Jett Galindo Assistant Mastering Engineer for The Mastering Lab
What is the thought process to Mastering? How is it different from recording or mixing?
In a way, I think of the thought process behind mastering as a good 180° from mixing. (more…)
What is a Monitor Engineer:
A monitor engineer mixes the sound the musicians listen to onstage during a performance. Typically the musicians will be provided an individual mix with either speaker monitors or in-ear monitor systems (IEMS). The monitor engineer will tailor the mixes for each musician onstage, providing them with their desired amount of instruments and vocals. There is no template for the mix as each musician will have their preferences to what instruments they need to hear and the overall sound of the mix.
The monitor engineer is also typically responsible for maintaining and repair of the monitor system and microphones. The monitor engineer will supervise the set up of the monitor system and set up stage wiring. The monitor engineer will EQ the monitor system (ring out wedges) on a daily basis. On large tours, the monitor engineer will have a monitor tech that these responsibilities fall too. Some artists tour with two monitor engineers that will divide up the mixing duties and some instances one monitor engineer will be dedicated to just one artist on stage.
The monitor engineer is typically located on the side of the stage, having an unobstructed view of the band. On larger productions, the monitor engineer is often hidden under the stage, in which case they communicate with the band by video monitor and/or the use of talkback mics to the artists.
The monitor engineer must pay attention the musicians during the performance and maintain communication. Hand signals are often used to communicate. The monitor engineer must maintain the mixes during the performance making sure each musician is comfortable and happy with their mix. The monitor engineer must keep the stage feed back free.
What to Expect:
It’s called the Hot Seat for a reason – Musicians often get emotional during a performance – there is a lot of adrenaline happening onstage. These emotional outbursts are often (fairly or unfairly) directed at the monitor engineer. Monitor engineers (unfairly) are expected to read minds, watch, and understand every artist onstage at the same time. Multi-tasking is a must, as well as be highly organized.
The monitor engineer is directly responsible to the band. People/Musicians skills are a must. The monitor engineer needs to be able to anticipate the needs of the musicians. A thick skin and learning not to take things personally is a must. Perfect communication skills and stay on top of technology. Good monitor engineers are highly sought after.
Skills and Education
Science and Art – You must have a good ear and be able to recognize frequencies instantly. A firm grasp of the tools and technology used to mix monitors. Hands-on experience with both analog and digital consoles, speakers, and amplifiers, microphones, processing, etc. an excellent position to start is as a stage tech responsible for wiring the stage and as a monitor tech. Also beneficial education and training in electricity, physics of sound, and mathematics.
Jett at The Mastering Lab
Joanne ‘Jett’ Galindo hails from Quezon City in the Philippines. Quezon City is the largest of the metro cities that make up Manila. Raised by professional musicians and encouraged to become computer-savvy, Jett developed a love for music and technology. Growing up in a fairly progressive country in regards to gender equality, (ranking at number six on the 2013 Global Gender Gap Report and electing two women for president since their independence) Jett did not feel there were barriers to pursuing a career in Audio. Jett followed her love of music and technology and is now the mastering assistant to multiple Grammy award winner Doug Sax.
Jett grew up surrounded by music, both parents are professional musicians, and her father encouraged all his children to be well versed in the technology of computers. Jett has always been drawn to music and technology. She started a band with her siblings and cousins when she was in third grade, took piano and voice lessons, and designed her own website in 1998. Jett initially wished to pursue a degree in music or computer science in college. Her parents wanted her to have a stable career and discouraged her from pursuing a degree in music. The computer science program at Ateneo de Manila University strictly limited the number of students they accepted. Jett settled on a degree in Psychology, as the science of human behavior intrigued her and would allow her to pursue music on the side.
Jett often joined choirs while she was in school, but her passion intensified in college, where she became part of Ateneo College Glee Club and later the Ateneo Chamber Singers. The Ateneo Chamber Singers would go on to tour the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Singapore and forever change the path Jett was on. During the tour she met up with a friend and fellow alumnus of the Ateneo Chamber Singers. This friend was pursuing a degree in the music business and contemporary writing and production at the Berklee College of Music. It dawned on Jett that a career in audio engineering was what she wanted. It was the perfect way for her to combine her love of music with technology.
Jett had just turned 18, and with no formal audio engineering programs in the Philippines, she did the next best thing – applied for internships. She was hired on at SFX Digital Sound Studio, much to the dismay of the senior engineer who did not realize Jett was a girl. Jett earned his trust by being present at every recording session no matter how long they ran. She slowly moved up the ranks and eventually engineered her own sessions, recording, mixing, and mastering. Jett immersed herself in as much multimedia as possible as she prepared to study abroad. She eventually enrolled in the Berklee College of Music.
At the Berklee College of Music, Jett completed a degree in music production and engineering, with a minor in acoustics and electronics. She gained valuable skills and insights and was involved in location recording sessions. She also enrolled in Grammy award-nominated Jonathan Wyner’s Mastering Class.
Jett’s experience with mastering at this point had been hands-on training in the studio, for studio clients. She observed the senior engineer at SFX Studios using Wavelab, making minute eq adjustments. How he used limiting and stereo compression and noise-shaping to complete the final process of a studio album. Jett would eventually master her own recordings, but her knowledge was limited to the resources that were available in the studio. Jett’s eyes were opened in Jonathan’s class.
Jonathan engaged his students and was able to take technical topics and make them less daunting. He introduced his students and Jett to mastering in the analog domain, using standard outboard gear such as the Weiss MKII equalizer and compressor, Millenia NSEQ-2, TC6000 limiter/effects unit, and many others. Jonathan gave Jett a firmer grasp on the standard signal chains and routing used in mastering and she gained a deeper knowledge of the various techniques used to tackle specific problems (M/S, linear phase vs minimum eq, etc.). Jett was also exposed to more mastering DAWS, such as Sound Blade and Sequoia.
After graduating from Berklee, Jett secured an internship in Avatar studios in New York and eventually was hired as a recording engineer for resident producer Jerry Barnes. During her time engineering for Jerry Barnes at Avatar, Jett was able to work with renowned artists Roberta Flack, Nile Rodgers, and Brazilian Band- Jota Quest. Her years spent in choral groups paid off as well and she was invited to provide background vocals for Grammy-winning producer David Kahne. Engineering for Jerry Barnes challenged Jett as both an engineer and musician and pushed her to be the best she could be.
Avatar Studios
When asked about the skills she obtained at Avatar, Jett says “Oh, tons, but the first few things that come to mind are time management, consistency, and attention to detail.
Jett goes on to explain:
“Every recording facility has its own set of protocols and idiosyncrasies (from the way you arrange mic stands in the live room, to how the mic cables are wrapped). As an intern, you are also responsible for thoughtfully tracking every piece of gear that goes in and out of the extensive microphone/outboard gear inventory. Coffee and food runs happen every day. It’s also a known fact in-studio internships that part of your job is to maintain the upkeep of every studio in the building, this includes cleaning the toilets, mopping the floors, vacuuming the carpets, you know the drill. You have to systematically accomplish these tasks throughout the day. Attention to detail is critical, as different sessions running simultaneously will ask for different things throughout the day. Studio C would request you to bring over a U87 (not a U87Ai), whereas Studio A would ask for 2 monk stands (rather than regular mic stands). Maintaining a high quality of work while attending to other tasks is tricky, but you eventually come up with your own rhythm and strategy. If you ever make a mistake, don’t let it get into your head and just focus on doing a good job hereafter.”
Jett originally planned to stay in New York, working as a producer’s engineer, when she decided to apply for a position at the Mastering Lab. She knew she was ready for a new set of challenges and mastering would provide them. She also felt that the time spent working with Jerry had taught her how to critically listen for the nuances needed for mastering. She now works as mastering assistant to Grammy award winner Doug Sax, founder of the first independent mastering facility, built-in 1967. Originally based in Hollywood, The Mastering lab relocated to Ojai, CA in 2003. The Mastering Lab is most famous for mastering artists such as Pink Floyd, Ray Charles, The Rolling Stones, Diana Krall, and Paul McCartney.
The Mastering Lab
Main Room
Jett has been at the Mastering Lab for just eight months and is a rookie compared to her colleagues, Robert Hadley and Eric Boulanger. Both Robert and Eric have worked on Grammy award-winning projects and both are highly acclaimed engineers in the industry. Jett works in all facets of mastering formats: CD 44.1 kHz / 16 bit, vinyl, Mastered for iTunes, surround sound, and high-resolution audio. Jett has always been passionate about the full scope of audio engineering but was drawn to mastering because of the unique experience of listening to multiple songs, with the objective of making the whole gamut sound cohesive as one full album.
Jett finds that in mastering she can immerse herself in a lot of diverse music. One day you’re working on a rock track, then the next day, a concept folk album about Moby Dick. You get to expose yourself to a lot of music as a mastering engineer. Jett finds the level of precision and consistency needed in mastering to be both challenging and rewarding.
Jett reflects on the process of the signal chain “ it has to be set up accurately before the actual mastering takes place–choice of word clocks, line amps, AD/DA converters, etc. If you don’t get the setup right, there’s no shortcut but to redo your mastering from the start”.
Jett Galindo, Doug Sax, and Greg Calbi
Jett’s long-term goals are to be an independent and reputable audio mastering engineer with her own loyal clientele. She looks up to other female mastering engineers who have made it in the industry, such as Darcy Proper of Wisseloord Studios, Emily Lazar of The Lodge Mastering, and Mandy Parnell of Black Saloon. For Jett, these women reaffirm the fact that with passion and dedication, gender does not become a deciding factor when it comes to success in the audio industry.
Jett has faced a few obstacles because of her gender, she explains “a few individuals I’ve come across have treated me differently based on the assumption that I don’t know as much as them. One guy told me upfront that I didn’t know what I was doing, when in fact, I was following setup instructions correctly and he wasn’t. In these instances, I just assure myself that as long as I focus on doing a good job as an audio engineer, any negative assumption/stereotype as a woman in this industry will ultimately be irrelevant. It’s helped me get through a lot of these types of barriers. In fact, people who treated me differently, in the beginning, have eventually realized that I’m just as able as any professional and I eventually earned their trust and friendship”. For the most part, though Jett has been surrounded by awesome colleagues that have been very supportive.
Jett offers this advice to women wishing to enter into professional audio – “It’s already a given that you have to love this field if you want to become an audio professional. But in addition to that, you have to remember to love the journey. There will be a lot of obstacles but it’s all part of the experience, and you should learn to thrive amidst these setbacks. Keep your eye out for opportunities, make sure to work on your portfolio, keep track of your achievements and put them on a resume, learn to promote yourself.”
“There’s a lot of online resources for anyone to get a head start on learning about audio production and I highly encourage getting yourself immersed in that environment. I’m glad organizations like SoundGirls.Org and Women’s Audio Mission exist because it empowers women to pursue a career in audio.”
Jett’s Recommendations:
Must have skills: Communication skills (highly underrated). Resilience to the ever-changing technologies we face as audio engineers
Favorite gear: ATC SCM-150s. In surround. Also a huge fan of the Mastering Lab’s custom mod’d LA2A limiters.
Jett plans to stay in the United States and be as close to the action and latest in technology as possible but wants to make sure she gives back to the music industry and audio engineering in the Philippines.
Jett Galindo has been busy since our 2014 profile. She currently has engineering credits spanning different genres and with several legendary artists (Bette Midler, Randy Travis, Nile Rodgers, Roberta Flack, and Gustavo Santaolalla, to name a few), Jett carries on the legacy left behind by her late mentor, mastering legend Doug Sax (The Mastering Lab). She now works as a mastering engineer alongside Eric Boulanger at The Bakery, located at the Sony Pictures Lot in Culver City, Los Angeles.
For more information about Mastering and a Q & A with Jett Galindo see the following links:
The Art of Mastering
Q & A with Jett Galindo
Jett is a contributor to iZotpe contributing several articles on Mastering. Check out all her articles
If you missed last month’s blog be sure to get caught up before continuing with part two here.
Day 3 Show day, Shillong India
The local promoter hires several taxis for the crew to be taken from the Ri Kynjai hotel to the gig in the center of Shillong. The drivers speak no English and we all take a deep breath and cross our fingers that they know where we are going, since we clearly don’t. The drive takes nearly an hour, winding down the mountain past miles of nothing but shanties and dilapidated shacks. The poverty here is overwhelming, and the condition of most of the structures and the few actual buildings is alarming. About 35 minutes into the drive, myself and the monitor engineer who is in the car with me, start to get a bit concerned since we were told the venue is about 20 minutes drive from the hotel. We spend the next 15 minutes or so zig-zagging through the city streets which would be impossible to navigate on our own, until we finally reach the venue- an outdoor polo field in the heart of the city. (more…)
This is a list of resources that are available, whether you are just starting on your path to working in professional audio or you are wishing to expand your current skills. SoundGirls does not endorse any of the programs and strongly encourages you to consider the quality, amount of hands-on experience, and placement rates. There are many programs that offer certificates and degrees. This list will be expanding so check back often.
But, Do I Really Need to Go to School
Should You Go to School for Audio Engineering?
Certificate programs often include audio technology and audiovisual systems, In addition, they should cover local area networks, microcomputer software, and information technology.
Associate of Science degrees in communication and broadcasting technology. These programs will have general education requirements and should include industry-wide topics like broadcast journalism and management, audio and television production, and broadcasting. Look for opportunities for hands-on instruction in radio or television production, and the equipment should be up to date meeting current industry standards. You should also consider programs that provide internships.
The Lower Eastside Girls Club of New York – Girls participate in digital photography, video production and editing, audio engineering/sound design, and graphic design programs.
Girls Rock Camp Alliance – Girls Rock Camps help girls build self-esteem and find their voices through unique programming that combines music education and performance, empowerment and social justice workshops, positive role models, and collaboration and leadership skill-building. The GRCA supports camps around the globe in this mission.
Modesto Sound empowers youth to create music and artistic media through access to internships, industry experts, access to professional equipment, and mentors. Offering recording classes and job training
The Fifty One In week-long camps, girls will learn the technical skills to start their own band and record music at home. Camp is open to beginners, musicians, singers, and even those with no musical experience who have an interest in audio and live music production.
Beats By Girlz Is a non-traditional, creative, and educational music technology curriculum, collective, and community template designed to empower females to engage with music technology. We provide young women with the guidance, access, tools, and role-support to develop their interest (and ultimately their ability to pursue career opportunities) in music production, composition, and engineering. We are working towards gender equity in a field where women are highly underrepresented and strive to help other groups mobilize and create similar change in their own communities
Dave Rat: FOH Engineer for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Owner/Founder of Rat Sound Systems Inc. offers in-depth seminars covering a wide range of audio. He also shares his knowledge and tips.
Robert Scovill: 30+-year professional audio veteran and FOH engineer for Rush, Tom Petty, and many more offers seminars at The Complete FOH Engineer.
Mixing Music Live – Learn the fundamentals and beyond of mixing Live Sound, even if you’ve never touched a soundboard. Mixing live sound isn’t hard but doing it right and doing it well can be unless you understand the principles behind it.
The Production Academy – Explore what The Production Academy has to offer with our two free courses on the fundamentals – they’re a great way to start building your live music production knowledge.
SoundChannel online training in music production and the recording arts! Are you an aspiring music producer, recording engineer, live sound engineer or sound designer?
Get a jump-start on your career with essential training at SoundChannel!
SoundChannel Training Library features:
SoulSound is a leading audio resource center for audio engineers, curated and delivered by live and studio audio professionals.
Berklee College of Music offers a degree in Music Production and Engineering. Geared toward studio work but giving a good background in theory and general knowledge about mixing which transfers to live sound.
Coursera offers free online courses including Fundamentals in Music Engineering and others c/o Berkleemusic.com
Lynda.com: Basic yet fairly comprehensive audio engineering tutorials (plus a range of other subjects)
Envato Tuts+: Online community-based music production and audio engineering tutorials
The Dante Certification Program provides an easy way for system designers, engineers, and others in the industry to learn about Dante with in-depth training and promote their expertise. The certification program demonstrates your Dante proficiency to potential employers and clients. The certification program currently has two levels, but the goal is to add additional levels, as well as specializations by industry role in the future.
The 15 Best Music Business Schools In 2017
Sound Recording Program at City College of San Francisco
City College of San Francisco offers several certificates and degrees in Broadcast Electronic Media Arts (BEMA). Including certificates in Sound Recording Arts, Live Sound, Broadcast, Sound Design, Post Production, Audio and Video for the Web, Multimedia Journalism, Film, Television, and Electronic Media. They also offer an AV Tech Certificate program.
Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences is a private technical college offering pro-level training for careers in audio recording, live sound, film & TV, music, and video games.
Los Angeles Recording School a division of The Los Angeles Film School, offers classes and workshops taught by industry professionals who are dedicated to passing their knowledge and techniques on to the next generation of audio professionals.
Full Sail offers courses in music production, music, concerts, film, video games, design, animation, or web development. In addition, they offer courses in the entertainment business and internet marketing. Full Sail offers Master’s, Bachelor’s, and Associate’s Degrees. Online courses are available.
Academy of Art University The Music Production & Sound Design for Visual Media program offers a unique collaborative environment for music composition and sound production with an emphasis on industry-standard production technologies for the ever-expanding world of visual media. They offer online degrees as well.
Sound Haven offers a variety of classes, ranging from basic to advanced programs, to aid in a student’s development as a top-trained audio engineer. The programs are designed to be affordable, hand’s on, and practical in their training. Students who excel through the audio engineering classes will be well prepared to step into a career in audio engineering.
Master Mix Live will provide a LIVE audio program for the student that is interested in being a Live Audio Engineer and not wanting to spend two to four years on getting a degree and having to take other non-related subjects to get there.
Karen Kane’s audio engineering classes are located in Wilmington, North Carolina. The classes are taught in a professional studio with state-of-the-art equipment. There are 5 courses plus one-on-one intensives, starting with the fundamentals of audio to recording and mixing full bands.
Pacific Conservatory Theatre’ a two-year Technical Theatre program encompasses all areas of technical theatre. The training models professional standards and practices through a master/apprentice approach. Students participate through invitation and advance based on demonstrated growth of skills and professionalism
Pinnacle College Offers small classes, hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology, and a curriculum that balances academic lectures and practical workshops in professional studios.
Capital University provides a 4-year liberal arts education with two Music Technology degree options: Bachelor of Music (audition required) or a Bachelor of Arts in Music Technology (no audition required; optional liberal arts minor available). In both cases, the music technology classes are identical.
North Seattle College Audio Certificate Program
Both in-person and online courses for this one-year program are available; you can also choose to take individual courses throughout the year. 4 quarters with courses in mixing, recording, production, and post. We will especially emphasize the history of women in audio and music during the program. Hands-on experience will be available at Earwig Studio in Seattle.
The Recording Connection Audio Institute offers an Intensive, hands-on, in-studio course for audio engineering and music producing and offers several locations.
SAE LA currently offers three courses: the signature audio program that trains for careers in the music and post-production industries.
Synergestic Audio Concepts offers a variety of web-based and in-person audio training as well as a wealth of audio information.
The Recording Workshop in Chillicothe, OH offers training in music, audio, and sound production. Their core program is 5 weeks long, while geared more towards the studio it offers a good background in theory, signal flow, and troubleshooting which applies to live sound as well.
Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, OH offers a Recording Arts and Technology program as well as a two-year Assoc. degree in Audio. Courses are also offered in all forms of music business and entertainment. Scholarships available, affordable credit hours, and a proven track record of successful employment.
New England School of Communications (NESCom) at Husson University, located in picturesque Bangor, Maine, offers one of the only four-year degrees in live sound on the planet. The program, which culminates in a Bachelors of Science in Live Sound Technology, melds academic instruction in audio, electronics, and music, with hands-on training in mixing, system optimization, and event management.
Britannia Row Production Training – Britannia Row Productions is one of the top live sound companies in the world. This has been achieved by having some of the very best engineers and technicians. Training has always been central to their ethos. As an employer, Britannia Row Productions have always known that college and university courses still do not fully cater for our particular niche.
The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. The Bachelor of Music in Recording Arts and Sciences, a unique double-degree program, is known as the American counterpart to the European Tonmeister training program. The Peabody/Hopkins degree combines the courses and performance requirements of Peabody’s Bachelor of Music Program along with special courses in the Recording Arts and Sciences. The relevant electrical engineering, math, science, and computer courses are taken at the Whiting School of Engineering of Johns Hopkins University. Students in the Recording Arts and Sciences degree program receive extensive practical experience through an internal work-study program – which compensates students as staff engineers in our professional recording studios, responsible for engineering over 1000 live recordings and studio sessions each year – and an external internship taken after the third year. Students have earned their internship credits at recording studios, video game production companies, National Public Radio. acoustical consulting firms, audiovisual engineering design firms, and summer music festivals such as Tanglewood and Brevard.
Women’s Audio Mission (WAM) provides training in the recording arts and audio technology in a world-class recording studio with award-winning women instructors. WAM creates an environment that encourages over 200 young women a year to become recording engineers, music producers and media makers and to enter a “non-traditional” field. They also offer online training and a library.
producer Program Popkollos producer program is for girls and trans people over 20 years ( rec. Of age ) who are active in music production and want to deepen and develop together with others. The program does not require any specific prerequisites, but it does not apply to beginners, but to people who have already begun to produce to some extent and want to move on. The producer of the product is already familiar with one or more music programs (DAW) and is interested in developing yourself in the role of music producer. Based in Sweden.
dBs Music based in Plymouth, UK, offers music production training in the UK. Various diplomas and degrees available.
Britannia Row’s Live Sound Technology Course provides a short-cut entry path into the live sound industry.
SSR offers courses in music, film, audio, and gaming.
Alchemea, located in London UK, Alchemea specializes in sound engineering and music production
UCLA Extension Programs offer courses in sound engineering and business programs, such as tour accounting.
The Musicians Institute offers a wide variety of degrees and areas of concentration in the field of contemporary music.
a wonderful organization that connects women in all facets of the music industry recently interviewed SoudnGirls.Org founders- Karrie Keyes and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato. Read the interview here.
This month I sat down with a fellow sound engineer and friend Andie Cascioli. Andie and I both attended Capital University together. Andie is now working as a live sound engineer in Columbus OH. As for myself, I have been busy busy busy at Eighth Day Sound, building cables and new interface boxes for the new D80 amplifiers Eighth Day Sound is starting to use. (more…)
We will be doing pre-production in London, Ontario, not quite the ideal place to be if you forget something or get additional gear if you need it. So there are many weeks spent organizing, ordering, specing, and prepping all the additional gear and parts needed for the new monitor system. I also have to design two other systems for this run – a separate monitor system for an acoustic foh stage and an effective way for the techs to monitor their rigs and communication for the stage.
(more…)
By: Karrie Keyes
The English Brass Bands got their start during England’s Industrial Revolution. They were originally organized and financed by mining and milling companies to keep the working classes from politically organizing. In 1860, there were around 750 brass bands in England. Today the English Brass Band tradition is found throughout New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and the United States. The Salvation Army has kept the tradition alive in the United States. (more…)