Evaluating Mastering Reference

[Jay Reynolds]

I just got a reference cd back from a ME and there are major issues. Before I list them, I'd like to give a historical perspective:
1. I've used this ME before, including for my own product.
2. I generally refer my clients to this ME (I do project-level work out of my home studio).
3. In the past, I've been very happy with the work this ME does and have thought he could charge a lot more than he does.
4. This ME has recently moved from one studio to another. The room he originally worked in had a great mastering suite and he would let myself and/or clients sit in on the session. He now charges extra to sit in and I have yet to actually see what the new mastering setup is.
In the end, I decided to go with talent over gear. That being said, this reference CD has some glaring problems. On two of the songs I (and the clients) can hear a pretty drastic change in EQ about 60 seconds in. At first, when I heard it, it sounded like a high shelf at 8k getting about 3 db of boost. But, after checking it with Logic Pro's multi-meter plugin, I looks like a notch boost centered at 8k. Once it is in, the sound of the track is pretty brash, so I'm tempted to believe its not supposed to be there. I have double checked my final mixes and these EQ bumps are not present in them.
There is a third song where there is also a perceptible change in overall volume in the first 3 seconds of the song. I didn't put the multimeter on this one, but I suspect it is an EQ issue too.
These aren't the only issues, but I'm having trouble thinking of what to say about, for instance, the fact that a lot of the material has (to my ears) too much high-frequency EQ on it because I can't figure out if its really supposed to be there in the first place.
So first, I guess I'd love to hear from other ME's here about why these EQ bumps might be happening. I'm guessing that the EQ is supposed to be automated to change with each new song in the program and somehow, this automation has been moved relative to the audio files.
Secondly, I'd love to get an evaluation of how I'm thinking of approaching this ME. Normally, I would leave it to the client to discuss these matters. But, since this is so out of whack, I was planning on calling him myself tomorrow. I think the best starting point would be to say, "Hey, I'm not sure if I'm hearing what you intended. Is the EQ supposed to change mid-song on these two tracks?"
Sorry in advance if I put this in the wrong forum. I had it figured at a 50-50 split between Listening to Music and People Skills.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

I think the best starting point would be to say, "Hey, I'm not sure if I'm hearing what you intended. Is the EQ supposed to change mid-song on these two tracks?"

i think that's a great starting point. you probably want to scream at the guy "what the fuck did you do to my work???" i know i would, but taking a calm approach is always better, so just see what he has to say.

and if you're not happy with the eq (or anything else) overall, don't be shy. say what you think. it's your record. well, ok, it's your clients record, but you can likely discuss it with the ME a lot more articulately than they can. i master a lot of stuff for a couple engineers and i'm always asking them "is it ok/too bright/too bassy/too loud/whatever?" and i really value their feedback.

any good ME should be super receptive to any criticism, and if they obviously fucked up they should go out of their way to fix everything and make you happy.

[Jay Reynolds]

Thanks. My biggest concern is to avoid making it too obvious that I don't think he listened to the reference cd. Which I'm sure he didn't, because I assume if he did, he'd have called the clients to say, "Hey, throw out that cd, I've got another one for you".

[MoreSpaceEcho]

you would hope.

let us know how it goes.

[cgarges]

I don't know too many MEs who listen to the reference CDs after the job is done unless the client has something to say about it. That said, I've also never seen an ME "automate" any EQ except for one guy who I've seen bump a little upper mid to bring out a guitar solo a bit in the context of what he already had going.

If the guy is good, he'll be willing to do a revision for you. You can always ask if he automated something and tell him that if he did, you can hear it and if he didn't it sounds like he did. If the guy's cool, then he'll fix whatever you want him to fix, including making it less bright.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Jay Reynolds]

He was cool. When I explained that I was hearing these EQ bumps, he said, "That ain't right". From my discussion with him, I understood that the EQ's are automated and something must have happened to the curves. I was even trying to keep things short, considering that I may not be hearing what he intended, but he did spend a moment on the phone with me to get my impressions (with a grain of salt, of course). My man is, if anything, a pro, which is why I like working with him.

[cgarges]

That's totally the way it should go. Glad it worked out. Developing a relationship with a good mastering engineer is SO incredibly helpful for so many reasons.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Jay Reynolds]

Update: my guy just called me to tell me that he's got another reference for the clients. He told me he heard the EQ issues that I had heard and that he checked the whole program once he'd fixed them. And he's not going to charge me for the revision. I'm not sure how to take this last part. He's never charged for revisions before, but usually I just ask for a coupe minor changes on a song or two, at the most. But maybe he just wants it to be clear that he's not going to spend hours on a cd for free without a good reason.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

well, blatantly fucking up the first version would be a very good reason.

[chris harris]

sounds like there are some really weird, passive agressive communication issues at work here. I don't know if it's because of you or your ME. But, the first thing that I'd do is find a ME that you feel comfortable discussing these things with.

[Jay Reynolds]

sounds like there are some really weird, passive agressive communication issues at work here. I don't know if it's because of you or your ME. But, the first thing that I'd do is find a ME that you feel comfortable discussing these things with.

interesting. Is this because I didn't quibble with him about what he may or may not be charging the clients for? Would it be more indicative of a healthy relationship if I'd lead with, "What the fuck are you doing to my mixes?"

[chris harris]

probably. It would definitely be more indicative of a healthy relationship if you had just felt comfortable going to him and saying, "something is not right here. can you listen to this and tell me what's happening?" but, you were uneasy about that conversation for some reason. and, you're also pondering what he meant when he said that he wouldn't charge this time. I would have said something along the lines of, "well, you never have before and that's why I love you"...

it seems that it's anxiety about this situation that brought you to post this in the first place. Like I said, I don't know who's responsible or if you both are, but one way or another you've got communication problems with this guy. Just like any other relationship, this one will work better if you feel comfortable communicating with each other.

[Jay Reynolds]

Thanks for the advice.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

but, you were uneasy about that conversation for some reason.

not to speak for superaction, but i think it's totally natural to be uneasy about it. i don't think anyone likes telling someone else they're not happy with their work. i had a record i did mastered by someone everyone knows and it came back NOT AT ALL how i (or the artist) wanted it. the artist and i were both kinda freaked out and i was definitely feeling like "what the fuck did you do to my mixes????" but i stayed out of it, the artist politely said "i really want it to be a lot less aggressive...", the ME was cool, redid the whole thing, the second version was great.

i dunno what my point is....i guess just that this ME is someone both the artist and i are friendly with, and we still were like "uhhhh how should we address this?"

[Jay Reynolds]

but, you were uneasy about that conversation for some reason.

not to speak for superaction, but i think it's totally natural to be uneasy about it. i don't think anyone likes telling someone else they're not happy with their work. i had a record i did mastered by someone everyone knows and it came back NOT AT ALL how i (or the artist) wanted it. the artist and i were both kinda freaked out and i was definitely feeling like "what the fuck did you do to my mixes????" but i stayed out of it, the artist politely said "i really want it to be a lot less aggressive...", the ME was cool, redid the whole thing, the second version was great.

i dunno what my point is....i guess just that this ME is someone both the artist and i are friendly with, and we still were like "uhhhh how should we address this?"

You articulated that better than I could have. Perhaps taking it a step further, I like it better when, after mixing a song, I hear "We'd like the vocal more out front" as opposed to "That doesn't sound very good".