Instruction Manual

Overview
The Dangerous Master is easy to set up and use. It is designed to be the platform that
turns a few pieces of analog outboard processing gear, a D/A or analog source, and an
A/D hooked up to an editing computer, into the backbone of a mastering rig.
An analog source is fed to the input where the input gain control lets one precisely set the
level and balance into the insert stack.
Your favorite analog processing gear is hooked up to the inserts. When an insert button is
pressed, that loop is in line. The second loop can work in stereo or “Sum and Minus”
mode. In S&M, one can alter the center pan information of a mix without affecting the
sides and vice versa. For instance, the lead vocal is too bright but the guitars panned to
the sides are dull? The bass in the middle is muddy and the guitars on the sides need
some bottom grunt? Use stereo EQ in S&M to fix both problems! A de-esser can fix
spitting vocals without killing the air on the drum overheads. A limiter with a fast attack
time can tame the snare on an overhead mic pair and let the rest of the kit bloom. These
are the tricks of the big time mastering engineers. We know because we built the
equipment for them! The Width control allows adjustment of the stereo image width. It
works even when Insert 2 is not pressed when S&M is selected. Remember, while S&M
is fun, too much can be a bad thing!
The writer’s favorite suggested processing goes like this:
Insert 1 gets a stereo EQ to set the tone correct for the rest of the stack.
Insert 2 gets a parametric EQ, De-Esser, and Limiter to fix any problem with a mix.
Insert 3 gets a Compressor to control dynamic range for loudness.
The Output Gain control let’s one precisely ‘hit’ the A/D converter at the correct level.
The Input/Output Monitor Selector lets one compare the dry and processed signal and
there is an Input Monitor Offset control so that comparison can be made even after
adding several dB of loudness to the mastered signal. This also allows an easy way to tell
how much apparent loudness has been added to the signal (by matching the apparent
levels and reading the difference on the IMO gain control).