The Fiverr Engineer Who BEAT ABBEY ROAD!

I’m talking live with Marvin, the Fiverr engineer who beat Abbey Road and WON my mastering shootout.
I want to find out his reaction to the video, what his mastering process is like, and how things have changed since the video came out.
Watch the original mastering battle here: • I Paid 5 Mastering Eng...
Contact Marvin: tidestudiolondon.com/

[@flexame]

He absolutely nailed our first 2 songs as a band space between and actually did our live sound in London too. Incredible talent and even nicer guy to talk to in person! So glad to see him get this recognition! Huge love!

[@sonidojamon]

MASTERING CHAIN: - Oeksound Soothe to tame Low-Mid (Bass) resonances and 0,5 dB De-Essing/De-Breathing with a very narrow band. - Softube Tape saturation. - Fabfilter PRO MB Low End control (subs below 60Hz Kick). - Fabfilter PRO MB (5 bands, around +/- 1 dB comp). - Universal Audio Pultec / Unknown settings / Probably Andrew Scheps-style settings (Low band 100hz +2,5-3 dBs / Hi band 10 kHz +3-4 dBs / Bandwidth size 7,5). Free alternative: Rare by Analog Obsession. - Sonnox Oxford Inflator / Free alternative by Melda Production MWaveShaper 1:1 clone preset (Paul Third channel) - Soundtheory Gulfoss Master. - Slate FGX (Low punch). - Brainworx V3 EQ (stereo widening 105% + mono below 80Hz). - SIR Audio Tools Standard Clip (shave transients). - Fabfilter PRO L2 (limiting) 1,5 dB gain / -7 LUFS / True Peak -1 dB.

[@PaulEubanks]

Pultec settings he mentioned is the classic bass boost + attenuate w/ selector at 30 Hz, high boost at 10kHz, each by only around 1db.

[@sonidojamon]

@@PaulEubanks Nice!! Thanks!! I like this subtler approach better!! The one I mentioned always sounded "a bit too much" on my mixes.

[@joeygproducedit7863]

You cant be serious 😦

[@Jaburu]

not sure this is any usefull at all. He sure didn't copy anyone's chain, and you sure wont sound like him by copying his

[@Jaburu]

@@sonidojamon lol. don't be so sensitive. I said I am not sure. I will even give you likes so you get a better feeling about my coment.

[@malvernsoundtherapy]

How refreshing that such a talented and humble guy isn't all about grabbing more money - he deserves to get well paid jobs because of his attitude and ethical approach to his contribution in this world. Great job, Marvin - and you're al lovely guy!

[@HighSideYT]

dude. this is a perfect use of your platform and reach. love that you are helping small businesses grow

[@Zealed]

Marvin is definitely a master of his craft! He did an amazing job with our Master. Thanks Jordan for all that you do. Definitely have learned a lot through your videos. I am a big fan of your work. Can’t thank you enough.

[@LambertDriveStudios]

what a humble dude!! great interview!!

[@blackedelweiss601]

Gullfoss is seriously a secret weapon. Feeding it decent mixes just really glues everything together and gives you a fat sound.

[@huberttorzewski]

Yeah it glues everything more and smooths out random resonance peaks in the mids and highs. I like to use 5-7% tame and 1-2% recover for that extra 5% of polish on the master bus

[@Quant-Beat]

How many % do you "dare" to go at with GullFoss?

[@em8969]

Just got it too

[@seekhisface866]

He mixed and mastered a tune of ours this week and did a great job!!!

[@Chupacabramusic]

1st, This is cool you fallowed up on this dude... 2nd, jordan it says so much that you were happy to bless his buisness and carrer with your efforts.. This really secures my opinion of you on a personal level.

[@artificium_]

he's revealing his secrets! hope he's still getting so much work consistently

[@saardean4481]

Very cool interview. It also proves that knowing what you are doing is way more important than 20k monitors and a 50k analog chain

[@LafemmebearMusic]

It’s a yes AND workflow and how quickly one can get that sound is a big part of why some folx go for that analog gear. Ear fatigue is what I discovered immediately was a big huge massive difference cus my analog gear puts such a sonic color immediately that with in z2 e hours I’ve got a great mic master happening. It took longer before to achieve that via just plugins. I used plugins only for 12 years , I just get the best sound a lot faster workflow wise. It’s not just about being able to achieve the same quality but what did it take to get there.

[@J77199]

​@@LafemmebearMusicanalog gear is washed nowadays

[@LukeIcardMusic]

If you cant hear what you are doing properly then you wont be able to make correct decisions anyway. That is why correct monitoring is so important. Cheers.

[@saardean4481]

@@LafemmebearMusic the engineer that actually won the competition in this video did not use stellar equipment and worked in the box. I will conclude that the plugins are more than sufficient if you know what you are doing . But in audio it does not matter at the end of the day. If you feel more confident using analog hardware glad you like it. As long as the result is good i dont really care what anyone uses.

[@saardean4481]

@@LukeIcardMusic i am into audio for a few decades now so even i know by now that monitoring is important. I never claimed the opposite. I also see that the engineer in this video uses HS8 yamaha and made a winning master using them. Its not like they are known for being high end equipment. What i mean by that is that good monitoring is a very relative term and a still stand by my claim that knowing what you are doing can compensate thousands of dollars in equipment. But we dont need to agree. Its ok to have more than one opinion out there in the world. Peace

[@soundsmudgeEgy]

We had the pleasure of working with tide studio London on 3 of our songs and words can’t describe the level of professionalism and high quality service he provides…. Thanks for bearing up with us 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[@kazlee7985]

14:00 1st plug-in Soothe control low/mid & highend 14:58 2nd plug-in softube tape for saturation 15:00 pro mb with narrow q to control kick around 60 hz. If the Multiband only reacts to the kick then he knows the low-end will translate right. The above mentioned changes was made on the track and then fed into mixbus ---> master bus mixbus template : overall very small changes with following plug-in order; 1 Pro MB with 5 bands - usually a set and forget for him 2. Pulltech EQ with the Pulltech trick and 10k boost 1 db 3. Oxford Inflator for percieved loudness 4. Gulfoss Master 5. Slate FGX for low end punch 6. bx v3 eq mono 80 hz cut and stereo-width 105% This is routed to the Masterbus 18:20 Masterbus; 1.Sir StandardClip 2. Pro L2 Great video, thanks alot!

[@Speorgmusic]

Nice thanks

[@alipaulstagram]

Thank you for the summary!

[@kazlee7985]

Glad to help brothers 🦾🦾

[@MG-jy5qx]

Why not just have all those plugins in one chain on the master bus?

[@Speorgmusic]

@@MG-jy5qx depends on how many DBs are being pushed into each process.. there needs to be gain staging. Sometimes the best way to do that is to have it on a bus to get more control of the volume.

[@NatureofCircuitry]

I hired Marvin right after I saw your first vid. Ended up doing our whole album which is coming in a couple months. As you can tell, Marvin is super cool. Very easy to work with and holy shit does this guy have an ear. I really appreciate his philosophy on pricing. It gives a lot of folks the opportunity to upgrade their production at a very very fair price. Thank you Marvin!

[@forestsunset9617]

is your album any good?

[@NatureofCircuitry]

@@forestsunset9617 of course, so are the videos!

[@Miniponyca]

where can I find Marvin fiver page?

[@NatureofCircuitry]

@@Miniponyca TideStudioLnd

[@jasonricard5058]

This guy was cool. Very humble guy. Great demeanour. Thanks Jordan

[@irishmm]

Humble dude, mad skills. Great work and thanks for supporting Marvin, Jordan.

[@Heaven-dy9lj]

For me this is a classic example of someone who loves their craft over the love of just money. Good on him.

[@eber66]

Big thumbs up to Marvin! From a VERY satisfied customer! 🙂

[@VX-cy4du]

This sounds like a great way to create content. You test different businesses/people, and interview the best one

[@JonathanBuncic]

Dude, I love you for this. What a great idea for a video! Thank you sm for releasing this!!!

[@kelvinfunkner]

wow! I was blown away by how many songs he mixes and masters in a month!!! And to get such great results...such a humble and underrated engineer!

[@derekmidgley]

Thank you for this interview. Feel like i learned a lot about the process just listening.

[@BenjaminSmith-pu4my]

Thanks so much for giving us access to this stream. Gonna dig in

[@dylanheinrich]

So awesome to hear his workflow!!!! This is pure gold!!!!

[@spencermartin5622]

I so enjoyed seeing this guy getting recognition for his talent and hard work! Looking forward to sending him some of my tracks.

[@stevenneufeld3791]

this is so amazing!! what a cool test, situation, and overall video/interview! you rule, Jordan.. and Marvin!

[@kayokk-]

Two videos in and I like your music show and especially how you show a certain poise and patience with the "not so erratic" altogether delivery of the project in question or being discussed, etc.. Well done!

[@HukkitukkiUK]

I love seeing ppl with success help lift others up, gives me hope.

[@toddkelly6181]

Great conversation. Clearly, Marvin has some serious natural talent to be operating at this level with typical home studio gear, and so early in his career. Well done!

[@J77199]

Lol. He has all the right plugins which is how every record is done nowadays. Soothe, Gulfoss. Oxford and UAD stuff.

[@toddkelly6181]

You honestly think simply 'having all the right plugins' will get you there? By that logic, almost every modern mix that exists should sound incredible...@@J77199

[@BukanIbuMu]

​@@J77199nothing will sound good if he doesn't know how to use the right tools.

[@6582rg]

You are the absolute best drum set mixer out there. Thanks for leading me in the right direction.

[@afhall1114]

Great follow up video. Thanks!

[@davidtape8135]

Great video, always great to find potential contacts

[@Nomad_Audio]

Man, putting out that much work is just insane. Props to the guy - he's clearly talented, and certainly worth a lot more than he's currently charging. He's definitely younger in the industry than a lot of people here, so it's a wonderful way to get experience. It's such an interesting climate to be starting in for him, and he seems to be making it work very well. I look forward to seeing where he goes.

[@StigmatizedProductions]

Great discussion guys! Here we have one more evidence that the quality does not come from the gear but 95% from the knowledge...and Marvin definitely has a very deep knowledge and not only talent (that usually most of people think for many different kinds of top notch achievements)...and a big bravo to you Jordan for your excelent work with your channel and your great mixes...and on top of them full respect because here you help a great engineer to be much more recognizable and to get what he deserves...instant subscription now!

[@reziahamed9255]

Marvin really .. Bloody deserves this recognition. Will certainly seek his services in future.. Keep it up mate & lovely channel filled with tons of gems... :)

[@rafalvarezsevilla]

actally inflator is a pretty unique proccessor that is very mathematical and tries to make things louder, kind of like waves mv2 or ursa DSP boost, but intelligent. from the manual: The Inflator process functions by changing the relative probability of samples in the programme material such that there is a greater probability of larger values than the original signal. The Inflator does not employ signal compression, so there is no ‘pumping’, dynamic level change, loss of presence or flattening of percussive attacks. The full dynamic information of the music content is largely preserved despite the increase in average modulation density. In addition to loudness enhancement, the Inflator can create a harmonic profile in the signal spectrum that not only increases the apparent dynamic impact of instruments and performances, but also provides ’warmth’ to the programme, reminiscent of good valve systems. When used in this way, the Inflator even has the ability of good valve systems to produce great sounding programme when significantly overdriven, and can therefore be used as an artistic enhancement tool on single performances within a mix.

[@robert_starling]

This is a great video and a very nice thing you did for your channel and for Marvin. It would be interesting for you to go back to him at the 1 year mark and see where he's at and how all of this impacted his business. Well done!

[@DavidProuty]

Great interview. Thanks

[@marcvanhie4425]

Thanks Jordan and Marvin of course. Came back to listen to his Mastering process again. 😉Very interesting. I don't have all but most of the plugins and would like to try the same things. Curious about the results and improvements. Thanks again Marvin for sharing and for experimenting with different mastering engineers Jordan! 🙏

[@adee2569]

Marvin rules!!! What a humble dude!

[@GregoryStephenSchumacher]

One of the most awesome and exciting vids I've seen in a long time! So much fun. Great interview. Very similar to my mastering chain, similar approach, except that I don't like absolute max loudness. -9LUFS is way plenty. I guess some people like the mashed sound, but I don't. Very interesting guy. This was so great. And I am stunned that Abbey Rd wasn't as good.

[@noahbirdrevolution]

So cool! Great og vid and follow up.

[@normjones6916]

Keep on with this kind of great information

[@rome8180]

I feel pretty validated. Literally every plugin he uses is one of my go-to plugins. I know it's all just a matter of taste, but it's cool to hear someone is doing great work using the same tools I am. He even mentioned Brainworx digital V3. That's not a plugin I hear a lot of people talking about. It's amazing for transparent frequency adjustments. And I love the Monomaker knob on it.

[@mainsailsound983]

Ohhh cool! This topic crossed my mind just yesterday. Dude is skilled!

[@YoLaBenicio]

This video was the best. Subscribed!

[@jorgerisi8384]

Great advice from you guys!

[@1loveMusic2003]

Such a nice young guy. He is better than he thinks and has the experience to charge more might as well get paid because we learn until we die so when will you ever be ready in your own mind. when others say your good believe them. Best wishes to you

[@tastyveganbites]

Awesome interview. So great to hear Marvin speak with such respect. Much appreciation and love for people like you two🙏

[@tastyveganbites]

What a great understanding of mastering too. I really like the explanations for the process. Absolutely brilliant commentary and walk through 🙏

[@jamesbass6283]

Thank you for bringing him on. CAN YOU PLEASE FIND MORE GOOD engineers for other genres and i bring them out on here🤛

[@LouieShowers]

This Guy is in the perfect career for himself. He does his work because he loves it.

[@Limit5482]

If you are in audio because it’s just your job, especially mixing and mastering, you will be out of a job pretty fast.

[@Saqumba]

Excellent video and Marvin is a true genius.

[@thothheartmaat2833]

theres a whole camp in mastering that is pro sonic fidelity and dynamic range preservation that they dont squash sound waves whatsoever so its probably in their rulebook at abbey road that they dont do that.. and you can kind of think of it like watching a movie and you have those compression settings where this studio has left it on full dynamic range and the explosions are super loud but you cant hear anyone talking whereas you guys have put the song on night mode to make all the sounds a similar level..

[@Losbass]

Wow great video , subscribed! 😎👍🏼

[@tristanrenemusic]

you guys are so wholesome. love it! inspiring.

[@DrMax0]

What a capable and modest guy! German engineers are a bit underrated in my opinion. Danke, das war echt mega-lehrreich!

[@sbrown9020]

The man... glad you did a follow up

[@soundproductionandadvice]

Marvin, you're a lovely chap. I wish you all the best.

[@KyleBrianAbbott]

Wow - being completely foreign to the mastering world (other than slapping a limiter and some eq on it and calling it a day) this was a really really good video for me. He also inspired me to start implementing the low end in mono trick on my stereo overheads and rooms...cause even with perfect measurements and matched pair, the image on kick and snare can get a little lopsided.

[@steveweilhart2359]

very nice guy - great interview -

[@OurTrio]

This is golden, thank you

[@stefanhansen5882]

What a wonderful conversation!

[@mansourbethoney]

I've hired Marvin! He's the best. Super fast, super nice guy and does a solid job!

[@metalheadblues]

What's his name on Fiverr?

[@mansourbethoney]

@@metalheadblues tide studio. His link is in the description

[@erajad]

Great approach. Sounds a lot like Butch Vig's route. :)

[@jacobsmith1877]

When you're too busy, raise your rates. If they like your quality super cheap, they'll probably still like your quality at a price that allows you to not be as crunched for time.

[@MrCbre77]

What a great guy!!

[@MrBikboi]

It just goes to show, I mean always do your job whatever it is at the best of your capabilities, this is just a random case of right time right place and a super cool result. Do the same quality of work when someone isn't watching.

[@RUTA66ROCKnROLL]

Being humble pays off sooner or later, and Marvin deserves all the credit for his work. He is a very talented young man, and he did an excellent mastering job for Ruta 66 Roc'n'Roll.🤘

[@PaulEubanks]

I'm amazed to not hear any discussion about his mix room sound treatment. In this video and the pictures on his website show wall-to-wall sound treatment and that is a massively important factor in being able to listen and reference properly.

[@bobsmith12345]

would love to hear more about how to enter this industry, as a newcomer

[@VICES-music]

This guy is a pro! Love the results that we got

[@woodward_alan]

Neat hearing a different perspective in which ears proved to be a success whereas eyes may have thought otherwise.

[@chrisshawmusic]

Marvin needs more social media presence.

[@record216cleveland]

He mastered 2 songs for me and they were great. I hate to say it but he definitely should charge more.

[@record216cleveland]

They were rap songs too!

[@brianvillage5]

I think Marvin’s afraid of proving himself out of the competition. I don’t think he should be worried about that. He could double his rate and still stay just as buddy I presume.

[@PatrickHalferty]

Good job providing a follow up

[@mogura3625]

We worked with Marvin on two of my projects. Mixing and mastering. He is a very understanding and hardworking person. I agree about his talent. I hope we can work together on my future projects.

[@Snipersounds]

Ha haaaaa! I loved this video! Excellent work guys!

[@woodward_alan]

I really appreciate the low rates of some on fiverr and will spend $100 on 5 people to find the right one what costs $20 and then become loyal. Lower price point drives higher sales than higher price point as basic economics and philosophy of many top retailers. Better to charge $20 and higher someone to help keep up with the demand. Keeps you competitive.

[@renejrhodes88]

The point of asking you to loudness match was not, to tell you what to like, but to make sure you understand what it is you like, which I thought you would prefer. Loudness skews our perception of eq, compression, distortion etc. e.g. see the Fletcher-Munson curves for why. If loudness matters you can still take it into account. Loudness match to actually hear the differences in the masters, giving you a better chance of making an informed decision. Then look at loudness difference (which you'll have after matching) and take this reading into you grading. Voilà, now you are actually evaluating what you think you are evaluating.

[@jimmyjames7809]

Super nice guy! ✌️

[@Brutuscomedy]

The other video had me curious as to whether hardware was used. It's interesting he did it entirely in the box. That makes me wish you had included a version by the Audio Animals guy since he claims analog is "far superior" and so on. And I'd love to know who at Metropolis mastered the track and whether that was hybrid.

[@joselozano7585]

great video

[@newmachine00]

I like how this guy thinks. Inflator is like Boost by ursaDP 2 plugins that add saturation, fullness, harmonics in a great mixture.

[@busywl69]

Love this guy hasn't become a gear snob. Hope he stays that way.

[@streck0486]

This was extra pleasant!

[@jollykush]

Thank you!

[@spiritualjatt]

god bless him good soul

[@archiestuart5329]

👌🏽😊"That's the way to do it!"

[@Avyzion]

question... big fan of the vids but does anyone have any suggestions for a hiphop mixing and mastering pro i could go to like marvin?

[@Meguessi10]

i just hope someday they release the song plsssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

[@aaronvalentinleo]

thanks!

[@jaredcurtis5652]

Anyone know the name of the band/song that was featured? Thanks in advance!

[@charliemcgrain]

QUESTION. I am a musician, composer. I suppose when I write I am listening to the harmonic possibilities and rhythmic syncopations, etc. Can you talk more about what it is you as engineers and mixers are actually listening for? It just feels like a strange land and I don't speak the language. I just want to be able to hear everything in the mix and hope it replicates across different speakers, so please try and give some more direct detail on what your process is.

[@garyloewenthal]

I hear you! My ear is trained to hear a sixth chord, or if a note is a bit flat, etc. Now I’m trying to hear “4K,” pumping, and how long a reverb tail should be, and I had to start back at square one.

[@nebstaism]

Hs8s are really amazing speakers.... even though they get hated on a lot of the time... they’re very accurate speakers imo

[@musicstudynetwork]

Who is the artist? Is the song available to listen?

[@sealinski]

Who did he say he subscribes to? “Mayor of the Mix?” I didn’t understand exactly.

[@Kiloeve]

I think he was referring to the URM academy (or Nail the Mix)

[@TimScottGuitar]

I use Abbey Road all the time and the fact its not smashed is good for the music.

[@Groovejourney]

So sick that he uses HS8's. I feel like people cringe when I tell them that I mix on them but I think they sound great.

[@tommy9951]

They translate incredibly! I cashed in my focal twin6’s a while back, I got them for a steal but couldn’t justify keeping them for production and not mixing - they run around 5-6k street price here. Those things were amazing, car check sounded identical to the room. Got HS80s (I think they’re the same but extra eq dials) for $400 and I cannot tell the difference, maybe even a little more pleasing heading to the car because of the slight mid bump. They’re fantastic monitors :)

[@cjmllvv]

He definitely comes across quite competent