Three-time Grammy-winning mastering engineer Gavin Lurssen added the finishing touches to both the score for the Pixar animated feature Up and the theme song from Crazy Heart and pieces at Hollywood-based Lurssen Mastering using a system consisting of three-way active ATC SCM150ASL monitors.
Lurssen explained the philosophy that guides his work, “A great piece of music never gives you the impression that someone sat down to write it. It is as if it always existed. A great recording is the same way.
I strive to send projects out of Lurssen Mastering that sound like no one was there twiddling knobs. I strive to make it sound as if the music simply exists in and of itself without any kind of veil between the music and the listener.”
Lurssen’s ATC monitors play an integral role in making good on this ideal. “I need the resolution of my ATCs to make sure that I am in fact eliminating that veil,” he said.
“Or in the case of Up and ‘The Weary Kind,’ which were recorded by some of the best engineers in industry using top flight equipment, I need to make sure I am not introducing that veil. It’s a big responsibility. Those recordings need to leave my studio with a sound that is organic and alive and fills up the room.”
Lurssen is well known among insiders for his esoteric and unusually extensive analog signal chain composed of gear from a “best of” list of well-known and lesser-known analog manufacturers, in addition to several custom pieces.
“Instead of a lot of one thing, I like a little bit of many things,” said Lurssen, whose signal chain contains several EQs and several compressors. “That allows me to find the true magic in a piece of equipment without overloading on it. Everything integrates to create one balance.”
“Out of all the speakers I’ve tried, I’m sold on the ATCs,” said Lurssen. “Most importantly, they give me the truth so that I can ensure that no veil exists between the music and the listener.”
“They are subtle enough to allow me to hear even the smallest application of processing so that I am not in danger of over-processing. Lastly, they are non-fatiguing, so that I can work long hours without fading.”
