We are absolutely thrilled to receive and proud to present our new Tyler Acoustics Decade Series D1 loudspeakers at MASSIVE Mastering. Delivered by the man himself, Tyler Lashbrook, these monsters boast proprietary drivers, custom crossovers by acclaimed designer Danny Richie of GR Research, hand-made in the USA.

The 10-week wait seemed like forever - But it was well worth it.

More to follow I’m sure...

LIKE NOW: Custom bases (made for me by Tyler) to lift them up a few inches. Repositioned and tilted just a whisker - Some of the best imaging I can imagine. Amazing sounding speakers... Read More...

In my never-ending question to be completely satisfied with a stock piece of gear, I’ll be happy to bore you with a couple of the latest modifications to the existing gear...

Don’t get me wrong here - My Crane Song pieces are some of the greatest hunks of glorious mastering hardware ever designed by a human being. Heck, I’m not even all that convinced that Dave Hill is actually completely human sometimes... It takes someone ‘superhuman’ to design gear of this caliber.

But sometimes even super-gear needs a tweak or two to be ‘more suitable’ for the task at hand. People who race cars adjust the timing or use special spark plugs, chefs import spices that give a little extra ‘something’ than the plastic-bottles mass-produced stuff on the shelves at the store.

Mastering guys mess with the side-chains...

To that end, Sean at Crane Song whipped me up some “plug ’n play” side chain mods --

On the STC-8M compressor, a high-pass filter. This was the second or third design... Wasn’t happy with the previous. This one is just what I wanted. The unit is far less sensitive to low end -- It’s what I always wanted on this unit and I don’t need to use an external EQ.

On the Ibis EQ, a... Well, it’s a... I honestly don’t know what to call it. I think they call it a 6dB pad at the shop, but that’s not entirely accurate... It’s sort of a “half-sensitivity” mod -- The swing on the stock unit is +/- 12dB. With the pad, the swing is reduced to +/- 6dB. “Fine tuning” is now FINE tuning.

I’m sure you’re wondering why you bothered reading this. Heck, I’m beginning to wonder why I bothered typing it. But let’s say that I’m eternally grateful to the Crane Song guys for allowing me to make some of the greatest gear ever even more -- greatesterer. Read More...

Tags: Gear, Modification

Almost St. Patrick’s Day 2010 and I just found out *last night* that Suffocation’s “Blood Oath” (Nuclear Blast) debuted at #135 on Billboard’s Top 200 and #2 on the HeatSeekers chart - LAST JULY.

I suppose there’s still a “coolness factor” seven months later... But this would’ve been nice to know in August.

Big congrats to the guys, Zack, the whole production team - A little late - but better late than never, eh? Read More...

Tags: Billboard, Top 40, Top 100, Top 200

Welcoming our new intern - Jon Garbarz (a.k.a. Jon G) to MASSIVE today. What a wonderful day to have ‘the new guy’ in the room - It’s one of those nightmare days... Technical difficulties, freaky-sounding projects, too much coffee (if that’s even really possible). But at least I dusted the place last night before I shut down... Read More...

While the effects of the economy certainly tugged at the bottom line here at MASSIVE Mastering, the year was down only very slightly. A slow 3rd quarter was eclipsed by a record breaking (no pun intended) 4th quarter. Here’s to all of you who made it happen.

During the slight downturn in the 3rd quarter, we were trying to come up with a modified pricing strategy. Then in the freakishly busy 4th quarter, we decided to put that on hold. Now, as we enter 2010 - our 15th anniversary - as busy as it is at the moment, we decided to turn the “SPECIAL” light on anyway.

For a limited time - Might be a month, might be three, might be the whole year - we’ve reduced and “capped” the rates for longer projects.

Q. Wait a minute - it’s busy and you’re having a special? What’s up with that?

A. We’re busy and we want to stay that way. We’ve always been competitive and we’re going to stay that way. The rates here at MASSIVE have always been on the low end of any similarly equipped facility. But ‘for a limited time’ they’re going even lower. We were planning a “15th Anniversary” special anyway... Read More...

I’ve been working with Encodable Industries on the new OFMS -- Finally decided on their stock user database application and a modified (thanks, Anthony for dealing with my pickiness) version of their amazing file management system. Long-time clients will love this new system I’m sure - Automatic notification on upload, automatic notification to you when *I* upload, automatic ZIP download, multi-file upload with wonderful progress metering. A simple, ‘no-frills’ interface with a lot of sophisticated horsepower under the hood.

Well, I’m pretty excited about it... Read More...

So cold outside - Technological nightmares this week. Samplitude 11 came in today so it’s time for some experimenting with some of the new features. And what should walk through the OFMS than a new project produced by Ahrue Luster (Ill Nino, Machine Head). The band is Autumn Burn - Exceptionally cool stuff. No doubt, you’ll be hearing from them soon... Well, at the very least, as soon as I can get all this stuff together and get the masters out... Read More...

Not much to say - You’re looking at it. I hope it’s worth all the trouble it was to bring it over into this new ‘template’ and server. For the new clients & readers, I hope you like it and find it easier to navigate. For the long-timers, I’m still working on getting some of the more popular features & photo albums moved over.

Regular clients will notice a new & improved OFMS (Online File Management System)... I’m working with the developer at Encodable to modify it into a one-of-a-kind system with some cool semi-automated features. The next couple weeks are going to be huge behind the scenes. Personally, I’m just looking forward to getting a day off.

Hopefully before 2010. Read More...