Studio Gear
(Please click on any image to see a larger view.)
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Studio
Studio History
Back in 2001, Michael Romanowski, Paul Stubblebine and John Greenham went looking for a studio where they could have two dedicated mastering rooms. When they found the property at 1340 Mission Street, they leapt at the chance to work out of a building with great potential and a long audio history.
In the 1970s, 1340 Mission was the site of Coast Recorders. Bill Putnam, of Universal Audio fame, designed the recording studio. That studio is still in use today, and is the last recording studio of its size left in San Francisco.
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Glasses – Digital vs. Analog mindset
A lot has been said about the comparisons between analog and digital recordings. There are a few common misconceptions about mixing in the digital domain versus the analog domain. Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) are very common these days. Much more so than analog consoles or tape machines. Something I would like to point out is the deference in approach to working with digital sound.
In an analog session, the information is stored on a tape machine and routed through an analog console. With, perhaps, outboard analog equipment such as EQs and Compressors in the signal path. This signal is the result of the flow of electrons through electrical components like resistors and capacitors, tubes and transformers, and amplifiers and VCAs. What happens to the electrons as they flow is that the nature of the resistance and capacitance create heat and distortion as the signal is affected by the physical components. The resultant signal is then combined with other similar signals to create the final mix signal.
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5 Things About Mastering Article for Universal Audio
5 Things You Need to Know About Mastering Your Music
By Michael Romanowski
The mastering engineer is the last step of the artistic phase, and the first step of the manufacturing phase. It’s the final opportunity to listen, polish, and make a change in the sonic presentation. It is also the first step of the manufacturing phase, because it prepares the master in the way that best suits the needs of the manufacturer.
The goal is to listen to the broad picture; the actual content is immaterial. The mastering engineer is paying attention to EQ presentation, to level presentation, to dynamics presentation. It’s taking a collection of songs, and creating a flowing body of work.
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Mastering Studio from the cover of Mix in December 2009
Here are a few photos of the studio.
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Mix Magazine 2009 December Mastering Issue
Michael Romanowski is in the 2009 December Mastering Issue.
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Computer Audiophile Symposium – From Performance To Playback
This is a Symposium that I am involved with, going on this weekend at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, about Hi resolution audio playback from computers. We all know the CD is dead ( or dying quickly ). We are no longer held back by Red Book Audio constraints. The purpose of this Symposium is to show all the aspects of playback for home music servers. There are some very talented and forward thinking folks involved with this. It’s going to be very cool indeed.
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Panel Discussion about sound, listening and perception
This is a long round table discussion, but I think very well worth the time. All of the folks here have very good ideas about sound and listening; the experience of what music can and does do to people when all of the elements are in place. Enjoy.
