The Backbone of Your Mastering Rig
Dangerous Music's MASTER brings the amazing analog sound and functionality of previous Dangerous boxes to the mastering world with a truly unique approach that will give your projects an edge over your competitors. Three insert points are front-panel switchable for integrating external analog processing and there's something special lurking behind the S&M Width knob. With the S&M button depressed, MASTER engages a "Sum or Minus" mode that controls the stereo spread and much more. Every mastering engineer that incorporates outboard gear into their rig needs a MASTER!
Related Videos: MASTER Mastering Transfer Console
Powerful processing at your fingertips
There's truly nothing quite like MASTER. The S&M functionality adds a remarkable element to your mastering arsenal. Imagine being able to modify the frequency content of the program material residing in the left/right aspects of the stereo field without changing the spectrum of the center material. With MASTER, you can. Hit the S&M button, activate insert #2 with a stereo EQ connected, and you can work wonders with the sound. Say the vocals (panned center) sound fine in the mix, but you'd like to brighten the guitars and cymbals a bit (which reside in the left and right panning positions). S&M removes the center material temporarily so you can process the extreme left and right signals without coloring the center material. The S&M Width knob can also modify the width of the overall stereo field. The engineers here at Sweetwater love the flexibility of the MASTER!
A plethora of useful controls
From left to right, you've got L/R Level controls, three buttons that trigger the insertion of outboard gear in the signal path, a button that individually selects which inputs are being processed, a button that triggers Stereo or Middle Sides mode on insert 2, and a button that selects whether the Monitor Output jacks have the Input or Output signal sent to the monitor section. Next up is the Input Monitor Offset. This is very handy to match the input and output levels to listen to the effect of processing without the level difference clouding one's judgment. The engineer can also match input and output level, look down at the scale, and determine the relative gain obtained from the mastering process. This control has a scale of -2 to +8dB in 0.5 dB steps. The S&M Width was covered in depth in the previous paragraph. Lastly, the Output level control dictates the final level that passed on to the A/D convertor.
What the pros are saying about the MASTER:
- "I've never mastered a song without a Dangerous MASTER! And I can't imagine it. With the S&M feature on the MASTER, you can really fix some problems in mixes, and address balance issues... Comparing it to Mid-Side processors in the digital realm I just think it's a 'Day and Night' difference." — Colin Leonard (Mastering Engineer)
- "I'm a huge fan of the Dangerous MASTER's S&M circuitry. It always seems to add an elegant width and depth to the mix. The Dangerous gear has certainly created an advantage. Another reason we have been able to establish ourselves in a highly competitive field is that aside from the gear sounding great...our Dangerous gear has been truly steady and stable." — Emily Lazar (Mastering Engineer)
- "I can't say enough about the quality components and sonic integrity...it doesn't get much better than this. I could hear the difference between AD/DA converters...choosing between them...for each session...has become effortless. I cannot imagine working without the Dangerous MASTER." — Larry DiVivo (TapeOp Magazine)
- "Dangerous Music really got it right with the Dangerous MASTER." — Andrew Mendelson (Mix Magazine)
- "I love all the Dangerous Music equipment. I use the MONITOR ST, the MASTER, and two 2-BUS LTs for my mixing and stem-mastering." — Noël Jackson (Mastering Engineer)
- "The Dangerous MASTER immediately made a huge improvement in the quality of my work. I think it's the cleanest sounding solution available." — Dave McNair (Mastering Engineer)
Dangerous Music MASTER Features:
- Audiophile-grade components yield crystal-clear sound
- 3 insert points are front-panel switchable for integrating external analog processing
- S&M button provides you with integrated Mid-Side processing
- S&M Width knob modifies the width of your overall stereo field
- Stepped controls ensure easy repeatability
- 2 stereo inputs and 3 stereo outputs (1 for monitoring)
- Seamless connection with the Dangerous Liaison
