GAVIN LURSSEN Mastering Workshop 3 TUTORIAL

Step inside the elite studio of Lurssen Mastering for our first ever series with Gavin Lurssen & Reuben Cohen! The two engineers give an overview of the passive mastering console and modified outboard chain they use on a daily basis, alongside detailed explanations of how each piece of gear affects the audio. Cohen opens the mix of ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams and recalls the original mastering settings, taking you through every step of the process and comparing mastered vs. unmastered versions. Lurssen does similar with ‘Ti Fa Stare Bene’ by Caparezza, revealing why he made certain decisions with particular gear. Other topics discussed include gain structure, converter clipping, monitoring, subwoofer crossover, reference tracks, LUFS for streaming, MFiT, and mastering albums vs. singles.

PART 1

Console & equipment overview, typical signal path, gear characteristics & purposes

PART 2

Passive console & gear modification, reference tracks, monitoring, frequency crossover

PART 3

Cohen – comparison between ‘Happy’ mix and master, commentary, EQ & level rides

PART 4

Cohen – soft bypass full chain, individual insert activation, D-A & A-D gain structure

PART 5

Lurssen – signal chain for ‘Ti Fa Stare Bene’, solid state vs. tube circuitry, LMC plug-in

PART 6

Lurssen – mastering the track with real-time level & EQ manoeuvres, commentary

About Gavin Lurssen

Gavin Lurssen has been a mastering engineer since 1991, and a contributor to many technical developments that have taken place in the industry since then

He has won multiple Grammy awards for his work on ‘Raising Sand’ performed by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, the movie soundtrack of ‘O Brother Where Art Thou?’, and the PBS television series ‘Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues’, as well as a Latin Grammy for his work on Diego Torres’ album ‘Distinto’.

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