Karl Klaseie is a Norwegian-based mastering engineer with a decade of experience in the recording industry, a fixture in Norway's Trondheim’s alternative scene, he now runs Øra Mastering, a boutique mastering studio adjacent to a beautiful recording and mixing space.
As one of the early adopters of Nova, we wanted to discuss with him how it has drastically improved his monitoring chain, which already featured top of the line ATC monitors and the nicest selection of outboard gear.
Please introduce yourself
My name is Karl Klaseie, and I'm a mastering engineer here at Øra Mastering in Trondheim, Norway. I started mixing and producing in 2009. In 2015, I got introduced to mastering and then had a steady path.
After I started mastering, I understood that the smallest adjustments affect the whole track. If you can't hear clearly what's going on, then you're basically deceiving yourself.
What was your introduction to Trinnov like?
I knew that this room is well-treated and everything, but it's not ideal. It should probably be double the size to be ideal for these speakers.
I have heard from mixers and other mastering engineers about Trinnov. There's a mixer in Oslo who recommended it warmly and then a couple of other mastering engineers too. I've always known one day I want to try it, but I couldn't before I have the cash to actually buy it because I can't have it in this room, figure out that it fixes all my problems and not have the cash to keep it.
NOVA was announced during NAMM show, and I just called Johannes and said, put me on the waiting list. I want to try this.
What was your reaction after trying out Trinnov for the first time?
I was in shock. The first time I turned it on and off, I was like: "Oh my God, now I get why". I had some bumps and some dips that I knew about, but I wasn't aware that they were so prominent in this room and in my work.
Listening to my references again, like the same reference tracks I listen to all the time with the Trinnov in this room, it was like: "Oh, that's what they sound like." Now I get it.
How has Trinnov upgraded your studio?
One of the bigger things is the phase correction. I have a window in the back and it's prominent on one side, which you can see on the on the graph. The Trinnov flattens it out and you can hear that, it's pretty sick. There was a big bump around 800Hz in this room and a pretty large dip around 3K. I was taking out 800 and I was adding 3K.
Sometimes it was fine, and then sometimes when I heard my tracks on other speakers, like randomly after they were released, it felt harsh or biting. Now the speakers sound like the headphones, only they're speakers. They have the same correctness if you have the right curve. I'll master on the speakers, be happy, and then I'll just do a last check on the headphones.
Has it influenced your workflow?
The Trinnov enables me to do what my moves that I want to do without second guessing. Is it the room? Is it the speakers? Is it the mix? Now I totally trust this environment to be what it's supposed to be. It's like the transparent flat environment, so I can hear what the mix sounds like, and I can do adjustments if needed. I have all this analog gear, and now I finally hear the nuances really of what they're doing. My workflow changed basically after getting the Trinnov.
I'm doing way more projects in the box just because the coloration of the gear doesn't fit every project. But before, I would usually take it out of the box just to get a vibe. Now I can really hear if a track needs some analog glue, vibe or saturation. Basically I find myself doing less to the mixes, which is a good thing.
Has Trinnov boosted your confidence in you?
To master music, you're getting a lot of trust from the mixer, the producer and the artist to do the right choices to actually finish the project.
To do that, you need some confidence in what you're doing. If you at some point hear your own work in a different environment and you hear that it's totally different than what you thought, that will make you doubt your choices and your room and your speakers and your gear and your ability to master. What I found after getting the NOVA is when I get things dialed in the way I like it in this room, it sounds the same way, it has the same character, it has the same response on a phone speaker or on a hi-fi system, at home or on a Bluetooth speaker.
That brings confidence that what I hear is what is actually going on, and I can make choices based on what I'm hearing. So yes, I would say I'm a lot more confident in my work now that I have the Trinnov.
Let's say that I would sell every other piece of gear except the speakers and the Trinnov and work just in the box. No doubt. It's that important in this room. I would never work without it.