John Greenham masters 'Bad Guy' by Billie Eilish
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- Опубліковано 29 гру 2021
- Full video available exclusively on mwtm.org/jg-billie-eilish
In this sneak peek we take a look at John Greenham's process when mastering the world-wide hit song 'Bad Guy' by Billie Eilish
Step inside the private studio of elite mastering engineer John Greenham! In his debut MWTM series, Greenham takes you through the process of how he mastered Grammy award-winning records for Billie Eilish and songs by the artists K.Flay and Donna Missal. With the sessions open in Sequoia, John demonstrates his approach on four different tracks. You will learn how he set up the elements of his entire analog and digital signal chains to bring the expertly-mixed material to a new level. Greenham shows the impact of his work by referencing the received mixes and bypassing inserts throughout the process. You'll hear the subtle effects of every separate piece of gear and plug-in he combined to enrich the audio with depth and energy. Aside from focussing on the program material, John elaborates on a number of topics pertinent to his field including monitors, clocking, room design, metering, and more!
Full video available exclusively on mwtm.org/jg-billie-eilish
Me listening on my iphone speakers, “ahh yes I see what he did there”
🤣
💀
It's true
😭😂
Me listening on knockoff airpods: I can't hear anything but bass and my ears hurt.
Giving credit where it’s due! John’s been mastering my bands records since high school. One of the most talented and humble people I’ve ever worked with. Go John!
You are a lucky one! 👌🏻
What is your band called?
@@sidnotthesloth1827 Strange Case!
@@zanevandevort98 oh nice. Are you guys on any streaming platform? So i can check you out
@@sidnotthesloth1827 he just told you the name? How lazy are you?
This dude understands both the technical and emotional sides of music…super rare
Not rare at all, actually. I'd say most professionals in the recording industry understand both--it's both art and science.
Math and magic no math is magic
Fascinating what you can still do after a one track mixdown. And a few plugins that look pretty down to earth if not dated.
The more I do mixing work (not mastering) the more I find that knowing how to use the tools is infinitely more important than the tools themselves. It’s easy to chase new plugins but we’d be better served using what we have and training our ears to them. I fell on hard times financially due to an ugly divorce situation and I’m growing more by not being able to afford new software than I would’ve imagined
They expensive as hell tho
@@mrnelsonius5631 hope things get better man 🙏
@@louierubio walking through it! Life throws ya some 💩sometimes. Working on music so have a lot to grateful for 🙏
@@mrnelsonius5631 It's not the gear it's your ears !
Oh wow I never expected so much of the character to come from the mastering. I feel like that’s kind of unusual. Usually a finished master just sounds denser and more glued but he actually added a lot of life with the saturation. Very inspiring.
What a great sounding mix
Facts
So true, really sounds good
This mix is honestly the main reason he can do this to the track. If the mix would have been bad he would need to basically have so many more plugins trying to work tonalbalaces out etc. This dude knows what he is doing. He got a vision of the sound and extends the nice things that already is in the mix
@@_inthefold yeah also true
You’re listening through youtube compression my guy
I love how he says "don't try this at home" 😂
If we also try we cant get same result because he's Engineer 🤣🤣
🤣
this guy is soo bad ass. you gotta love a man who turns up the bass
I could spend all day listening to John discuss mixing and mastering techniques. His approach to music has a humility and calmness to it that I like and understand.
"I could have made it louder but thought it was really good where it was at"
Oh my fucking god i appreciate those words so much!
Me trying to hear the difference between bypass and effects in through my cheap headphones is the real challenge
even with expensive headphones you won't hear a difference
@@nosociety yea… the differences are pretty subtle
@@nosociety there is a difference but I think all I can hear is a volume difference. He obviously has a better ear for what he's doing than us, but I think UA-cam is also screwing with the audio a lot
Listening in my car with an amp and subwoofer and upgraded door speakers I can hear a subtle difference. It's a small difference but it really does add more clarity and contributes to the vibe.
listening on genelec 8330A + Sub and the differences are incredibly obvious on them. the tonal characteristics begin to have way more "life" and "vibe" with his effect processing.
I found it very interesting that you set the limiter at -.3db. I've limited my masters at -.1db for years [after doing the appropriate multi-band compression & standard compression] just so that I can get the most out of the dynamics of the song. I used to limit the output to -.3, but felt like I was trimming too much off of the top. I like your approach, though.
I also love how you do minimal EQing on the song as a whole. It's easy to "do too much" when it comes to boosting & cutting for the final master. This definitely showed me that less is more. 🙏🏽
hes mastering. not mixing.
I'm pretty sure it's recommended to give around -1 to -0.3 db headroom as the conversion of pcm to lossy codecs such as Mp3 causes True Peaks to be higher than what you'd get when converting losslessly.
he's mastering, you don't need to eq that much for a master.... when you're in the mixing process then the eq will be far stronger
Yep, great insights!
@@gravity00x I know. That’s what I said in my comment. I actually didn’t even use the word “mix” at all.
Amazing. Remember hearing this tune on the radio and thinking wtf is that. As he says, music that stands out makes an impression
John is a masterful mastering engineer. I've had the fortune of having him master several of my projects and am always thrilled with his work!
What does a dude with such major credits in his portfolio charge per song?
@@jaapbadlands He doesn’t change much but still brings the song to a competitive level. Which is why every mix engineer loves a mastering engineer. It’s not always that easy to make your songs loud without everything else breaking. A mastering engineer does that with only one reference track.
@@rishi.mukherjee Appreciate you taking the time to reply, but I think you misread the word "charge" in my comment.
Thanks for mastering this!
Thank you so much for sharing!
John masters all of my music, he is the real deal and one of the kindest folks in the industry
I could watch amazing creatives explain how they do what they do all day!
I really like John's work. I've been dabbling in mastering for a very long time and he is definitely doing great work
i be listening to these videos on my tiny earbuds and can't hear a single difference when he switches the plugins on and off but somehow at da end it sounds better
I experienced the same, listening in my phone.
It doesn't change much when you move to bigger speakers. His changes are subtle at best.
Now you see why earbuds suck
I could only dream of having this much confidence.
Love how the inflator in bandsplit works on her voice!
Amazing video
I love seeing the process of mixing & mastering. I mix & master all my own projects I use that fabfilter L2 & Fabfilter Pro C2 i feel i get a bit more out of and it tightens up my mix in away i could not get it before.
Thanks!
Push that bass. Excellent. Thank you.
S/o all the great mastering engineers we luv yall
John is awesome!
I’m not a ME, but do work full-time as a writer/producer in modern music genres: the mix and master of this track are masterful. What an outside the box track to work on! The sparseness, the heavy low end coupled with whisper gentle vocals. You did outstanding work sir and I’m grateful for some insight into it. I think the arrestingly different sonics of this song are a *big* part of why it became a huge hit. We don’t get a lot of huge songs this original and genre breaking anymore. Bravo 👏 ‼️
Rarely do people understand the meaning of solid mixing and mastering, as we do live in an era where best artists in the music industry are the engineers actually. If I tell anyone that Hans Zimmer is more of an engineer than composer people feel confused. Nice observation, cheers!
Great video! Interesting use of Inflator, dig it! Saturation is bout always our best friend
Ooh Oxford inflator- great plug in. Awesome on drum bus aswell
My mentor Mr John Greenham, we love and appreciate you.
Great engineer
I'd love to see the mix for this
There is a video on it i think
@@moviemakegamer2651 No
There is a video, billie and phineas broke down the production of the song. Its on the "Rolling stone" channel
@@ufallo They weren't the ones that mixed it though.
@@kramersilver8331 I stand corrected. They broke down the production they did not mix it, you’re right. Cause im still wondering how tf they got the vocal like that lol whoever mixed it def deserves their credit
Never seen somebody actually use Sequoia. Always interesting to see how people use less popular platforms.
That's a 3k software (only windows)
VERY common in the classical world. They use only Sequoia and Pyramix it seems.
The mix already done the job before the final touches but yeah great mix overall 🙏
That’s why this stage isn’t called « mixing » but « mastering »
fascinating! More Billie Eilish John Greenham master vids please!
he said saturation was the key, but to me the bass cut around 190 is the game changer wow
164 sides bro :D
Which mastering software is he using?
Sequoia 14 - good but expensive
Finally someone who uses Sampltiude!
oxford inflator sounds great!
goooood
"Something is a bit off" - maybe even kinda surprising! 👍
Skills. From producer and artist, and to mastering. Skiiiiills!
After having watched a few mastering videos, my take from all of it is everyone just kind of does whatever they feel like. Sure there is some fundamental elements to watch out for when mastering but after that I think its all just talk and personal preference. Of course if you keep adding plugins things will sound a bit different since that's what plugins do, but is different always better? Another engineer could have come in with a bunch of wave plugins using a different daw and spoke just as confident with their workflow. In some alternate reality Im sure someone would swear about using analogue and adding a warmth that could never be got using software etc and everyone will be like ohh it sounds better!. In this video most of the bypasses honestly are inaudible. Some people are saying if you listening harder you hear the differences but that goes back to my previous point ofc that's what plugins do. Mastering is still important but I see most engineers give the impression its super complicated and almost unattainable than what it it really is. After the basics, its all just fiddling around with whatever options you have, an exhausting trial and error till you find a combination that sounds better than all the others. Then when everyone asks, give that winning fiddly some context about how you understand the singers voice and wanted to capture this and that blah blah etc, confusing everyone and making money in the process.
I agree
Its not just trial and error, I'm mastering tracks for 5 years and the difference after the process ist day and night... Most techniques aren't shown in UA-cam videos on how to get the best sound out of the material.
Yep, right on the money. Moreover, your master is only gonna be as good as your mix. Starting from a phenomenal mix with no problems makes mastering too easy almost
If those changes were inaudible to you then you need better speakers or headphones because they were very noticeable on my monitors
@@LukeMTB Yh but this is a technical video catered to mix/master engineers who should be able to hear the differences on their system. It's like going to a painting channel and watching a video in 144p and commenting that you can't tell the difference between water colour and acrylic paints.
What does extends the bass downwards mean? 2:59
Amazing! The tools he's using are from World War 1😅 the result is fantastic!
haha true. if it ain’t broke don’t fix it
0’s and 1’s are still 0’s and 1’s!
are there any examples of an artist that masters their own music or an audio engineer that also makes music? i feel like if i make music i should know everything about how to master it
Russ does, the only one I can think of, but there's surely more. I think if you "make music" (I assume you produce? ) you should get into mixing. Most producers today have an understanding of how to mix - just some hip hop / trap producers I've seen that don't really have a clue what they're doing. Still, producing usually means playing instruments, knowing the world of music theory etc. Mixing is a whole other beast to learn, so it's basically just division of labor.
I believe Grimes has mastered her own songs.
Samplitude 4 life
Can you active subtitles plss
What DAW is that ??
Magix Sequoia
Okey!
And thanks Guys🍻
@@shonthelawn Magix stuff is bad.
woow! never heard of Sequoia
It's mastering software. Have used it (at school) but I dont have it myself since it's 2800£ 😢
I've got a nice system at home, multiple subwoofers and ~1000 watts, loads of headroom. Still, Billie Eilish is one of the few artists that I need to turn down the bass.
Haha
Don't listen hard techno bro
Don't listen to Tech House lol.
Invisalign removal= reverse snare ?
when i watch mix with masters videos and they on and off the plugin they use on a song i never hear any difference
Все секреты раскрыты 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔝🍾🤝🎶
Ctz mix ?
Does anyone know what kind of mouse he's using?
Kensington
I have no idea why need him
looks simple from here but still everything's is good! personally I don't the sub in that song it is too loud! but that is a mixing thang
2:01
why is he using inflator after L2 ?
DAW he use: SAMPLITUDE !!
trash!!!!!!!!!
nice one. next level artist, next level engineer.
just when i thought finn did everything
very cool. On the comments that he uses outdated plugins. Disregarding AI (lookin at you Izotope) I wonder if at the mastering stage there are still "revolutionary" developments still happening? Plugins used during tracking and mixing sure. Neural DSP, Fabfilter, etc. are blazing into new sonic territory, but I wonder if at the mastering stage this is less the case. The guy in this video has tools that he knows how to use inside and out. They might not have the coolest whistles and bells, but he still very much knows how to get the job done.
Which DAW is that????
is that important? Use the one you can afford. Daw are all the same if its a professional one. Get ableton , reaper, logic, cubase.Get that one you look and and feels like he´s calling you daddy.Focus on that rack besides him, thats the real seccret of pros. Its fuckin expensive but you can find rental services for that and know more about those amazing analog sound processors too. For ex SSD (solid state) are popular for eletronic music.to achieve the most vibrant rich frquencies that most of us wont achieve usign only plugins.
@@EvertonSebben that DAW was not familiar to me that's why I asked stupid! Stop with that philosophical answer..I know that DAW is not imp you can make good music on any device...I make music on phone by the way!!
@@gauravkharat3200 haahaha 😅😅😅😅😅😆😆😆
if he prints this at -7 lufs and spotify and itunes knock it down to -14 and -16... is there an advantage to uploading a master thats gonna get cut down?
Streaming music site doesn’t knock down the volume of your song if it’s already not in the red. If you do a good mastering with a constant -00db you will not ear a difference on Spotify or Apple or whatever
I've always wondered, why do they have two different people to mix and master, can't one person do both?
It is typically a good idea when making music to not do everything yourself. When somebody comes in at the end with a Fresh impartial view of the song to master it its just good. Ant thats why its been done like that for a long time. At leatst i think. I guess some do it all themselves. Once youve finished mixing a song you just want to get rid of it also, not that its bad it just fells like doing more will ruin it but then somebody else goes in and does the final touches.
@@moviemakegamer2651 yeah that makes sense
Is all that really worth paying a whole other person tho? Like how much do you get paid for mastering a song?
@@williamhealy6381 In this case with this song I don't think the guy who mixed it has direct access to the analog components with the transformers (older expensive equipment) so it was probably worth the money paid to send it over, but really a song can be mastered without that so not sure
Mastering at the top level is a whole other ball game. The dude makes is seem simple here but it's really not, it takes a lot of specialization and really sensitive ears. Any mix engineer can do a basic master that sounds good enough and gets the loudness they're looking for but it'll never be as good as possible
Mastering isn't just making the song loud, it's a second pair of ears who has access to an amazing setup, fixing the tiniest of details. When you've been mixing a song for however many hours and days, you lose perspective on the small things.
Imagine finishing the Mona Lisa and thinking now I need to send it to an engineer who can tweak the saturation and hue and sharpness for me. This isn’t art.
hm. am i the only one thinking that with the FXs at bypass the mix is more... vivid? sure... more pressure with the FXs on, but still... missing some details and dynamics :/
this man's a genius.
I spy that Kensington Expert Mouse!
What the hell is he using? Magix music macer?
hahahah
i wish i understood this stuff
i kind of don't like the mixing on bad guy, the bass is so loud it kind of blows out the rest of the mix. i think the only things that really save it are 1. there really isn't a lot of high end taking up space and 2. this guy decided to keep a lot of dynamic range.
Can you guys get Jack Antonoff back on here to breakdown a Lorde Record from melodrama
Hey I'm fast today
Which software are you using?
I couldn't hear the difference except it was a bit louder
Making music seems harder than rocket science
Songwriting is relatively simple, just learn guitar or piano, use mumbo jumbo words for lyrics until you have the words you want.
Production and mastering on the other hand is technical and not for everyone, I find it so boring.
Depends on the genre dude! Some genres are easy to make but other genres that use advanced sound design and techniques _are_ very daunting to make.
”I could had made this track louder” - Rick Rubin left the room.
-8 lufs integrated, that’s a loud as master
Really? I think pushing -5 is when things are actually getting loud. -8 is very reasonable for me. Some EDM songs are like -3 man! I personally always aim for -6 to -5 LUFS with my masters, anything more is just absurd.
using 15 year old plugins without oversampling in 32 bit bridged mode as a ME must feel a bit awkward
you should get JPEGMAFIA on here, it’d be interesting seeing as he engineers his music by himself.
What Microphone do you use?
I think she used a Neumann TLM 103
ehm ... don't forget to actually switch the transformer buttons ("Warm") on ;-)
like I would believe you only used plugins to do the job
The top mastering engineers tend to be working with best mixdowns as they are always submitted from amazing mix engineers/producers and by and large never need to more than some harmonics and loudness.
I’d love to see these ‘top’ guys mastering some more amateur mixes and really having to work with the turd polishing brush 💩
I think that maybe it would be a wrong approach?
As you should not try to put effort into mastering a turd rather than putting it in not having a turd in the first place.
It is like pushing every problem to post-production.
Great mastering happens on a great mix that happened on a great track, from a great song.
@@svds_studio I’m more talking in terms of entertainment
@@topofthemornintoya Ah yes! Definitely then
You're not making any point there. Its an industry, it's money. They won't invest their product with just any old mastering engineer.
These guys know what they are doing and are typically good at it. So, you can give them low quality work, but they still know what they're doing. If you know what mastering is, then you'll understand there is 'little work' to do in comparison to other stages in music, but that it is the final presentation, and it is about a mastering acoustic environment, the tools, the person who knows how to use them, understands spectrum, audio, etc, has the ears and mind to do it. Like any trade, you are in competition with others, to get to their position you got to put the work in. Just the music industry needs assurances and they tend to stick to the same true and tested guys.
You can’t mastering in a good way a shitty mix. You need to mix it good first
I don’t make music so he might as well be speaking Portuguese lol
Potentially stupid question; are songs mixed the winter mixed louder than in summer since people have colds and stuffy nose and hence hear less in winter?
i doubt it.
I think that’s a hard no
No, mixing in terms of volume is pretty universal, most mixing engineers have a set volume they mix tracks to, which changes based on where you intend the track ending up vinyl/CD/streaming.
Haha kind of like how crime goes up in the summer because people are more agitated by the heat.
Generally the room is kept at 16 Celsius to avoid overheating the gear (and perception variarion a bit... but tiredness modifies it more)
God bless saturation
I thought FINNEAS mix and mastered the album? least thats how it was portraid to me but thats okay seems like a great producer and guy
Finneas and Billie produced, Rob Kinelski mixed and John Greenham mastered the album. There's lots of videos of Rob Kinelski talking about his mixing philosophy, I think he has a Pensado's place interview if you're interested.
Oxford after a limiter ?
Just goes to show, he's got it mastered at 7.8 LUFS, so that means the puritans saying "-14 is standard now, loudness is over" are out of touch. You can mix effectively and keep a lot of dynamics while mixing/mastering loud these days
Not Logic Pro X?
some people in this business made us scared over the years just from clipping, or hot, loud mixing etc. by the way, loudness war kept going. we died trying to do the right thing but when I see eilish's work(and production videos), I'm saying nobody fucking cares whether it's loud or no headroom etc here. what the fuck, man.. you know what I'm saying? I will not care anymore. If it sounds good, it's good I will leave it that, I'll say. I'm really pissed of right now.
The cream of the cream DOES sound good. But it inevitably moves the bar up for less mainstream genres who spoil their art trying to keep up. It's quite easy to listen to an old vs new master of the same album and hear this effect. Typically the new will have better EQ balance and detail but lack punch.
Scared by loudness? They have been destroying the music ...
The mix isn’t clipped.
@@scoremix8556 once you make it loud even if not clipping, you changed the dynamics.....you are squashing the sound .....unless you have plenty of room left ..n only a few dBs of loudness
@@atta1798 all I’m saying is the mix isn’t clipped. The master can be as clipped you like.
Tbh, I can't hear a difference in my studio headphones. I know my ears aren't amazing but next time avoid ducking engineer voice! Better to pause and let him talk.
Pop music is so easy to master
Why r u acting like this song stands for all of "pop"-music? What's easy is generalizing a complex topic.
I am gonna go with a strong no on that one. Pop music has to sound as close to "perfect" and translateble to different systems as humanly possible. That's not easy to achieve.