Trailer
13 min

Part 1

Console & equipment overview, typical signal path, gear characteristics & purposes
12 min

Part 2

Passive console & gear modification, reference tracks, monitoring, frequency crossover
12 min

Part 3

Cohen – comparison between ‘Happy’ mix and master, commentary, EQ & level rides
12 min

Part 4

Cohen – soft bypass full chain, individual insert activation, D-A & A-D gain structure
17 min

Part 5

Lurssen – signal chain for ‘Ti Fa Stare Bene’, solid state vs. tube circuitry, LMC plug-in
10 min

Part 6

Lurssen – mastering the track with real-time level & EQ manoeuvres, commentary

Mastering

Happy, Ti Fa Stare Bene

Pharrell Williams, Caparezza

Gavin Lurssen, Reuben Cohen

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Song : Happy, Ti Fa Stare Bene

Duration:12 min / 1h19 Subtitles: English, Spanish, Portuguese

Description

Step inside the elite studio of Lurssen Mastering for our first ever series with Gavin Lurssen & Reuben Cohen! The two engineers give an overview of the passive mastering console and modified outboard chain they use on a daily basis, alongside detailed explanations of how each piece of gear affects the audio. Cohen opens the mix of ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams and recalls the original mastering settings, taking you through every step of the process and comparing mastered vs. unmastered versions. Lurssen does similar with ‘Ti Fa Stare Bene’ by Caparezza, revealing why he made certain decisions with particular gear. Other topics discussed include gain structure, converter clipping, monitoring, subwoofer crossover, reference tracks, LUFS for streaming, MFiT, and mastering albums vs. singles.

Show more

Trailer
13 min

Part 1

Console & equipment overview, typical signal path, gear characteristics & purposes
12 min

Part 2

Passive console & gear modification, reference tracks, monitoring, frequency crossover
12 min

Part 3

Cohen – comparison between ‘Happy’ mix and master, commentary, EQ & level rides
12 min

Part 4

Cohen – soft bypass full chain, individual insert activation, D-A & A-D gain structure
17 min

Part 5

Lurssen – signal chain for ‘Ti Fa Stare Bene’, solid state vs. tube circuitry, LMC plug-in
10 min

Part 6

Lurssen – mastering the track with real-time level & EQ manoeuvres, commentary

Comments

(13)

William Byrne June 20, 2024 at 9:43 AM

This segment provides an example of the general insights I hoped to learn of when signing up to MWTM. Very informative!
Julio Diaz March 25, 2024 at 2:35 AM

In 2005 Garvin Lursen mastered an album he almost certainly has no recollection of called "Para ti con desprecio" which was a big hit in Spanish speaking countries. It came with a DVD showing the production, recording and mixing process, which led me to fall in love with this world and here he is again!
Stanley Long January 10, 2024 at 8:15 AM

Does anyone know what is the name of the solid state limiter at the end of the chain?
Sarun Wongrajit May 21, 2024 at 3:27 PM

Smart Research C1/C2

Stanley Long June 3, 2024 at 4:33 AM

Thank you kind Sir
Brian Grimm March 25, 2021 at 4:16 PM

i hope the plain black tee is their mandatory mastering dress code
Alex Paris November 22, 2020 at 9:56 PM

Mr Lurssen, I want to thank you for the development of your plugin. Once in a while, a piece of software, like yours, is developed that is a game changer. It delivers exactly what it was designed to do. After watching your video series, I decided to try it. It took about 10 min to realize that this software is a must. Thank you.
Ahmet Gokhan Coskun August 22, 2020 at 12:18 PM

Thanks for the great video. Invaluable knowledge to find. One little request, that would be very cool to dig into the compression and limiting parameters such as attack and release times and give info about how to approach specific pieces. Thanks again, all the best.
REVERT Pere August 5, 2019 at 5:51 PM

Awe-inspiring workshop. I see the SSL comp goin a bit far and slightly destroying the dynamics of the original mix, but who cares when no one has been able to listen to the original mix... Definitely we need more stuff like this over here. Would kill for a workshop with Ted Jensen.
Benjamin September 16, 2020 at 6:56 PM

Definitely! We need more mastering videos on here! Would love more with Bernie Grundman, need to hear more of his wisdom!
Francis P July 30, 2019 at 12:40 PM

cool insight! give a song to 10 different mastering engineers and you will came up with 10 different masters. Everyone of them has his personal workflow, experience and gear preferences and this explain why mastering remains an ART itself..
Kevin Schoenbohm July 29, 2019 at 10:55 PM

$12k for the EQ?! Wow.
Francis P July 30, 2019 at 12:48 PM

today there are valid alternatives between the 1,5k$-2,5k$ range.. but GML remains the Holy Grail for mastering :)

About Gavin Lurssen

Gavin Lurssen has been a mastering engineer since 1991, and a contributor to many technical developments that have taken place in the industry since then. He has won multiple Grammy awards for his work on 'Raising Sand' performed by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the movie soundtrack of 'O Brother Where Art Thou?', and the PBS television series 'Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues', as well as a Latin Grammy for his work on Diego Torres' album 'Distinto'. 'Raising Sand' also won Gavin and Lurssen...

About Reuben Cohen

Reuben Cohen was awarded a Latin Grammy in 2010 for his work on Diego Torres' album ‘Distinto' and a 2014 TEC Award for his work on the single ‘Happy' by Pharrell Williams. He also worked on the soundtrack of the international movie phenomenon 'Slumdog Millionaire', which won a Grammy award for Best Soundtrack in 2010. He also mastered the soundtrack for 'Pitch Perfect', which won the award for Top Soundtrack at the 2013 American Music Awards. He has mastered material for artists such as Pharrell...

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