Square Cad: A Mastering Podcast

For a long time Chris Athens was a company man. After getting his start as a mastering engineer at Sony he moved to New York's Sterling Sound. He worked at Sterling for almost thirteen years mastering records for Rick Ross, DJ Khaled, AC/DC, Redman, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Coldplay, The Beastie Boys, Young Jeezy, Gym Class Heroes, Bone Crusher, Raekwon, The Neptunes, and many more. Last month he left Sterling, moved the Austin Texas, and established Chris Athens Masters. Chris discusses the reasons for striking out on his own, ambition, and how client expectations evolve with changes in the music industry. Music: Wiz Khalifa "Fly Solo" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com. Call Sweetwater and use the offer code 'SquareCad512' to get $25 off an order of $200 or more!

This week Square Cad is checking the hype on the new Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines. VTM is a new plug-in from Slate, programmed by Fabrice Gabriel, that touts itself as "the most advanced, dynamic, and true-to-life" analog tape emulator ever made. I spoke with Steven Slate of Slate Digital about his approach to emulating analog and how the VTM plug-in came about. Then I put the VTM to work and find out what it can and can't do. Music: Das Racist "Fake Patois" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com. Call Sweetwater and use the offer code 'SquareCad512' to get $25 off an order of $200 or more!

Since 1997 Emily Lazar has been mastering chart toppers and independent artists alike at The Lodge in Greenwich Village. In the 15 years since it's inception the likes of The Foo Fighters, Garbage, Rogue Wave, Depeche Mode, Morrissey, Bjork, Lou Reed, Vampire Weekend and many more have relied on Emily and the other engineers at The Lodge. Emily and I spoke about her experience as an assistant to Greg Calbi, the benefits and challenges of running a studio in Manhattan, and what hasn't changed about mastering from the early days of digital to the present. Music: The Walkmen "In The New Year" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com. Call Sweetwater and use the offer code 'SquareCad512' to get $25 off an order of $200 or more!

EveAnna Manley is a friend to mastering engineers. The gear that Manley Labs produces is found in some of the best mastering studios around the world because it behaves and sounds unlike anything else. The Massive Passive and Vari-Mu have been used on countless records for over 15 years. EveAnna spoke with me about the idiosyncrasies of analog, designing with Dave Collins, and why sometimes it's good to saw open a transformer. Music: Muse "Super Massive Blackhole" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com. Call Sweetwater and use the offer code 'SquareCad512' to get $25 off an order of $200 or more!

If you think positioning a subwoofer is hard you should try making one. There is a multitude of factors to tackle and Brian Ding of Rythmik Audio has considered them all. Brian spoke with me abut the Thiele-Small AES paper that inspired him to start Ryhtmik, reconciling electrical engineering and acoustics in his designs, and why a sealed subwoofer enclosure sounds better. Music: Arctic Monkeys "Fluorescent Adolescent" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com. Call Sweetwater and use the offer code 'SquareCad512' to get $25 off an order of $200 or more!

What does it take to design a truly exceptional mastering room? It's more than just hanging panels at points of first reflection. It takes a vision, creativity, and a staggering amount of technical expertise. The two person team that makes up Belgium's Northward Acoustics knows this because they design some of the best studios in the world. Thomas Jouanjean and Silvia Santafé from Northward spoke with me about how they became studio designers, their Front-to-Back room design philosophy, and why you should always listen before you measure. Music: The Good, The Bad, and The Queen "Northern Whale" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com. Call Sweetwater and use the offer code 'SquareCad512' to get $25 off an order of $200 or more!

14 Years ago Tyler Lashbrook parlayed an obsession with audiophile speakers into a business. Since then Tyler Acoustics has provided accurate and musical reference monitors to customers around the world. Over the past few years Tyler's designs have begun to show up in mastering studios, with a few engineers giving them rave reviews. Tyler spoke with me about his process for designing world-class speakers from the ground up, working with extended D'Appolito arrays, and why dealing directly with end users suits him fine. Music: Bat For Lashes "Glass" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com. Call Sweetwater and use the offer code 'SquareCad512' to get $25 off an order of $200 or more!

Brad Blackwood has mastered plenty of excellent records at Euphonic Masters. His clients include The Black Eyed Peas, Maroon 5, Blues Traveler, P.O.D., Thursday, Lucero, and many more. This year he won a Grammy for his mastering work on Alison Krauss and Union Station-Paper Airplane. I spoke with Brad about working with Thomas Jouanjean of Northward Acoustics to build a world-class studio, winning a Grammy, and what made Paper Airplane such a special record. Music: Sam Cooke "Tennessee Waltz" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com. Call Sweetwater and use the offer code 'SquareCad512' to get $25 off an order of $200 or more!

Ed Littman has worn many hats throughout his career. Jazz guitarist, tracking engineer, and since 2004 mastering engineer. Ed masters for artists and labels from all over the world in his North Haledon, NJ studio. I caught Ed in his studio while upgrading and auditioning new gear. We spoke about the build-out for his George Augspurger designed room, what he finds valuable about each of his signal processors, and how he determines what gear stays. Music: Albert Hammond, Jr. "In Transit" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com

It's been about a year since episodes 1 and 2 of the RPM Chronicles so this week we're returning to the topic of mastering for vinyl. You cannot talk about mastering for vinyl without lathes, and you cannot talk about lathes without mentioning Al Grundy. Al Grundy has been working in pro audio for over 50 years, and after buying a glut of Neumann lathes form Sterling Sound in the 90s, he became a go-to guy for scoring a complete disc cutting system. Al spoke with me about his amazing career, the differences between Scully/Westrex and Neumann cutting systems, and how preparing masters for vinyl has changed through the years. Music: Buju Banton "Untold Stories" This episode is sponsored by Sweetwater.com

Michael Romanowski spends a lot of time thinking about music. Aside from mastering in San Francisco for over 18 years, he's also chairman of the San Francisco Producers and Engineers wing of NARAS (the GRAMMY people), one of the minds behind The Tape Project, a live sound engineer, and co-producer of the Bay Area music podcast Renee and Romo. Michael and I spoke in his studio about the consequences of devaluing music, why he's adding a live tracking room to his business, and how the role of a mastering engineer has changed in the past 20 years. Music: Magnetic Fields "Come Back From San Francisco"

If you've never heard of Fred Forssell it's very likely you've heard his handiwork. For over 35 years Fred has used his discerning and critical ear to design pro audio gear for a slew of manufacturers. He also designs and manufactures for his own company, Forssell Technologies, producing ridiculously transparent converters, preamps, channel strips, and upgrades for the Millenium NSEQ-2. Fred shares his thoughts about the importance of design simplicity, and why he doesn't know how his converters handle clipping. Music: Cee-Lo "I Am Selling Soul"

Timothy William Walsh is a songwriter and musician, well known for his solo work as well as his time in Pedro the Lion and The Soft Drugs. He's also an engineer with an impressive discography, having worked with some of the most creative names in independent music. His credits include artists such as Sufjan Stevens, The Caribbean, Cold War Kids, Deerhoof, David Bazan, 50FootWave, Mynabirds, Kristin Hersh and many more. TW spoke with me about the challenges of approaching mastering from an artist's perspective, managing client expectations, the mechanics of revisions, and why he no longer masters his own work. Music: TW Walsh "Modern Age"

There's a lot to consider when making your critical listening area just right, and that includes furniture. A poor choice of desk can create problems in an otherwise excellent acoustic space. Jim Maher of Sterling Modular has spent years sweating the details, and creates acoustically transparent consoles that are used in studios all over the world. Jim spoke with me about important factors to consider when placing furniture in your studio and why there is no such thing as a perfect room. Music: Stereloab "Miss Modular"

Larry Crane took a break from his day jobs as editor of Tape Op and Owner/Engineer at Jackpot! Recording to offer a mix engineer's perspective on mastering. Larry and I critique a mix, and discuss the value of a collaborative dynamic between mixing and mastering engineers. Music: Sleater-Kinney "Far Away"