Great Interview as always..def liked the mini compression segment within as well!…To further on what Mr. White was saying about the infamous “Loudness Wars”, theres a very imformative video that has been out for a long time now. You can google “The Loudness War-You Tube”. Its a very short video, and its audio qulity of the video itself is not so good(Hence it was released in the days prior to you tube HD). However it does allow an up and coming music producer who maybe wants to further thier knowledge on this hot debated topic most audiophiles getheated about, including myself! What I think is so imformative about it, is the mere fact that in under 2 minutes, it gives the viewer a look at the differences of how music was recorded and processed in the 80s versus today. Like Mr. Whit had mentioned, most of us can agree that the “Analog Era” of recording had much more of a “warm” sound.
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The instrument “transients” that most of us who listen too music never pick up on are now more or less gone in most of todays “Top 40″ way of compressing and mastering. The transiets, such as a guitar pluck or slide, or a bass pick seem to get lost in a brick wall of compression, versus the natuaral “peaks” and “valleys” of the way music is naturally picked up as its recorded.
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Ive taught some of my DJ friends who are transitioning into the music production realm, some of the things to be carefull with when compressing within the mastering process. I always would start out with the video “The Loudness War”, as its quick to the point, and leads to a great segue into furthur instruction. However before I found that video, I always challenged them to open up thier daw, and import a song in from the 70s or 80s, then import a current track of today, and asked them what they saw…And for the most part everyone noticed the waveform differences..On the 80s track, they automatically could see the parts of the song(i.e. where the softer breakdowns are..the build ups or drums..etc)Sort of in the same way our lovely serato color codes our waveforms for us today. However when they see the track of today, and Im talking more dance oriented tracks, they also can quickly point out that the waveform looks more like a brick wall, and more like a solid rectangle. This allowed for the them to see the theory of what was going on, so as they learned the actual hands on approach, they have in thier mind the waveform.
The video is also great as it quickly introduces the same song as it was mastered back then versus if it was produced today, and you can automatically hear the “transients” or quick slapback of the snare in the original, however when they compress the hell out of it in a mock compressin of what it might of sounded like today if it were recorded, that same snare drum loses all of its characteristics you heard in the original, and is def lost within the mix adding no character. Classical music never falls prey to this, as compression,”mis used” wouldnt allow its natural creshendos and desents within the composition. Spring and JD hit on a major key factor here that def adds fuel to the fire, almost in a catch 22. As more and more producers mis use compression, there now becomes a higher standard for your tracks to be as equally as loud, or risk them not being played. JD said it the best, the club sound system can usually compensate for the bass, as these systems are designed and “colored” to make music sound great, just like home speakers do. If you listen to a dance record from the 80s, you can always here the clean, warm, and characteristics of that song, however because such things as bit depth, and just technology in general, those mixes heard my someone who is used to todays over saturated compressed music, might think those 80s tracks are more “tinny” or “thin” sounding, and thats do to the way it was “correctly” mastered, especially when it comes into an autophiles debate on this topic. however it may sound thin when played up against todays music, however many agree that the overal sound characteristics within each instrument within the song is more noticable than what is being put out today.
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I Djed an 80s night weekly at a club a while back, and I found myself making a copy of each thin sounding track, then adding my own mastering to it, bringing up mostly the bass and such just so my audio output for the night matched the other top 40 nights of what sound the crowd was used to hearing on those nights…needless to say the clubs system wasnt the best, hence why I made the effort in the first place..well Ive rattled on way too much here…so not to be kicked off the site for leaving too long of a comment(lol)..I will end with we should be aware of over saturation, and know when our kick drums start “pinging” in the final mix..we may of gone too far:)

As I was reading my comment, I realized if Spring and JD read this, I want to point out a correction, (that no one might notice anyways) In the part where I said Spring and JD hit on a major key factor, that def adds fuel to the fire…Correction, I didnt mean Spring and JD are themselves adding fuel to the fire, what I ment, and sorry for wording it wrong. I ment they hit the nail on the head about how producers are one uping themselves over each new track that the more compression one producer uses, the next producer may feel he has to either match or over saturate the track to be even more bassy or loud, hense why I said the phrase “adding fuel to the fire”, by each producer trying to reach a higher threshold in dynamic range, they add fuel to the fire , cause now its hard to hold back heavy compression in fear that your track might not get played or recognized!

Great interview. Listened to the Smooth Criminal mix you did and it definitely is hella DOPE! Great way to keep the integrity of the original and add your flavor to it. Can’t wait to hear the completed version.

Thanks for the great feedback and thoughtful comments guys! Brian – great input. I’m glad to know that there is interest in the current compression and mastering trends – it’s up to us to either do something different, or keep the status quo. Whatever one’s position on the matter, it’s a great topic to discuss!

Gray – glad you like the Smooth Criminal Remix – it’s a real compliment to know that you feel I did what I set out to do – that is, stay true to the original, while adding a new twist.

More along those lines coming for the first Mister White release on Crack4Djs… stay tuned!

Any other feedback is welcome – I enjoy knowing what you guys think, so keep it coming!

@Mister White…Thanks! I agree with your last post…theres a lot of great stuff you and JD/Spring bring up, and the info within the interview is a great outline of some of the basics someone learning the trade will need to know for furthering thier knowledge within the mastering stage of production…The useful knowledge Remix Report brings…all I can say is it never disapoints!
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@JD…finally downloaded the remixes…The chorus of run it over the suv remix is crazy good! Matter of fact, the run it chorus sounds better than the suv vocals! This is my favorite run it remix now! And both transitions are off the hook…As both transitions are exceptionally well done, I like the transition up, as it just bursts into energy!