Unlocking Resolution with Airshow Mastering's David Glasser
At NAMM 2026, we caught up with multi-GRAMMY award winner David Glasser for a fireside chat on legacy, resolution, and the future of audio. As Founder and Chief Engineer of Airshow Mastering, Glasser has shaped thousands of recordings, from the Boston Symphony to the Grateful Dead.
Preserving the Grateful Dead Archive
When we last spoke with Glasser at AES, he had just completed Enjoying the Ride – a monumental 60-CD box set spanning 20 Grateful Dead shows recorded between 1969-1994. “It was stressful, but fun,” Glasser reflects. “The timeframe was fairly condensed.”
More recently, he’s worked on the 50th anniversary release of Blues of Allah. “I think everyone is really pleased with that,” he says. “It includes the original album, rehearsal material, a live show… releases like this get the white-glove treatment.”
Carrying the Legacy Forward
Glasser has played a key role in restoring some of the most important archival releases in modern music history. With the recent passing of Bob Weir, that responsibility has taken on even greater weight. “It’s no longer just a really cool gig,” he says. “It’s preserving the legacy of those 65 years in music.”
Although Glasser didn’t have a close personal relationship with Weir – “We only talked on occasion, but he was also super nice” – the Grateful Dead have been a constant presence throughout his life. “They’ve been there for as long as I’ve been a music fan.”
Much of his work is shaped through close collaboration with Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux and engineer Jeffrey Norman, ensuring that these historic recordings are approached with meticulous care and attention.
Despite the vast amount of material already released, much of the archive remains in the vaults. Out of roughly 2,300 Grateful Dead shows, fewer than 500 have been officially released. “That leaves about 1,800 shows on tape that haven’t seen the light of day,” Glasser notes.
Hearing Deeper into the Music
Central to Glasser’s approach is a focus on time-domain accuracy. Using tools like lnspira and Endura, he removes subtle distortions that can compromise a track’s integrity.
“It’s mainly about clarity,” he explains. “We’re all too used to hearing PCM digital with artifacts of conversion – the a2d, the d2a – with pre and post ringing.” Those artifacts, he says, often show up in unexpected ways: “Something’s weird in the mid-range… it’s something the MQA [tools] address beautifully.”
Glasser relies heavily on MQA Labs’ Endura plugin to reduce the level of intervention required. “I end up doing less EQ, especially in the mid-range. You get the clarity without having to pull out frequencies that seem cloudy or muddy – it peels off several layers of stuff you don’t want. You’re able to hear deeper in the mix.”
This approach supports Glasser’s pursuit for purity: “Throughout my career, I’ve worked on a lot of real acoustic music – symphony, classical, jazz, bluegrass… We all know what those instruments sound like – or we should. We know what an orchestra sounds like.”
“My goal is to make sure that whatever the presentation is, it sounds real.”
A Light Touch
Glasser’s philosophy is subtle: “I usually don’t master with a real heavy hand,” he says. “I try not to step on things. I try to figure out, not what’s missing, but what needs to be done to reveal what the mixer or artists intended.”
Glasser talks about the “element of surprise” that hits when a well recorded, well mixed piece comes in that “sounds really great.” “Those usually go fairly quickly,” he notes, capturing the joy of hearing a project come together effortlessly.
Looking Forward
Glasser is beginning to explore immersive audio, having recently installed a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos system. “I’m still tiptoeing around and figuring out what that’s about,” he says.
“I’ve listened to a lot of Atmos mixes, and some of it sounds amazing. I’m excited about that,” he said, noting that he can see Endura having a pretty big impact on these recordings.
Watch the full interview here.
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