AESPNW Section Meeting
December 2023 Meeting Notice
Mastering Your Recording
A Brief Overview of Mastering for Release
and
Tips for Optimizing Your Recording for Mastering
Presented by
Ed Brooks - Resonant Mastering
Rachel Field - Resonant Mastering
Tom Hall - Independent Engineer & Producer
Chris Rahm - Independent Engineer
Trevor Spencer - Way Out Studio
and
AES Pacific Northwest Section
Meeting Produced by Matthew Sutton - AESPNW Committee
Tuesday, December 12, 2023
7:30PM PST(UTC -8)
This is a Zoom only meeting. The virtual doors open at 7PM.
NOTE:
This is a Zoom only meeting, and is a live, real-time in-person panel discussion in a
room that is too small to hold people beyond the production staff.
You will be able to ask questions and receive answers in real-time. Eventbrite RSVP required.
Mastering a recording for release in the 21st century is a combination of art, engineering,
love of music and understanding technology. Ed Brooks and Rachel Field will provide an
overview of mastering to set the stage and then will discuss, along with Tom Hall,
Chris Rahm, and Trevor Spencer,
common challenges encountered in the mastering studio and hints to optimize mixes for mastering.
n.b.
The music business being what it is caused a scheduling conflict for Reed Ruddy who was originally scheduled. Veteran Engineer and Producer, Tom Hall, will appear in his stead.
Our Presenters
Rachel Field
is a mastering engineer and owner of Resonant Mastering, a mastering studio in
Seattle with a hybrid digital/analog setup.
Rachel entered the audio field in 2009 and has been working specifically as a professional
mastering engineer since 2012. Her credits include a wide variety of local, national and
international artists such as Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam, Brandi Carlile, Whitney Mongé,
Thunderpussy, Alec Shaw, Dispatch, and many more.
Rachel works to support her community as much as she can by serving on the elected board of
governors of the Recording Academy PNW Chapter, mentoring for Grammy U, and advocating for
women and non-binary people in the industry. She has volunteered with a local homeless support
organization to provide professional recording and mastering services to musicians living outside.
She also spearheads fundraisers to support community members in need.
Ed Brooks
is a mastering engineer and owner of Resonant Mastering in Seattle. Ed started
out in recording studios in the mid 80's as an engineer and maintenance technician. After
15 years as a freelance engineer Ed started working as a mastering engineer at RFI mastering.
Mastering turned out to be a good fit for his engineering aesthetics and has now spent 24 years
mastering records. His credits include Fleet Foxes, Death Cab For Cutie, The Head and
The Heart, Pearl Jam, Minus the Bear & The Dip.
Ed plays the Pedal
Steel guitar with several local artists including Amanda Winterhalter,
Pineola, and Peter Donovan & the Secret Orchestra. He also does session work on the
Pedal Steel and has contributed steel parts to releases from Cumulus, Alec Shaw,
Silver Torches, Zach Fleury and Alex Blum and the Roadside Quartet.
Tom Hall
started recording local groups as a teenager... fascinated by the magic of music and technology. After graduating from Eastern
Washington University, (time spent mostly in the University recording studio), he started his professional career in 1982 at Triad Studios in
Redmond, where he was a staff engineer for 15 years. He was also involved in the design and construction of a number of studios
including the legendary London Bridge Studios.
Tom has worked with such diverse artists as Queensryche, Randy Meisner, Heir Apparent, UB40, Kenny G, Tingstad and Rumbel,
Live on KEXP, Paul Buckmaster, and The Bob James Trio.
Chris Rahm
is an integral part of the recording scene in the Seattle area.
Chris frequently works at Robert Lang Studios, Studio X, Temple of the Trees,
Studio Litho and many other studios around the Northwest and has engineered releases
from Natalie Merchant, Allen Stone, Brothers of the Sonic Cloth, Biohazard, Soundgarden and others.
Trevor Spencer
owns and operates Way Out, a studio just outside of Seattle and engineers and
produces artists as diverse as Beach House, Father John Misty, Valley Maker, Mary Lattimore,
Kyle Craft and others.
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