Can LANDR Replace Your Mastering Engineer?
Times are definitely changing. With the rise of techno-everything, more and more tasks are being moved to automated systems. Data entry, assessment, and export can all be done at a touch of a button. Photographs can be broken down into layers, modified, and put back together again with the stroke of a virtual brush. Sounds can be created on a keypad instead of an instrument. The act of creating music has so many elements that make it nearly impossible to authentically replicate with computers, but when it comes to mastering that created music, has LANDR cracked the code?
Many seem to think so. LANDR has provided a platform that saves a lot of time and money if you're wanting to churn tracks – but if you're wanting to sell records, you might not want to be so quick to give your mastering engineer the boot. Explore the pros and cons of LANDR with Brian Hazard as he makes the case for going the extra mile on MusicThinkTank.com
"Your mastering engineer can be, as Chris from London Exchange puts it, The Fifth Beatle. We are partners in releasing the best records possible, which often extends into areas beyond mixing, like promotional advice and track sequencing."
Sure it can: badly.
Looking forward to all the crappy mixes I used to have in my inbox being limited to +6db by an algorithm, though! That’ll be a brave new world for sure.
Or maybe just the same crap, louder.
Ran my bands music through it that I had mastered by different engineers over the years out of curiosity. I was shocked at the results. Just terrible. They haven’t even gotten close! At least I didn’t have to pay for it… I was joking with some friends earlier about it and one of them sent me this funny image, which I think sums it up nicely: http://s27.postimg.org/s3gxg2vj7/Landred.jpg