Studio visit · Berlin
Inside an analog mastering room
A visit to Manmade Mastering in Berlin: a room built around analog processors, tape and a vinyl cutting lathe, where David Becker mastered Vojto’s upcoming EP.
Mastering is the last creative step before a record reaches listeners, and it happens in a very quiet, very precise space. Vojto attended the mastering session for his EP Magic is Harmonising the Waves of Chaos, which premieres on Bandcamp on 11 November. The mastering was done by David Becker at Manmade Mastering.
The desk
The listening position is a wide room with large three-way main monitors, acoustic diffusers on the ceiling and a custom desk with wooden side panels that holds the whole signal chain within reach. Every processor sits in a rack beside the engineer, so each move on a knob is a decision made by ear.
Console and processors
The gear list from this session:
- Knif Eksa mastering console
- Knif Soma EQ and Knif Vari Mu II compressor
- Maselec MLA-4 three-band compressor/expander
- Vertigo VSC-3 quad discrete VCA compressor
- Tube-Tech HLT 2AM shelving EQ
- Weiss ADC 2 and DAC2 converters
Tape, turntable and lathe
Next to the console stands a reel-to-reel tape machine, and a turntable is used for playback. A lathe cuts masters to lacquer.
Thank you to David Becker and the team at Manmade Mastering for the session.
Berlin School of Sound · Veteranenstrasse 21, 10119 Berlin · berlinschoolofsound.com