Upon entering Mastering Engineer, Howie Weinberg’s world-renowned studio at Masterdisk, one is confronted with the sound of pacing feet, the smell of cigarette smoke, and frenzied conversation courtesy of the master himself. After all, isn’t that how brilliant minds work?  Weinberg is a silver pinball within the calm setting of his studio, bouncing back and forth against the walls. 

Rockstars like Jack White, Secret Machines and Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs light up at the mention of his name.  As they see it, he’s the rockstar. He’s the guy who makes the final sound on a record sound, well, perfect for his musician clients.

There are three people an artist works alongside during album-making: a Producer, Mixing Engineer and finally, a Mastering Engineer. Each is instrumental in the final outcome, yet the Mastering Engineer gives that ultimate sign-off and says, “It’s ready!” 

Like most rites of passage for people with profound aspirations, Weinberg got his start in the mailroom as Masterdisk’s messenger. Almost 30 years later, he’s still there, but now as one of their top Mastering Engineers. Weinberg has worked with many, including The Clash, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gorillaz, LL Cool J and the Beastie Boys. 

PsychoPEDIA caught up with Weinberg in his studio for a recap of his body of work:  

How many albums have you mastered in your career?
Probably around 2000 to 3000… 

In you own words, what is Mastering, and when did you start?
It’s just making sure that whoever makes a musical product sound good. Making it sound the best it can by whoever plays it. Making the sonics of the music perfect. A lot of times people are trying to make something that’s louder than the other, or hipper than the other, but what it comes down to is what the artist gives me. A lot of times people are in for a rude awakening when they come here to the studio, because all of a sudden they hear their music in a different light than when they were recording; more problems come out. But after you master a few thousand records, you can fix anything! 

[I started] in the early ‘80s. Kurtis Blow’s The Breaks was probably one of the first albums I mastered. James Brown, David Lee Roth, Eddie Money, Yoko Ono, Tom Waits, Aerosmith, The Clash are other early albums I worked on as well. 

What are some old stories that bring up good memories?
I used to work with the Public Enemy guys a lot and one time I saw one of their 12” records and I saw a picture of their studio engineer on the album jacket cover. I got really mad and said to Chuck D, ‘You gotta put my picture on one of your albums!’ So they put me on the album cover! It was taken on the balcony from my old loft on Broadway. I did all the Public Enemy records. Chuck D is an old buddy. I used to go out and hang out with all of them in Long Island, where they’d have parties all the time and I was probably one of the only white guys there!

During the early ‘80s you crossed over genres left and right and were friends with all of the artists….
I did everything. All the rap guys, everybody. From Slayer to LL Cool J, Debbie Gibson, Sonic Youth…everyone! Everything was so wide open back then. It’s not like it is today where every Joe-Schmo is releasing an independent record. The early days were more about the label; like Def Jam Records and Profile Records. It all started out when I first did that Kurtis Blow Record and Russell Simmons was his manager. Rick Rubin and Lyor Cohen -- I was around all of them. I was hanging out with Rick in his dorm-room days.  I even let Rick come to my house to listen to the playback of the album, because he didn’t even have a stereo. 

Who’s had the biggest entourage?
Run DMC, LL Cool J, Public Enemy – there could be like 20, 30 people in the studio with me. Everyone was there! They’d invite all their friends, their girlfriends. It was a party! That’s OK, but the more people in the studio, the less I can work! These days, if people start bothering me, I just throw ‘em out! 

Today, what artists really stand out?
I can’t really put my finger on one name. Music today is more individualized, more independent [versus scenes]. I did all of that Gorillaz stuff and that was always a side project with Damon [Albarn from Blur and Gorillaz] and all of the sudden he has a hit record! It’s cool music, very visual and it's fresh! Really great rhythms made by the best kind of people. Also, this year alone, I did The Strokes, Muse, Herb Alberts, Deftones, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Government Mule, Staind, The Dears…. 

Your comrades from New York City, the Beastie Boys, what was it like to work with them?
During Paul’s Boutique, it was basically like Animal House. The guys were messing around all the time. That record was one big cloud of smoke. They were New York City kids just like me, so we saw one another as equals. We’d try to one up each other by saying, “Well, you know this, I can show you this!” I was one of the boys. 

If there is ONE album that sticks out through the years…
It’s so hard to say, but it could be Tom Waits, Rain Dogs -- one of the great records for anyone who knows music. We were friends and used to hang out after the session and drink together. His wife was pregnant at that time too; it was special. That was one of the more brilliant records I’ve done. Also when Jeff Buckley did that Grace record, that was a difficult time for him. He didn’t communicate well with anybody and finally I got close enough to him and he made Grace.  I could go on and on...

You were part of one of the best rock ‘n’ roll albums of all time, Nirvana’s Nevermind...
Basically, the band was supposed to get to the studio early in the morning. No one showed up. 1pm rolled around and then 2 and then 3, 4, 5, 6pm. I said, “Where the hell are they?” So, I had a lot of time to work on the album by myself. Finally everyone showed up, Kurt, the entire band, Andy Wallace, their producer Butch Vig. Everyone was there -- Courtney wasn’t, because she wasn’t in the picture yet. So I pushed ‘play’ for them to hear the final outcome and we all listened for 40 minutes straight. All the guys were initially in a bad mood and didn’t want to be there, but at the end of the playback, everyone sat there in silence. We all knew something special had just happened. It was one of those great moments in life that only happen once or twice. Kurt was finally in a good mood and said, “Yeah, it’s pretty good.”

~Jessica McMenamin

Photos courtesy of Seth Wolfson