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Fig. 2. Marcussen Mastering, Hollywood, California.
spatial relationships between the loudspeakers, the sloping ceiling, the console, and the outboard equipment cabinet. The studio window affords full visibility between the loud- speakers, but the glass dips down and extends under the loudspeakers as well. The rear ceiling and the undersides of the soffits are fully trapped.
Mastering Rooms
Music was played on disc recordings from the very first phonograph records until the late 1980s. In recording stu- dios, “mastering” was the process of cutting a master disc from a master tape. The procedure could be tricky, and involved additional audio processing to keep from overcut- ting the spiral groove. Some engineers became known for their ability to turn out high quality masters, and their pres- tige matched that of top-ranking recording engineers.
One might have expected the mastering room to disap- pear during the changeover to digital audio playback, but the opposite occurred. The mastering engineer became a digital guru who made sure that a digital master tape took full advantage of the medium and met all formatting standards before it was sent to a CD production facility. The mastering room became larger, quieter, and was fitted with expensive playback loudspeakers.
By 2005 most of the large U.S. recording studios had closed. Mastering engineers began to set up their own prac- tices, following the lead of successful independent mastering facilities such as The Mastering Lab in Hollywood and Sterling Sound in New York. In today’s world of digital audio files, the location of a mastering room is not all that impor- tant, and many mastering engineers prefer to work at home.
Residential mastering rooms usually require some compro- mises, but building a mastering facility in a rented commer- cial space may be equally difficult.
Today, a mastering room is used as a critical listening space in which the smallest details must be audible. Mastering is done at relatively low sound levels, and some- times at very low levels, so background noise should prefer- ably be no higher than NC-20. The geometry of the room should be favorable for 2-channel stereo listening and also for 5.1 monitoring since the final product may be released in a variety of formats. The room requires very little furniture—a control desk, a client couch, and a few storage cabinets. Computers and other noisy electronic equipment can be located in an adjoining closet.
Acoustical goals are usually quite similar to those for a mix room, and the design of a mastering room may also be similar to a good mix room, but not always. Unlike a com- mercial recording studio, a mastering room is required to meet the desires of only one person, and the design may devi- ate substantially from the norm. A few mastering engineers like to work in an acoustically dead environment. A few pre- fer fairly lively acoustics, something closer to a good home listening room. In most cases, high quality freestanding loud- speakers will be used, but some engineers prefer flush- mounted monitors.
In residential mastering rooms size is usually the biggest limitation. The smallest mastering room encountered by the writer was about 11 by 13 feet, and the ceiling height was a little less than 8 feet. Fortunately, the client was aware of the room’s shortcomings and was satisfied to make it merely workable.
18 Acoustics Today, April 2013