Mastering Workshop #2

Kendrick Lamar, SZA

Mike Bozzi

  • Mixing

Hosted at Bernie Grundman Mastering, engineer Mike Bozzi introduces you to the specialized facility and its equipment, then gives a synopsis of his professional background, musical influences and mentor Brian Gardener. He discusses the achievement of tasteful loudness in modern mastering, common issues with mixes received, submission advice, mastering single tracks versus albums, sample rate, bit depth, working in dual mono, his monitoring setup, outboard gear and signal path. He proceeds to master three tracks in the style of hip-hop, trap and R&B by artists Kendrick Lamar and SZA. In each case, he critiques the mix, matches overall loudness for comparison and proceeds to master while A-B’ing with the unmastered version. He divulges on precise EQ alterations, de-essing, soft saturation and limiting considerations, and explains why he uses little or no compression or stereo widening. He also comments on streaming platform algorithms and mastering for various formats.


Mike Bozzi

About Mike Bozzi

Mike Bozzi is an American Grammy-winning mastering engineer currently based at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, California. He had exposure to the music business from a young age, as his father was a radio program director in New York and Los Angeles, and later worked at a major record label. This upbringing gave him a broad view of the industry which encompassed recording, live performance, broadcasting, marketing, and promotion. Bozzi’s early jobs included being an usher at the Greek...

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