IK and Gavin Lurssen set to unveil revolutionary mastering product at NAMM 2016

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Just saw this.. so they don't do "cheesy ads", but they have two full time shills here and at gearslutz (and presumably other forums). You think that's ok? They do a lot more than any ad could ever do. Waves pretend not to interact in forums but they are here every single day in a deceitful capacity. I have now gathered enough evidence to prove it, will present it to the GS mod first, see how we go, and then might do it at KVR also.

At least Ik and slate are who they are and don't hide behind anyone.

Right. It is actually one person, me, now and I made direct contact with mods/admins on major forums to be completely transparent and my requirement (unfortunately not a requirement of most, if any, of the forums - or is that technically fora? - that companies frequent) was that anybody representing IK would have the company name in their username and be completely up front about it. That was more about six years ago and I think it has evolved into something that works pretty well for the most part.

With regard to words like "revolutionary" and all that - I said it early on and I've also had frank discussions with people involved in all aspects of the industry (also including audio forum admins/mods) and bottom line is that companies - and yes, I've read many other companies in our space using similar marketing lingo - are going to market their products while understanding that it may never resonate with a certain portion of the market for multiple reasons but is effective when looking at the big picture.

On that note, I did post the same piece we have on our web site here and maybe that's "lazy" in a way but someone would still have brought the site (and email, etc) marketing into the thread anyway and if I didn't post anything at all I would have been asked why I didn't share information here (yes, I've heard that complaint before when I don't get something posted here or on other forums/fora/whatever in as timely a manner as I usually do.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Whenever I see IK ads, I think of this video:

We've got $[redacted] reasons why what we do does seem to work. I don't blame you for not realizing that, since we're not a public company but things seem to be working for 20 profitable years

Here's to 10 more pages before I have to come back. Thanks!

[Touch The Universe]

Mastering involves the use of extremely high-end audiophile hardware (speakers, amp, cables, etc) being placed in a listening environment that has been tuned to be as acoustically perfect as possible. The music is then manipulated by an experienced mastering engineer with very accurate eqs, compressors and various other audio tools to correct the music and to make a coherent collection out of a set of mixes that may vary considerably from one to another.

The idea is that if the music is listened through a very accurate sound system in a near-perfect environment, then someone with the proper skills will be able to detect the problems and be able to correct them....but it only works if the person knows what to listen for and how to fix it and these are highly specialized skills that take years to develop.

I do not think that this is something that be achieved at home and trying is a waste of time and money.

That is mastering in the time of record labels and cds, fast forward to digital age and post cds era-- something still needs to be done tweaking a full mix to enhance and safe to play-- mastering, which can be done at home. Different goals- same process.

No, its the same procedure professionals or semi pros use even today. It has nothing about the format or the times. No amount of technology is going to be able to replace the skill needed properly master music. But I guess if you are one of these "artists" that slap of bunch of construction loops together and call it a song, then home mastering is more than enough.

I don't think you understood even a single thing I wrote.

[JJ_Jettflow]

Mastering involves the use of extremely high-end audiophile hardware (speakers, amp, cables, etc) being placed in a listening environment that has been tuned to be as acoustically perfect as possible. The music is then manipulated by an experienced mastering engineer with very accurate eqs, compressors and various other audio tools to correct the music and to make a coherent collection out of a set of mixes that may vary considerably from one to another.

The idea is that if the music is listened through a very accurate sound system in a near-perfect environment, then someone with the proper skills will be able to detect the problems and be able to correct them....but it only works if the person knows what to listen for and how to fix it and these are highly specialized skills that take years to develop.

I do not think that this is something that be achieved at home and trying is a waste of time and money.

That is mastering in the time of record labels and cds, fast forward to digital age and post cds era-- something still needs to be done tweaking a full mix to enhance and safe to play-- mastering, which can be done at home. Different goals- same process.

No, its the same procedure professionals or semi pros use even today. It has nothing about the format or the times. No amount of technology is going to be able to replace the skill needed properly master music. But I guess if you are one of these "artists" that slap of bunch of construction loops together and call it a song, then home mastering is more than enough.

I don't think you understood even a single thing I wrote.

I have the same feeling about you.

[Touch The Universe]

That is mastering in the time of record labels and cds, fast forward to digital age and post cds era-- something still needs to be done tweaking a full mix to enhance and safe to play-- mastering, which can be done at home. Different goals- same process.

Sorry, but this statement has no truth in it at all. I can't see how you think there's a relationship between distribution formats and the practice of mastering (unless we're talking vinyl but then that's purely technical considerations). You could argue the ROLE of mastering engineers has changed and evolved over the years but the core skill needed has never changed (and never will for that matter).

Again, I think you didnt understand what I wrote. When distribution changes, so to does the goals of mastering. How can this be wrong. If people don't release a group of songs on a cd anymore, where is the need to have a group of songs sound the same? Where did I say the core skills has changed? I said something still needs to be done for even home releases on the final track as a whole, and if you can't call this mastering, what can you.

I was responding to what I read as a narrow viewpoint of mastering -- especially when being described was mastering for cd's, which people don't release as much anymore. But then again, it depends on who you ask. Seems even the term music producer has different meanings, most people I hear on the forums call them music producers because they produce and write there own music, but to the industry, a music producer records someone elses music and doesn't write or perform anything.

Whatever, not getting into this pointless debates, its the same feeling I get when trying to enroll in a school and all they nag on about is protools and how its the greatest tool for music production, except the fact that for writing music, its one of the worst tools..

Call me an amatuer all you want, but when did I start attacking anyone in this thread, maybe goes to show the mind set difference, so will not discuss further.

[samsam]

I think arguing page after page about IK's policies is one of the weirder things people get up to on kvr.

[Touch The Universe]

And the fact that 10 pages of critique simply gets laughed off, not taken seriously, and is considered a success! Maybe stop posting anymore in these threads and they will listen more.

[VariKusBrainZ]

And the fact that 10 pages of critique simply gets laughed off, not taken seriously, and is considered a success! Maybe stop posting anymore in these threads and they will listen more.

.....about a product that hasnt even been released yet

[masterhiggins]

Whenever I see IK ads, I think of this video:

We've got $[redacted] reasons why what we do does seem to work. I don't blame you for not realizing that, since we're not a public company but things seem to be working for 20 profitable years

Here's to 10 more pages before I have to come back. Thanks!

Um...Okay, I actually wasn't denying your profit margins. If you're successful it could be a number of factors...including pricing schemes and nickel-and-dime tactics of the custom shop...and perhaps even product quality. I'm just doubting how much of that success if based off of beating everyone here to death with blatant name-dropping and forum ads disguised as "discussions." It just leaves a bad taste in one's mouth.

[do_androids_dream]

Call me an amatuer all you want, but when did I start attacking anyone in this thread, maybe goes to show the mind set difference, so will not discuss further.

Nobody is calling you an amateur and nobody is accusing you of attacking anyone. I just gave my response to your statement.

I now understand how you meant it. But, it's only the cd that has somewhat demised - the album format is still very much going strong with the digital market. There's still a huge need for mastering an album (intended for digital release) in exactly the same way one would master an album intended for cd release.

[Touch The Universe]

Call me an amatuer all you want, but when did I start attacking anyone in this thread, maybe goes to show the mind set difference, so will not discuss further.

Nobody is calling you an amateur and nobody is accusing you of attacking anyone. I just gave my response to your statement.

I now understand how you meant it. But, it's only the cd that has somewhat demised - the album format is still very much going strong with the digital market. There's still a huge need for mastering an album (intended for digital release) in exactly the same way one would master an album intended for cd release.

Yes, I didn't mean you but the other dude, sorry bout that. We are good

[JJ_Jettflow]

I was responding to what I read as a narrow viewpoint of mastering -- especially when being described was mastering for cd's, which people don't release as much anymore.

My viewpoint of mastering is not a narrow statement but an actuality. There is absolutely no difference when mastering a song for release on CD or download. And there is much more to mastering than just balancing songs to one another. Among many other things, it is also for correcting deficiencies during the recording and mixing process to attain the best possible sound for the artist's song.

So if these deficiencies existed in the recording and mixing processes in your environment, how do you think they are going to be corrected it unless the song is played back in amore accurate listening environment and then repaired by someone who knows what is wrong and how to fix it?

Like I said, I guess it all depends on the seriousness of the artist and the respect they have for their work.

[Touch The Universe]

Great, I think everyone had there say and let's leave it at that. Back to the discussion of the topic, or rather, whatever it was before

[antithesist]

The mastering stuff was actually cool, and let's admit that there really is no actual topic here... yet, anyway.

In a previous life, I worked as a mastering and quality control engineer at a big CD/DVD plant.

I mastered everything imaginable, checked and worked on masters from most of the top MEs in the world (except this Lurssen fellow, apparently).

Anyway, bring on the revolution!

[antithesist]

I think arguing page after page about IK's policies is one of the weirder things people get up to on kvr.

It's actually one of the few officially sanctioned sports here.

Remember to catch and release, though.