marc senasac

Speaking of mastering, I’ve been working on mastering another great sounding one-The Resistance: Retribution for PSP soundtrack. Composed by Gary Schyman and mixed by SCEA’s Joel Yarger, it’s hot!

I almost always have some kind of multi-band compressor in my mastering singnal path. Lots of control and the ability to get lots of, or, transparency of, compression. Often I have no choice but to go with plugins in this kind of work when it’s done outside my studio. But for the Retribution soundtrack I brought in an old standby. A TC M5oo with the tri-band mastering option. I’ve had it for years and it still sounds hands down better than any plugin I’ve tried so far. (I’ve tried a bunch too…)

TC M000

So yes,hardware still rules!

Yes, 2008 was a busy year for me. So busy, I hardly posted any updates here. So busy, I can’t spontaneously recall all the projects I worked on during the year.

But I quickly recalled how great the Killzone 2 sounded when the illustrious Tammy T. forwarded this article on a soundtrack possibility for the game. I did the in-game mastering for KZ2 in the Fall and it was a real treat to be a part of the project. First hand word: it sounds absolutely fantastic! Nice to have it coming out soon…

Sounds like Guns N’ Roses is the latest big news in Rock Band 2. This, just on the heels of the Guitar Hero: Aerosmith release.

So it appears to me that the music business is healthy and doing well for musicians in more ways than ever. It may be true however, that the music business is not as healthy as it once was for the music business.

I’ve been mixing a fantastic live set of Frankie Ford live at the Throckmorton Theater in Mill Valley. I say the set is great, partly due to the music and incredible musicianship, but also in large part, to it being a live performance.

There is as much between song commentary, comedy, antics and personality by Frankie during the set as there is music. Frankie puts on a true show in every sense of the word. Much more than a back-to-back performance of songs.

In listening back I’m reminded that in many cases there is much that the studio album recording format does not capture. This seems especially true in genres like jazz, blues, and gospel for me. I’m sure that can be said about many others too.

The soundtrack for the North American version of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue was announced on Tuesday. With an eclectic mix of some of the best names in music around, the soundtrack blends indie dance rock, electronica, classic rock and brand new remixes by some of today’s hottest bands.

Headlining the soundtrack is an in-game exclusive version of Weezer’s “Automatic” from their upcoming album, remixed by LA Riots. Other artists include The Mars Volta, DJ Shadow, Thin Lizzy, and The Klaxons.

I did a surround mix of the Weezer track for the game as well as some of the in-game mastering. This game looks amaaaazzzing! Can’t wait until it comes out next month.