutely spectacular job with his mastering. Everything in the mix became beautifully clear and sat in its own space in the spectrum. He’s got a really interesting approach to Eq. Keen to experiment with some of his ideas
'Sitting in its own space' thats a good way to explain thanks.
but the master was much louder, and it didn sound like he levelled the mix vs master. Naturally youll think the louder track is better. The loudness difference makes it hard to compare
@@gamesrozes5516 😊
@@QueArgh that’s what mastering is supposed to do. A good mixing engineer will deliberately leave the mastering engineer some leg room with loudness because it’s the mastering guys job to set that.
Also, loudness doesn’t make clarity. It can actually detract from clarity
@@devondeswardt6239 Completely irrelevant to my point
wow, the way the backing vocals and drums glue together on the master sounds incredible. Great video thanks for sharing!
What an amazing song to demonstrate, so happy to see this : )
Yeah, I don't understand a lot of the things he's talking about, but this is pretty awesome
as someone who did understand everything he said, it is incredible that this is free to watch on youtube
@@TheEagleFace I totally agree! I'm jelly of your engineering knowledge
@@TheEagleFace As someone who understands I wish I could get into one of these mastering studios and listen to those ATC's and see what I have been missing!
As someone who still learning to master beyond using Ozone 11 (I just move knobs around until I find where it sounds what I envision lmao), I appreciate bro talking about his mastering process because he’s explaining his thought process more than anything and it’s kind of how I thought about making music in the beginning of my career. It’s a lot about the feeling that the song can give you, and a good mix is super key to a good song. Mastering is literally the last step to glue your whole mix together and put it in a pocket that allows for the song to flourish beginning to end. Everything really does matter, but this attention to detail is 100% very precise and advanced. You feel the difference of the song in the before and after, before you really “hear” the difference.
Love how he about Pharrell like he’s just another client calls him “the artist”
Music over the artist.
I love the "I don't need to add any of these adjustments but it sounds better if I do" mentality here. It's really good to appreciate what other artists or yourself have already done and saying "it's good enough, but I can go a step further if I want"
This guy is definitely a fantastic mastering engineer but I wouldn't want him to be the guy who tells me I'm fired from my job
Btw, his name is Reuben Cohen and he is a Mastering Engineer at Lurssen Mastering Studio.
Gus, you’re fired. Ok, fine... you’re hired again... ;)
@@reubencohen6476 🤯😵
@@reubencohen6476 :O
@@reubencohen6476 LOL
Damn. I could listen to this guy talk about this shit for hours. Does this guy have a masterclass? Jesus.
I believe this video is the teaser of the masterclass
Yeah, Jesus has a masterclass. I'm surprised you haven't heard about it. ;)
As a Producer , I think Engineers are underrated next to the producer... without us, your favorite song wouldn't sound like it does with just your favorite artist vocals.
True. Imo a song is 25% artist, 25% producer, 25% engineer and 25% marketing. The marketing includes videoclip and the hype created around the song as human psychology tends to like songs more when their is a videoclip and got some social proof (hype).
@@Invalid07 it's definitely a group effort and sometimes that does not happen as expected. marketing, it takes alot of effort but the music gets out there.
Hahaha, Billie Eilish's brother came by and said he's going to return the Grammys, since he produced his winning single without marketing and without an engineer.
A lot of these conversations consist of feelings & understanding more than skill sets 🔥
Me: slaps ozone on it
ME too
Me three.
MA MAN... lol
I feel exposed
nothing wrong with Ozone if used properly
Honestly had no idea mastering could be so impactful but its absolutely night and day for this track
He is so eloquently spoken
even the speakers looks happy when the song hits
I love how the vocals come alive with the processing 👌🏾
I never realised how creative a process mastering is, you've made a great painting a masterpiece, beautiful work Reuben
It really isn't though
@@TheRealCowlick and what would suggest that his extremely accomplished mastering engineer do in your inexperienced, unfounded opinion?
When he turned on the mastering, I smiled
He’s like a mad scientist of mastering.
Is there a marketing with the Masters series? I would like to know how a lot of these guys got their starts and eventually started working with famous people.
a lot of the time, it's that they knew a guy who knew a guy who knew these artists. since professional music is a war of attrition and patience to profitability, very tight networks get created this way.
watch this video if you wanna see how cory wong got his gigs:
ruclips.net/video/qmNEhOKfZ9A/видео.html
@@oldethangoogleacc8484 thanks for the reply! I'll definitely check that video out
I once spoke to the guy who mastered billie eilish's stuff and he said he just took the jump and moved to LA (Cliche i know) and he said its a cliche because its true. Not as clear cut as moving there = big jobs, but he said it made it more accessible and possible. Still had to find the studios, talk to people, work his way up etc
@@imryangallus this, networking is so important. it's a gigantic game of convincing people with money to give you money, and that takes a network of people to give you bargaining power
Guy's a Cohen , so there's that
Thee most greatest transparent description and example of mastering out on RUclips. Love it
Thanks Rio!
I’d love to hear the raw then mastered with the levels matched, louder always sounds better to my shitty ears.
exactly. A really basic omission that makes much of this video pretty pointless. Good tips to begin with, but the comparison is useless without loudness matching
@@martingarreis lol
love these mastering videos. they remind you to be subtle. i think im improving
7:48 for the people wondering about this trick this is how the pultec EQ's curves work, but I presume the reason he doesn't use a pultec is because it's very limited for surgical eq'ing. it's a neat trick tho, and you can do it with plugins as well
This is something I don't understand; everyone goes on about how great the Pultec EQ is, but whenever I've tried a software version of one, it sounds like shite - quite hard/harsh sounding top end, not sweet and musical. Either I'm not doing something right or I just haven't found a good Pultec emulation yet.
Yaah..it has limits in doing surgical work
I use an UAD console and the pultec that I get in the plugin bundle along with that has a great warmth in the top end
The mix is so good! They just let place for the mastering to work.
The way this dude just described feeding a mix into a compressor as opposed to compressing a track just blew my fuckin mind. Invaluable insight that can only come from years (aeons???) of experience.
Mastering is indeed a dark art; and you, my friend... are the darkest of artists.
Godspeed, and THANK YOU for sharing this!
Reuben is great! Had the opportunity to sit in while he mastered an EP I made many years back, and it was incredible watching him work. Top of the game!
I’m so upset with how abruptly this video ended we wanted to hear everything working together
This is called a teaser. This ain’t free. It’s 319 bucks a year to learn how to use equipment you will never get to use let alone afford to own.
@@themattshort the best part is they have their own youtube channel where they actually show them using the equipment. that's about it though. they're so advanced i don't think they know how to teach. this dude made a .5db boost with one eq & a .5db cut with another 15hz higher like we'd even be able to hear the difference if we did it. (obviously it does make a difference but to hear that takes a ridiculously advanced ear)
Where was this channel my whole life 😍
this confirms it. mastering is quasi-subjective wizardry
I usually judge audio tutorials by the quality of the vocals of the presenter : if they aren't top notch, I'm not gonna trust that whatever engineer demoing is a top pro. This is by far the best I've heard so far.
This guy talks like he a old master sensei calm everything planned out
*panned out
Refrain from embarking on a debate with him when your vision of the mastered end product diverges, particularly if you possess certainty in the accuracy of your perspective.
It exemplifies how one can transform three button presses and two switch settings into cash through an adorned expression, akin to that of a politician. Ultimately, he emerges as an exceptional salesperson.
this guy is so well spoken it's insane, his words convey such colour and precision about the mastering process
Thanks for the kind words Alex!
this dude is an international assasin in his free time. So procedural in every word
Holy crap. Robin is next level!!!! Where did he learn this stuff?? I've been producing, mixing, mastering for years, He makes me feel like a total beginner!
Very good video and information thanks. Only thing is the comparison of before and after is louder therefore immediately perceived better. I wish they would've kept it the same loudness so you can really hear compression, eq, saturation etc.
I felt the same about this song over processing would've kill the life of it. It's light and easy on the ear. Gentle goes a long way as he describes. I bet this song is still racking in millions, just timeless!
What an incredible job of mix in the chorus. Love it
The flat version sounds incredible.
Yeah by its own is fantastic, i guess that makes mastering a bit easier
like every legendary mix and mastering eng says
sound selection is what makes a song hit
The snare kind of pushed me away at first, but this guy showed me that it didn't need much to tuck it back into place!
Very groovy mix though
@@pepe7drum absolutely. Good mix is a canvas for creative work, not a field to plow through.
From the first switch on it was really wow, so much warmth and smooth sound. Amazing work!
Wow. Never thought of how compression shifts the frequency balance. As an artist and producer, this attention to details really fascinates me.
explains his process so well
This is extremely interesting. That he was attenuating 2db to account for his eq boosting was something I didn't know. He also has incredible analogue tube driven hardware that most of us dont have. But I'll be using his attenuation idea, plus eq'ing before compression in my own mixes.
Not to mention his Studio and the ATC full range system!
@@jayrillabeats2059 Killer
I'm really loving this channel, more and more!
Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿🖤❤️
this dude is a mixing assassin. he is also nikola tesla's grandson. also, after pharrel heard this he changed the song to "ecstatic".
He is too young to be Teslas grandson. Maybe great-grandson.
@@johnwalter6410 Tesla died a virgin, allegedly, childless certainly - so not the grand-daddy.
@@jimbojazza5539 damn Tesla didnt get no puss? Damn
@@Mikcraw he got pigeon love
Mikcraw how do you think his brain worked so damn well?
Wow. Watching a true master speak his craft. Amazing content
As a pop/radio record it goes without saying that there needs to be a lot of compression in a track in order to make it pop through different sound media, but I know this guy would have left more space in the track if he didn’t need to account for limited playback conditions.
no matter what job I'll be in... when I make music in the DAW, I'm in my world where I'm happy!
holy shit just hearing the flat vs mastered version is incredible. this is truly amazing. like somedone else in this commenct section said, he is a mastering assasin
it does but do not be fooled by loudness....there is so much more into it most people do not catch.....etc..he missed or purposely skipped the most important part go the Mastering process....
@@atta1798 Which is?
@@InfamousAWJ basic in Mastering....same loudness volume for comparison
@@atta1798 I’m asking about what’s the most important thing in mastering.
@@InfamousAWJ it depends on you background n what you understand by it n if you went to school for it n if you are a science engineer
Kudos!! One of the few that actually gave a big secret in terms of preserving the emotion of a song. How he approached the compression (Tube) to react to the eq made in the lower spectrum of the mix so that it wouldn’t react to the other “info” info in the mix, and automate it so that it stays in that general spectrum and vary when needed is genius. Also, the gain staging is meticulously done.
The amount of times I've been unhappy and have ended up somewhere that I hear this song against will is actually more than you think. The amount of times that it actually made me happy in those instances is zero.
It actually always makes me more unhappy than I already was.
I can totally understand that
what an ironically morbid comment... but I get what you mean
look at the thumbnail of this video lmao
complete opposite if happiness
And this, my friends, is real mastering. A process that instead of butchering the dynamics, increases musicality and makes the mixing engineer decisions just better!
Wow one of the biggest hits ever and every armchair warrior in the comments thinks they know better 🤦🏾
Not taking anything away from this mastering engineer, but a lot of the people posting comments are perfectly correct in saying that they should have level matched the mix and the master so that we could truly hear the difference. When things are compared at different volumes, we tend to always prefer the louder one. Not a true comparison
@@HollerAtcherBoi but isn’t a good master making it louder? [These days essentially]
@@louselfridge517 loudness is different than volume. You can actually make something louder while still having it technically be the same or even lower volume than before. And no, mixing has nothing to do with making anything louder in volume. That’s the mastering stage
@@HollerAtcherBoi You can hear he made the overall balance better even without it being level matched, if it means that much to people they can always use the youtube volume slider or the volume on their computer.
@@Portal.l_9 it’s just surprising because it’s a super basic technique. I can’t think of anything you have to lose by properly gain matching. And regardless of how he did it in the real mix, I think for this video it would’ve been much more helpful to have things gain matched. Surprised you disagree
EQ with the Curvy lines is an EAR 825Q and the one above it is a GML 9500 (the mastering version of the GML 8200)
The Mastered version sounds much more musically strong. It made those instruments sound exciting, clear, defined, sharp and very cleanly separated. It's too bad we can't hear the 24bit version to really hear how perfect it is.
0:19 Listening through Arcam rDAC -> CI Audio VHP2 -> Beyerdynamic DT770 250Ω I prefer the the flat mix, purely because of its dynamics and vocal quality. The vocal harmonies are exquisite on the flat mix, whereas on the master a degree of sibilance has been introduced and those mids sound to have been pushed forward which makes the vocals sound flatter and a tad more aggressive, imho.
Oh, wow, he made it louder! Genius.
Cloth ears.
Let's not forget the MIXING ENGINEER!! This mix is amazing!
The only tip here is : ATC speakers and Room
I don't follow. How is that the only tip?