Rich's Pickings

Mastering engineer Richard Dowling worked for 18 years in London with PRT Studios (formerly PYE) and later at hitmaker Pete Waterman’s Transfermation Mastering. He returned to his native Limerick over two years ago to set up WAV Mastering, a professional audio CD mastering studio.

“I started in music back in 1986 by attending a music production course in London,” he reveals. “I then secured a job as a maintenance/studio assistant at PRT in Marble Arch where I gained a wealth of experience and discovered mastering, which I became very drawn to.
“In my time there I was fortunate to work with Paul McCartney, Bill Wyman, The Waterboys and Motorhead amongst many others. Doing some last minute recalls, and the complete album mastering of Fisherman’s Blues was a particular highpoint for me.”
With Kylie, Take That, S Club, Rick Astley, Busted, Beth Orton, Orbital, Ladytron, Eurythmics and Sophie Ellis-Bextor among his haul of 25 UK number one and a hundred UK top hits, he’s a major player.
“My name appears on hundreds of pop records but to most of these artists I remain faceless as they don’t get involved in that side of the music making process,” Richard reflects. “But I’ve been lucky to have met a lot of bands and hung out with them – though that’s another story!”
So what exactly is it that a mastering engineer does?
“Well, it’s very hard to explain without getting too technical. A friend of mine interpreted it recently by saying I put the icing on the cake, which I suppose is true. The bottom line is that mastering is an essential process, if you want to turn a good sounding record into a potentially outstanding one for all genres of music.
“In a mastering studio bands can reassess their tracks in an accurate monitoring environment, and get them sounding as good as they deserve to be. It’s my job to leave the music sounding balanced, polished and loud.”
Since opening WAV Mastering two years ago, the unassuming EQ maestro has worked with a slew of Ireland’s rising musical stars including Giveamanakick, Gavin Glass, Headgear, We Should Be Dead, Story Of Hair, Ilya K, The Brothers Movement, Gorbachov, Halfset and Carly Sings.
“Back home it’s more than just mastering, I’m getting more involved in production,” he enthuses. “Clients seek my feedback before committing to the final mix. I love teaming artists up with producers, engineers, studios, duplication/replication houses and anyone else who can help them create a quality finished product. The music coming out of Ireland at the minute is great, and as good as anything I’ve worked with during my career.”