Acoustic Sounds (The Mastering Lab) new Cutting Engineer Matt Lutthans!*

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by teag, Dec 13, 2018.

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  1. jhw59

    jhw59 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Rehoboth Beach DE.
    Great news, Congratulations!!
     
  2. Brian Lux

    Brian Lux One in the Crowd

    Location:
    Placerville, CA
    Best wishes in your new venture, Matt. Congratulations!
     
  3. Crimson Witch

    Crimson Witch Roll across the floor thru the hole & out the door

    Location:
    Lower Michigan
    Exciting news and congrats !
    :)
     
  4. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Thanks again for all the kind words, everybody. Much appreciated, and very encouraging.
    It *feels like* it should be a test tone LP. I've cut test tones so many times over the last year (fine-tuning, calibrating, etc.) that I hear them in my sleep! You haven't lived until you've cut 10kHZ at -20 over and over....and over....and over.

    We've got some things already cut, but I'm not sure what will be the first thing to actually be released.
    Nah.
    I can assure you that I am my own harshest critic. Hopefully no drink coasters will have MCL in the runout.
    With zero irony or kidding, I'll say "Don't rule that out!" (For those who don't know, I have a lengthy history with all things Cinerama -- the film format, not the band.)

    Also, @Grant asked about releases in digital formats, since he no longer plays LPs. Yes, we will be mastering -- and have already mastered -- for both LP and digital/CD. It all depends on what the client requests, of course.

    Thanks again for all the well-wishing. Made my day!
     
  5. Lord Hawthorne

    Lord Hawthorne Currently Untitled

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Congratulations. Will you be using that B&O on the job?
     
  6. Scroller

    Scroller Hair Metal, Smooth Jazz, New Age...it's all good

    Very cool. Congratulations! I think I've seen your name in the credits in a few of my classical CD's. :thumbsup:
     
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  7. ashlee5

    ashlee5 Senior Member

    One of the coolest news I heard around here, for sure. Congratulations!

    :wave:
     
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  8. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
    @MLutthans Hey Matt, it looks like all of your recording experience throughout the years is finally found a permanent home. :cheers: Congrats and I can't wait to hear some of your digital offerings. Honestly, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving engineer. :hugs:
     
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  9. Rick Bartlett

    Rick Bartlett Forum Resident

    Well done! You bring Honour to Us.
    [​IMG]
     
  10. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Congratulations Matt! Just wondering is Larry Boden still involved, he was in some of the photos when Chad Kassem announced he had bought The Mastering Lab?

    JG
     
    McLover likes this.
  11. dance_hall_keeper

    dance_hall_keeper Forum Resident

    Congratulations!
    Not knowing the answer and hoping some might be wondering the same thing as well, I will offer myself as spokesperson for The Great Unwashed™ to ask this question:
    What duties are involved with the title of "Cutting Engineer?
     
  12. bluesaddict

    bluesaddict High Tech Welder

    Location:
    Loveland, Colorado
    Congrats Matt!! I go to Blues Masters at the Crossroads almost every year. I was able to chat with Chad Kassem while on tour of Quality pressing plant just after he bought all of Doug Sax's equipment. Can't wait to hear some of the pressings from it. Are you going to attend any of the Blues Masters shows?

    A little history of Acoustic Sounds.
    How Salina, Kansas, Became A Center Of The Vinyl Record Universe
     
  13. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    Usually, after a pass thru or two, I toss out those magazines. This one I am KEEPING!!!!!:agree:
     
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  14. manicpopthrill

    manicpopthrill Forum Resident

    Location:
    ICT, Kansas
    Congratulations, Matt. So cool this is all happening up the road from me! :cool:
     
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  15. Reader

    Reader Senior Member

    Location:
    e.s.t. tenn.
    Matt, great news and I hope you are happy with your new work.

    I've always enjoyed your posts and do pay attention to things you suggest. Do let us know as much as you can about your work and anything you think will be of interest. Happy Holidays and enjoy your listening.
     
    Last edited: Dec 15, 2018
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  16. Blue Cactus

    Blue Cactus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    Congratulations Matt!

    I hope everything goes well for you.
     
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  17. MLutthans

    MLutthans That's my spaghetti, Chewbacca! Staff

    Not in any official capacity, but still for playback at home, yes, you bet. Thanks for working on that for me many moons ago.
    I was still in knee-pants for some of those, but yep, that was me, going back to 1988. Working with John Eargle was one of the great experiences of my life. I learned a lot from him! ("I knew John Eargle, and you, sir are no John Eargle" -- that's what I would say to myself on the topic, if I ever got the big head. John was in a league of his own. The best!)
    He had already left by the time I got here, sadly, as I'd love to meet Larry. He left a pair of dvds here of him "walking through the console*" in detail, which was very helpful. (*Not in the physical sense. He would never fit in there.)
    Oof. Since you asked......

    It's kind of a loaded term that can mean different things depending on the client and the job at hand. I think there are basically three "flavors" of work that that involve a cutting engineer. 1.) At at typical facility, some jobs will come along where a client (label, producer, whatever) will send in a master tape or digital file that is essentially already mastered, but that needs to be transferred to a lacquer for LP production. In that case, the work is basically just a mechanical step for manufacturing on a project that has already been 99.9% fully realized at another facility. (These will sometimes be accompanied by paperwork that reads along the lines of "Already mastered; do not EQ; do not compress.") The client just wants a "flat transfer" of the otherwise-fully-prepped tapes or files they provide. (This sort of work is easy to dismiss, but excellent results can be had if the provided tapes are well prepared by somebody who knows what they are doing.) The main job of the cutting engineer in this case is to set an appropriate level, appropriate groove depth and spacing, and add spreads (rills) between the tracks on each LP side. (Lest you think this is something new, it's not. It's very similar to, say, Capitol sending an "EQd cutting master" of a Helen Reddy album to EMI/Australia in 1975. All the "mastering moves" were already baked into that tape, and the cutting engineers in Australia could then basically thread up the tape and cut a master lacquer. The other option would be to send out a raw/flat tape transfer, along with EQ notes, and let the guys in Australia add the EQ, etc., on their end.)
    2. Re-cuts. This involves re-cutting a lacquer to replace one that was defective or has worn out. Typically, there are notes to guide you, and it's more-or-less a matter of re-using the settings that were used at the original mastering session, as written in the notes on file (often stuffed inside the tape box), although that's not always possible or practical, i.e., ancillary equipment has been swapped out over time, so it's not just a matter of "resetting the knobs."
    3. What I would call "full-on, traditional LP mastering from scratch" i.e., tapes arrive, and a "final version" has to be created on disk, i.e., track 1 may need more bass; track 2 may need to be 2 dB quieter; track three is fine; track 4 sounds wooly; and track 5 has no midrange. Decisions have to be made to mitigate all those things to make side one sound "of a piece" with itself, with no disjointedness, to the largest degree possible without negatively impacting the music.

    One of the overarching questions always is: How can I make this physically FIT onto a disk, track well, and sound good? Mastering a CD is much easier in that respect.
    Yes, I have been in the lathe room for the last two festivals, which are a lot of fun. I hope Chad continues to do them!
     
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  18. GyroSE

    GyroSE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Great news! Congrats Matt! :righton:
     
  19. Slick Willie

    Slick Willie Decisively Indecisive

    Location:
    sweet VA.

    Congrats!!!
    It's got to be a thrill using the same gear as Doug (the god) Sax!!! Hopefully it can be left as intact as possible. I've read where he did a lot of experimenting with gear.
    Again, congrats and look forward to hearing your work!!!
     
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  20. teag

    teag Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Colorado
    Thanks for the explanation! Interesting.
     
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  21. James Glennon

    James Glennon Senior Member

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Doug Sax will be a hard act to follow so we are all waiting with bated breath for your first vinyl LP to be cut! No pressure Matt!:shtiphat:

    JG
     
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  22. dasacco

    dasacco Senior Member

    Location:
    Massachussetts
    I dunno.. I say congratulations to all of us here at the forum! We got another good guy cutting records!

    :cheers: Really, congrats, Matt!
     
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  23. MMM

    MMM Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    Lodi, New Jersey
    I'm glad this is all public now. If you have ever heard any of Matt's recordings, you know what a fabulous recording engineer he is. The same very high standard will certainly find itself within his work carrying on The Mastering Lab's tremendous legacy. Beyond this, Matt is a wonderful person.

    Sincere congratulations! :cheers:
     
    Tommyboy, mick_sh, MLutthans and 3 others like this.
  24. paulmock

    paulmock Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hollywood, CA
    Here's a recent shot of @MLutthans hard at work in the new digs:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2018
  25. teag

    teag Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Colorado
    You know, he's actually younger than I expected....

    :laugh:
     
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