Chris Bellman Talks Record Mastering With Michael Fremer

Mastering engineer Chris Bellman has an impressive catalog of records he's mastered over the decades working at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood California. Bellman regularly cuts records for Neil Young among many other recording greats. Bellman talks about cutting Tom Petty's "Wildflowers" from analog tape for the first time and discusses with Michael Fremer general cutting issues such as sibilants and how he deals with them.
The two discuss the great Classic Records reissues from the early 2000s and a new double LP that Chris cut for "It All Comes Down to Mood" a new soon to be released Patrick Leonard album for which Fremer "shepherded" the vinyl release.
Leonard produced Roger Waters' "Amused the Death", two of the final three Leonard Cohen albums and many of the early and best selling Madonna albums, among others. He was also half of the Toy Matinee, a great "cult" pop/rock band Leonard was in with the late Kevin Gilbert.

[@Jonny_C73]

A Chris Bellman cut always sounds amazing on my system. I hope he reads this so he knows how much his craft is appreciated.

[@seymills]

i agree !!

[@musicinthehouse]

I really appreciate the discussion, particularly learning more about how Chris Bellman and Bernie Grundman have people on staff they are training up to their high bar standards.

[@VoiceofFox]

CB in the deadwax is a seal of quality. Never heard a Bellman cut that was anything less than the best that record's sounded to me.

[@bryanmorgan758]

More interviews please! This was great 👍🏼

[@ThePinkfloyd51]

I just got done listening to Chris' latest work - Phish 'Round Room'. Superb, as usual. Chris has cut every single Phish LP since 2012 and all of them are outstanding. Probably my favorite mastering engineer, thanks Chris!

[@SubTroppo]

I am a child of the s1960's for whom 78 records where definitely old-hat, Sputnik was still a buzz-word and wonderful new technology appeared appeared on a regular basis. As a callow youth I never gave the means by which LPs were produced a second thought so it is very good to hear someone talk about the technicalities and describe why some records were not of the best sonic quality.

[@poppeku69]

Thank you so much for, this Michael Fremer been a huge fan of Chris Bellman work for many years now😊

[@mattmatthews5148]

I was fortunate to hear that Pinball Wizard lacquer in Raleigh last year. Thanks for bringing it to the show! Fun listening session there.

[@cradio52]

Bellman’s work is truly incredible and revelatory, even for albums that I’ve heard thousands of times in my life and know like the back of my hand. Idk what kind of wizardry he performs but it definitely works, and it’s amazing.

[@michaellynch4699]

Great interview, thankyou!

[@bobt3374]

Excellent conversation realy enjoyed the interview.

[@markyexley9440]

Far better interview than that other recent one with Chris. Your knowledge comes across shows respect and makes the interviewee more comfortable. Lovely stuff

[@pauldavies6037]

Another great guest interview Mike keep them up

[@3dimensionsofmusic3D]

Hats off to these gentlemen making possible so much of our passion enjoyable. 🍻🎶

[@screamallyouwant]

A fantastic video! More like this one, please.

[@r.l.steenvoorde3732]

Nice video Michael thanks for the info. Greetings from Holland

[@gratefuldawgs2738]

Killer Interview thanks 😊

[@67Pepper]

1:13 Separate rooms are a must. You don't want the vinyl room contracting "Digititus"

[@marktubeie07]

Great discussion - many aspects not normally discussed were covered !

[@rongreen1538]

A very interesting and informative video, thank you both for taking the time to make it. Mr Bellman seems to be a very nice and knowledgeable guy but you Mr Fremer are a veritable treasure trove of knowledge . Please keep doing what you do so well.

[@celtic-audiophile]

That’s twice I’ve watched Chris in a week on different channels. What a super cool guy. He was a lot more comfortable with you, the benefit of good relationships. Excellent VR

[@jonthurston8275]

I don't mean this in a disparaging sense, but it is beneficial to hear engineers of Chris's pedigree being interviewed by a professional journalist of Michael's standing. CB in the deadwax inspires confidence (regardless of the egregious nonsense Tom Port spouts)!

[@brettconsolacion3027]

I would love to be able to have a KZbin video version of that seminar that Chris gave to those college students.

[@seymills]

i'm a big fan of mr bellman ..he cut all the resissues and latest stuff from my favorite band Iron Maiden ...they sound amazing !! thank you sir :)

[@austinhunt4260]

Michael, my favorite interview of an engineer and my favorite from you! Props. Does Chris have an opinion on why Tool’s ÆNIMA has never been reissued? They could probably do a massive release campaign and sell out on pre-order at this point. Thanks.

[@91pastor]

Didn't catch it live Michael, but what an enjoyable hour or so listening to Chris Bellman and yourself. I thought Chris was more open and comfortable with you compared to another interview Chris did. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK MICHAEL! Those reissues Tom Biery was involved in sound fantastic. Any idea why he left Warner?

[@trackingangle929]

not sure but he's got exciting new projects in the works!

[@jswift1942]

I remember hearing sometime in the early seventies that their were problems with the Westrex cutter head.But perhaps that applied to the first one or one that Chris is not using? Let me know if you can. I really enjoy Michael's you tube channel and it would be unfair to him not to mention that!

[@ohjoy40]

how do you reference the sound of your system your mastering on ? Do you listen to your mastered music on other systems to get a reference point of how your system is contributing to the sonic color of your work ?

[@automatedelectronics6062]

Cool video, thank you! Speaking of how things were mixed, way back when at Motown, Berry Gordy discovered that the record players that kids owned, had a hard time playing the 45 single records because they had too much bass. I think it was more like the kids had low powered amp record players and he had the 45's cut really hot so that the kids could get more sound out of their cheap-o record players. If you look at most any Motown group 45's from before maybe 1971, pre-stereo, they are cut so hot that the grooves intersect each other. The records were barely playable on higher quality turntables. The LP's were cut normal. The CSG(compatible stereo groove)-Haeco process was very different from a normal stereo record. The process moved the sound common to both stereo channels and split it up into each stereo channel, but with polarity was reversed. This gave the records a unique sound. I still prefer the CSG-Haeco version of Carpenters version of "Please Mr. Postman" and "Sing". If you want a real treat, play a radically CSG-Haeco mixed record back through Dolby Surround. Now, that's surround sound!

[@austinhunt4260]

I have quite a few CB pressings, including Neil Young, Manson, Metallica, and AIC, but none of them touch what he achieved on Tool’s FEAR INOCULUM. Grateful.

[@latheofheaven]

Yes, many people kind of dismissed the Fear Inoculum album (actually, I hadn't known that Chris did that 😊) And yes, I did go a tad 'overboard' and got the single sided box set, but I think the sonics on it are fantastic!

[@austinhunt4260]

@@latheofheaven I went further overboard and got both versions, signed by the Alex Grey. Sonics are identical on both formats and I only listen to the 3xLP for convenience. CB did a fabulous job on Evil Joe's mix.

[@latheofheaven]

@@austinhunt4260 You B@stard! 😁

[@jayzeeshawn]

Wildflowers and all the Rest is.a Great Sounding Album.

[@owlnswan4016]

They would mix the Haeco CSG processing into the master sometimes as well. The Rascals' "A Beautiful Morning". Sinatra's CYCLES album, etc. It can be easily reversed in digital effectively.

[@ghn5ue336]

Michael, it would be great to see a 'Lunch with Andre' video on the topic of sibilance mistracking. This topic deserves a real deep dive into it, as it can be related to setup as well as cartridge and tonearm quality. Add in a person's perception to the issue (some are much more sensitive to this) as well as the resolution of the rest of the system and you have a multi-faceted issue that can be much more complex than simply setting azimuth or VTA correctly.

[@trackingangle929]

I talked more about that on the Steve Westman interview he conducted with me.

[@hurkamur1]

We love CB!

[@AndreasSchmidtHappens]

mister fremer great as always ...... i wonder if someone ever figured out the CONTEMPORARY RECORDS stampers details. some LP´s seem never to have D1 D1 ? and if a HAMPTON HAWES TRIO from around 1955 has D4 D4 .... does that mean it is already a mid 60´s repress ?

[@herbertmathews]

Mihael, is it true that a cutting head receives a digitally delayed signal from the amp so that the groove spacing can be correctly done.

[@trackingangle929]

No. Not as long as there is a preview head. The computer (digital) will set the pitch (glove spacing) but the signal fed to the cutter head will be analog.

[@rogerturner1881]

Chris did you ever do any engineering on pressing any Connie Francis from the 1980's.? Greetings from Athens/Greece. MGM some stereo LP's from 1959 were recorded in a 45/45 [which is on some labels] ended in 1963 round the MGM SE 4200. Does that mean that they cut at an angle of 45d angle were stereo albums were cut...But the other albums that don't have the special sign what were they cut at? .The last CF album with the 45/45 was MGM SE 4167 THE VERY BEST OF CONNIE FRANCIS issued in Sept 1963.

[@robertworkman7135]

I'm a big pop fan, and I have albums cut by Chris (Katy Perry, Lana Del Rey, Fergie, etc.) that were obviously never made with vinyl in mind, but still sound great. I'd really love to hear one of the great cutting engineers talk about what it's like working with albums like this. Obviously they're not AAA UHQR records, but they can still sound great on vinyl.

[@marcelbr815]

CB on the deadwax equals badass sounding records.

[@EvanVincent.]

A Bill Cunliffe album! I mixed him live MANY years ago at the Vic in Santa Monica. He was doing a latin jazz project. I'm pretty sure George Klabin tracked that live session. No idea what happened to it.

[@trackingangle929]

Released on D2D vinyl

[@jeffreypower9122]

i am 63 years old and have all of Taylors 14 vinyl Lp's go figure.

[@kiehlb]

as someone in the 35-40 age range, can confirm, we love Tone Poets

[@Zoostation69]

29:00 you’re taking about the new AAA Bill Evans Undercurrent

[@trackingangle929]

you are prescient.

[@latheofheaven]

@@trackingangle929 *OMG!!!* Don't tell Trump! 😲 Oh, 'prescient'... Sorry...

[@mymixture965]

I still like my Blue Note OG´s way more than the Tone Poets and it is not because of bass in any way. It is the dynamics, the punch. Just to mention, I am a musician all my live, I recorded, I mixed, I know WHY I like the older ones more. To me, the Tone Poets suck out the power, the punch and make it nicer, it looses the rawness. As a metaphor, the OG´s sound more like New York, the Tone Poets more like Florida.

[@trackingangle929]

The OGs have much lower dynamic range! The compression makes them sound "punchy" but the OG sound is not at all what Rudy Van Gelder recorded, nor is it how he wanted those recordings to be heard. That doesn't mean you are not entitled to prefer them! The vinyl back then was also way noisier.

[@mymixture965]

@@trackingangle929 Yes, you are right, I know that, but this does not help me with my taste. It would be much easier for me to prefer the new reissues, it would save me a lot of money🙂 A theory on Rudy as he did also recordings for other labels like Prestige: I have some old Prestige OG, recorded by Rudy and the sound is different, they do not sound like the old Blue Notes and my theory is, that it is not only what Rudy recorded, mastered, preferred, it is also a question of how the label wanted it to sound. Maybe I am wrong, but to me the sound of the old Jazz recordings is a mixture of what the engineer did AND what the label wanted it to sound, so I think Rudy was never free to do what he wanted. And the noise on some old Prestige pressings can be a problem, yes, but with Blue Note I am fine. I have to mention that I have a second tone arm with a mono cartridge, that helps a lot.

[@jackfalco5351]

Where in print does Rudy say he didn’t like the sound of his own Records? His mastering are way more involving than the new ones. And why did the CD’s he did are mastered to sound like the ogs?

[@mymixture965]

​@@jackfalco5351 As far as I know he mentioned that he liked the CD´more, that's all I know. But you are right and I just don't want to start a discussion here because my view on mastering is totally different. I am a musician, maybe that's the reason. I don't like the mastering of these new Jazz reissues, main reason is: 1, yes more bass, but to much deep bass, to much below 80 herz, I prefer more bass 100 herz and above because this low Bass just makes the sound of the upright bass muddy, you loose the wooden sound and you loose the attack. 2, yes there is compression but not any multi band/and/or modern compressing and no limiting, that is a different kind of compression, these old tube compressors sounded different and worked different, also it makes a big difference where in the chain you add compression, 3, upper mids an high, just as an example - for me the cymbals loose there midrange sound, for the drummers: the old cymbals from "zildjian" sound like "paiste" cymbals. So I know what is going on, I know why, because Audiophile basically have no idea how it really sounds, they want a mastering that suits there systems, but I am a minority and so I buy the old OG´s. I just don't get the hype, EVERY time I do comparisons for my friends, the OG´s are winning, so all my friend are wrong too 🙂

[@Andrew_from_Oz_Vinyl_Landscape]

Excellent interview learned a lot thx MF !

[@jpsalazar706]

I still think the Abbey Road Beatles deluxe Qobuz version went a bit too much with the bass.

[@trackingangle929]

I haven't heard that one. Often the stream files sound different than the other formats so who knows?

[@cjay2]

Michael, we are the same age, within 3 months. Just saying. You ain't alone!

[@trackingangle929]

Boomer bubble! I was just kidding!

[@latheofheaven]

OMG! And you are still ambulatory...? 😁

[@FleagleSangria]

Same engineer that recently cut the Cherry title, also cut the Scofield A Go Go in the same recent series. Both have that same issue and do not sound very good. Kind of odd.

[@trackingangle929]

I’ll get in touch and interview him but don’t worry I’ll make it all about me.

[@DC-xx4kv]

Michael check out this KZbin video it shows lacquers being made back in the day at Transco. This is from a great TV series called how it’s made. “How It’s Made - clip of master and vinyl audio records” Don’t say I never do anything for you! 🎉

[@recordhead]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2LGnaOXa8-Zodk

[@ohjoy40]

Do you always remaster music to the artists sonic preferences ? Yet does it still always meet your standards in sound quality? i always thought that mastering engineers remaster to their liking and that is what the client will get. I now believe mastering engineers remaster the music to he clients preferences, regardless of the sound preferences of the mastering engineer.

[@Kezleu]

Good evening, it's quite funny, your prehensile, that's what my mom said to me when I came home, and I went to my room..

[@agear2]

Bellman still needs to cough up that Grateful Dead box set…. still waiting….

[@scaligula]

The Jeff Beck comment was classless

[@trackingangle929]

Your feathers are too easily ruffled.

[@latheofheaven]

Hey man, I frigg'n LOVE Jeff Beck and truly cried when he passed away. But, let's allow for a little well intentioned 'Gallows Humour' from time to time when nothing mean spirited is meant...