Mojito Mastering

Test fitting the bass driver! It's starting to look like a real speaker.

A month ago, I did a 3-day “zoom” workshop with the legendary Vlado Meller (). For the first time in 15 years, I was the student. I’ve been mastering full time for 8 years now, but I felt I’d hit a brick wall in my development. I was looking for some new ideas and some feedback from an engineer of Vlado’s calibre.⁣
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In March, I was supposed to fly down to Charleston. But the world came crashing down a week before the scheduled workshop. Vlado’s team figured out how to set things up remotely. It may have even worked out better this way, as I was able to listen and work in my own room and get feedback immediately. Plus, the sessions were 1 on 1, instead of a group setting. ⁣
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I came away both humbled and encouraged. A month later, I can confidently say that the way I listen to music, and the approach I take to mastering, has completely changed. There are things I listen for now, that I wouldn’t have thought of before.⁣
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There are so many things I took away from the sessions, and plenty of actionable advice. But the #1 realization for me is that the specific tools don’t matter. Of course, there needs to be a certain level of quality. But once you hit that threshold, it’s not all that important what we use. Hardware or software. Analog or digital. It doesn’t matter. ⁣
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Far more important is what we hear and how we listen. (Those are 2 different things — one is passive, the other active.) I now spend more time simply listening to the music. Sounds obvious and simple. But I think we’re all guilty of getting wrapped up with our gear, from time to time. I’ve spent the last month simplifying my chain and workflow — and embracing a “less is more” approach.⁣
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I want to thank Vlado, Paul, and Jeremy for a fantastic experience. I couldn’t be happier with how things turned out.⁣

Took these bad boys out of the rack, and put them up for sale today. They served me well for 4 years. Now, my signal chain is completely custom built and tube based. So, even though the Chandlers are fantastic pieces, they didn't really fit with the current direction I'm going. Fare thee well, sweet TG tone!