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22 min
Mike’s background, modern workflow and aesthetics, mix buss advice, sample rate, bit depth, signal path
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09 min
Mastering ‘Humble’ – subtle EQ, vocal focus, monitoring considerations, listening space
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11 min
Mastering ‘Love Galore’ – de-essing, adding warmth and air, taming high-mids, commentary on widening
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12 min
Mastering ‘The Weekend’ – adding clarity, soft saturation, light limiting, dithering, streaming algorithms
Mastering Workshop #2
Kendrick Lamar, SZA
Mike Bozzi
- Mastering
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.
Subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese
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...