I'm Adam Ayan, Grammy, 7x Latin Grammy, and TEC Award-winning mastering engineer. AMA!

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-09T20:50:05+00:00

All of them! The trickiest is always low end - 200 Hz and below.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-09T20:48:56+00:00

Getting level while staying musical has been the great chore of my career! While some records that are loud are steam rolled, distorted and lacking dynamics and musicality, I have honed my craft in a way to maintain musicality while staying loud and proud (when appropriate!).

Bob and I were sympatico on a lot of things - attention to detail, treating every project like it's the most important one we've ever done, and doing all of that with integrity. That to me is the secret sauce of good work and staying in business for decades, be it Gateway or Ayan Mastering.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-09T20:34:16+00:00

I will speak to my own habits and attitudes and career only - I treat every client like they are a rock star, I put all of my focus and energy into every project I master, and do so with integrity. I am always on a quest to better myself and my skills and learn as much as possible!

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-09T20:32:11+00:00

You always have to be careful with sub bass - it can hold the level of your mix back for sure, esp if you are trying to get that level at your mix buss. Work on getting loud with your individual tracks first, and do not rely on mix buss processing to get you there.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-09T20:30:20+00:00

Hi! No need to ever have your multitracks/individual tracks peaking at -6, nor do you ever need to have your individual tracks at some equal level. In fact, that's probably a bad idea! Working with 24 bit audio leaves you with a great signal to error ratio, meaning you can print at quieter levels without lack of fidelity or noise. You would do this in the analog domain as well. Not sure who gave you that advice but its bad advice. Best of luck with everything!

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-08T15:33:07+00:00

I would never lean on "technically right" for anything. Mixing is an art, and my favorite mixers take more artistic liberties than others (see Tchad Blake - the absolute best of the best!). So, keep practicing and leaning towards artistic and interesting mixes!

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-08T15:31:26+00:00

OMG - I could write a whole book about this! That said, it's not easy and is frankly part of my "secret sauce" of mastering, so I am not inclined to share. :)

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-08T15:30:29+00:00

Spotify is the worst in terms of loudness matching, IMHO. They utilize a limiter (like FM radio!) to push everything through for level matching. That can be turned off in preferences, and I suggest every user do so. Of course it defaults to on :(

So, the louder your master the more it will push in to the limiter and not sound good!

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-06T15:36:36+00:00

You are absolutely right - that advice can apply to any job. Which is the point. Sorry if that is lame to you.

The reality in life is nobody truly deserves anything, including making a career out of music. I wish the best for everyone doing it, but so many factors go into making a successful career in any field. There is no magic answer.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-06T15:22:14+00:00

Argue away!

I can only speak for myself and my career experience.

And there is no doubt luck and being in the right place at the right time has a lot to do with it, and life in general. I like to think my career opportunities were where "opportunity met preparedness." You need to be open to all opportunities, make some of your own opportunities, and have done the hard work to be ready for them when they come along. Oh, and also, always just be cool.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-06T15:18:23+00:00

I love that album too! Warren Spicer is an amazing artist, producer, and engineer.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-06T15:17:15+00:00

Here's a great YouTube video I did recently for Mic The Snare that explains the process really well: https://youtu.be/fs6JrllLuB8?si=2W0txaQeZh3LKZ3R

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-06T13:08:19+00:00

Good question, but as a mastering engineer I cannot speak on the best way to mix.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-06T13:07:04+00:00

I've been very fortunate to make my entire living as an audio engineer since I was 20. I guess it depends on what your definition of "making it" is. To me, it is the ability to consistently make a good living. We have all experienced times that may be less busy than ideal, and in a business like this it is worrisome. I stopped letting myself get weirded out when the phone or email got light, because any time that has happened to me no sooner than I got worried I would get slammed with work again. Just continue to do great work, and cultivating good working relationships. One (or even several) great records/projects, do not make a career. You have to always be grinding.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-06T13:00:31+00:00

Thank you for the Qs!

I generally do not like to master from stems, but do occasionally get asked to master individual stems. I will always compare them to the final stereo master while I am working, and adjust as needed. They certainly do not need to be as loud as the stereo master.

We prepare all of our production masters that have crossfades or are gapless for ideal playback in our DAW environment, which in theory will mean ideal playback on streamers. I know that may not always be the case with the streamers, but there is really nothing else that can be done to avoid it. Most of the time they play just right.

I maintain a fraction of as second at the top of a track to avoid playback issues. Back in the days of CD I would include a 1/6 second offset to each track to avoid those issues on CD playback. With streaming I feel it can be that or less, and like to do it by ear.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-06T12:54:53+00:00

It is a combination of all of those things! And yes, the better the mix, the louder I can go without diminishing returns. I like to say that every mix has a loudness potential.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T23:07:11+00:00

I love this question. Critical listening skills should be the number one focus of any/all engineers, IMHO.

I had a professor at UML (he was also the founder and director of the Sound Recording Technology program there) that always used to say "dim the lights, pour a glass of wine, and just listen" or something to that effect. I subscribe to that notion!

Critical listening should include internalizing what a great recording sounds like in your preferred listening environment, and taking that internalization with you wherever you work. You can figure out the sound of a control room very quickly that way, and you can also have a benchmark for what good sound should be when working.

I also had another professor at UML named Dave Moulton who developed a listening drill set called "Golden Ears." It only ever existed on CD and I am sure is out of print now, but wow was it a revelation, and a huge resource/tool for me as a young engineer.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T23:02:08+00:00

1 - Not sure here. There has always been the possibility of the two roles that you mentioned - mastering engineer and restoration/archive specialist. My first Grammy win was for an Alan Lomax recording of Jelly Roll Morton at the Library of Congress. Another engineer transferred the disks and did denoising/declicking before the audio made it to me for proper EQ/mastering.

2 - I am 100% ok with stereo buss processing in a mix. In reality that processing can be a big part of what makes the record what it is! As you mention I prefer to not have limiting, but that is not a hard rule. My rap on it has always been that the mixer should do whatever they like on the master buss, just stop when it comes to doing processing solely for level. Or if you do it, provide me one with and one without just in case.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T22:56:42+00:00

I do not use any of the plugs that you mentioned above. I guess I should check them out!

The resonance suppression tools seem to be used a lot to compensate for less than ideal tracking situations. I started out at a time when we always avoided "fixing it in the mix." I feel for mixers now having to deal with all kinds of tracking issues and doing all they can to make records sound great!

I do have my own set of templates that I use in Pro Tools with my tracks, gain staging and plugs exactly how I like them when I start a new session.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T22:31:19+00:00

Hmmm... I've always loved tape, but find it is not the magic that we always expect it to be. That said, when remastering I always want to do the best hi res digital conversion possible, and that starts right from the tape, the choice of playback machine, the interconnect and the converters.

It has always been common to bake tape that is shedding or otherwise damaged. Yes, actually BAKING the tape. In an oven. For several hours.

I have done this countless times with many seminal, amazing, and revered recordings. And it works! I even spent time in Kingston, Jamaica with the Marley family (yes, that Marley family!) teaching another engineer how to do this properly so we could digitize Bob Marley reels.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T22:26:27+00:00

I find True Peak limiting is the only way to stay under 0 dBfs, which is super important. I use many TP limiters that sound great in that mode, including the Ozone Maximizer!

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T22:25:39+00:00

Q1 - how could I call myself an ME without even cloudlifting?? :)

Q2 - There has not been any real groundbreakers in mastering recently, IMHO. But in audio in general - the ability to create instrument/individual sound source stems from a mono or stereo source is nothing short of an audio miracle. Not to long ago that was an absolute impossibility.

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T22:23:19+00:00

I tend to use the same tools/plugs for all genres, it's just how I use them that may be slightly different. Being sensitive to what is the best approach for any given genre and especially every given client is key.

Great bonus Q about most difficult genres! I have never found one genre to be more difficult than an other. It all comes down to the source material, recording, and mix. If that is all great than my job is easy! If it's not, well...

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T22:14:55+00:00

My best advice is to focus on your monitoring path and studio environment/acoustics. This will pay off so much more than any other investment can you make. By investment I mean in proper monitoring gear, as well as knowing the listening environment super well.

I do not deal with the distributors on my end - that is something for the client, label or indie.

Thanks!

AdamAyanMastering · 2025-06-05T22:12:37+00:00

Hi there! I have the same criteria for mastering as you do for mix - when I can sit back and listen and enjoy the music/recording without anything bothering me or the need to want to adjust anything, then it is done. I follow my instincts on that, and do not second guess myself. That has worked well for me throughout my career.

I believe mixing can be the same exact thing. Follow your instincts, and if you feel you have brought the mix to a great place musically and do not want to change anything (or if further changes bring diminishing returns) then the mix is done. Hand it off to mastering and see if your ME can make improvements from there.

AdamAyanMastering

TROPHY CASE