iPod Nanomelon

Posted on: September 13, 2006

I was watching Steve Jobs's latest presentation—he's got quite the salt-and-pepper beard now, and continues to be punchy (after his last, reputedly haggard showing). There's new iPod Nanos out. I really like the colors they come in. Well, a particular couple, anyway:

Love the tagline, "Completely remastered." If you're not familiar with the audio mastering (the Wikipedia article is surprisingly incomplete!) process, it's something I used to do extensively: a lot of people wonder, "How does that music sound so great on the CD, and why does mine (as a rookie band) sound so pale?"

It comes down to mastering, a series of passes—at least that's how I used to go at it—involving sweetening of the sound, broadening the stereo spectrum (but not so much as to be artificially wide), keeping the bass centered and phat yet the treble as clear as clarions calling, some dynamic compression and other goodies, and finish it all off with a nice limiting to pack the most out of your full spectrum.

Think of it as a day at the spa for your songs, not necessarily in that order.