Email: justin [at] jlmsound [dot] com
Justin Colletti has been working in audio and music production for more than two decades, and has been a mastering engineer for more than one decade. He has mastered gold-winning albums, and prior to that, served countless clients as a producer, recordist, mixer and live sound technician.
Artists he has worked with over the years include Josh Dion Band, Yoke Lore, Brothertiger, Sufjan Stevens, RZA, Deerhunter, Battles, Flight of the Conchords, Wynton Marsalis, Willie Nelson, Sugarhill Gang, Jadakiss, Chrisette Michele, Jimmy Webb, Brent Green, Vijay Iyer, Amanda Palmer, Fiery Furnaces, Black Dice, Jandek, The Shaggs, Mahogany, Hotels, Dead Leaf Echo, Rebecca Pronsky, DeLeon, Monocle, Soundpool, Team Genius, Bryce Dessner of The National, Robin Guthrie of Cocteau Twins and Glenn Kotche of Wilco.
Justin is also known as one of the most prolific writers and commentators in the pro audio field, acting as a featured contributor for outlets including SonicScoop, Trust Me I’m a Scientist, Tape Op Magazine, The Deli Magazine and many others.
By 2010, Justin began to receive an increasing number of requests from colleagues to master their recordings. Apparently, they knew something he didn’t. Eventually Justin grew tired of saying “no”, started saying “yes”, and the rest is history. Today, he focuses almost entirely on the mastering side of the craft, sending almost all of the recording and mixing requests that remain to his friends, colleagues and clients.
At the start of 2013, Justin joined with old friend and mentor Joe Lambert, one of his own favorite mastering engineers in the world, in order to take full advantage of JLM Studios’ impeccable listening environment, world-class gear collection, and the guidance of one of the best mastering engineers working today.
Justin believes that there are two main approaches to mastering: “Do as little as possible to make it sounds great” and “Do whatever it takes to make it sound great.” He also believes that one of a mastering engineer’s greatest strengths lies in his ability to know which of these approaches to take on any given project—and just how far to go in that direction.
“As with mixing a song or setting an EQ, the important thing in mastering is to strike the right balance, and help the music speak for itself,” he says.
Whichever approach makes sense for any given project, Justin says that the mastering engineer’s real job is: “To help your record sound the way you meant for it to sound. Only better.”