How I Was Fooled By A Mastering Engineer

It’s amazing how easily our ears can be tricked into hearing something that’s not really there.

Specifically, loudness can dramatically change how we perceive a piece of audio.

I re-learned this lesson yesterday when I got fooled by my friend and mastering engineer Ian Shepherd at the Audio Bloggers Live event in L.A. and what a powerful lesson it is.

The Bass Response Was Much Better

Ian is a brilliant mastering engineer and content creator who has an incredible resource that you should checkout immediately after reading this.

He also is a sneaky little bugger.

In opening the morning’s session, Ian played the audience two versions of a master and asked if we could hear a difference between the two.

Most of us in the room could indeed hear a difference.

When asked which one we preferred, the room was someone split with some preferring Master A, and some preferring Master B.

I preferred Master A. And when asked what it was about that version that I liked I said “It has more bottom end. The bass response seemed much better and fuller.”

Well, there indeed was a difference in the two masters. Do you know what it was?

Master A (the one with “better bass response”) was the exact same as Master B, only it was 1db louder.

Don’t I just feel silly.

Is That Plugin Really Helping?

The point that Ian was trying to make (and it’s one of the most powerful things you could learn) is simply this: we as humans will always prefer something that is louder because of a perceived increase in top and bottom end.

Knowing this fact, you simply cannot make a fair comparison from one song to the other – or one plugin to another – if you don’t level match.

Let me repeat that: you simply cannot make a fair comparison from one song to the other – or one plugin to another – if you don’t level match.

And this is where the concept is powerful for you as a mixer.

When you drop in a plugin on a track, tweak some settings, and it sounds better to you – ask yourself this: does it really sound better, or am I just making it slightly louder?

The only way to know is to pull the output of that plugin down until the processed signal is the same volume as the unprocessed signal.

Flip the plugin on and off, making sure the volume is the same.

Now listen again and ask “Does it really sound better with the plugin on?”

If it does – great. You’re actually helping the mix.

If it sounds worse (or even the same) then get rid of the plugin or find a better setting!

Don’t Let Yourself Get Fooled

Here’s the thing – it is annoyingly easy to fool yourself into thinking a plugin, or mix technique, or piece of analog gear is making your track sound better when in reality it’s simply making it a half dB or more louder.

So do the right thing – level match as best you can, everywhere you can so you are in a position to truly make an accurate decision.

You might find that you don’t need nearly as many plugins as you previously thought, when instead you could simply turn your mix up!

Want amazing home mastering tips? Read Ian’s blog and watch his videos here.

There’s a ridiculous amount of amazing free content there that will only help your tracks sound more awesome. Plus he has a smashing British accent.