Mastering is the technical and artistic process of balancing, equalizing and enhancing analogue or digital mediums (CD or ½” tape) to ensure the finished product attains maximum musicality – to compete in the open music market. Our mastering studio is highly creative, technically and acoustically true. The master provides the template for thousands of CDs, DVDs and records produced for commercial release. Working in a controlled listening environment offers a new perspective and essential for success in today’s market place, a fresh ear is just one of our essential assets.
Mastering is the final creative step when making a record, at this stage, sound judgements need to be made. We welcome clients to attend the mastering session and if not, just post your mixes (on a Data CD-R or Data DVD) with all production notes and upload them to our secure FTP server. We prefer to use the FTP server – it’s safer and more ‘green’ than the post.
We recommend you take references home (CD-R, DAT, Cassette, or DVD-R) to play the music in familiar surroundings. It helps to listen to the references and find problems at this stage, so a revision session can be scheduled as soon as possible. Projects may often require approval by producers, artists, record company execs, and engineers, to save time it helps to consolidate revision notes. . Once everything sounds great the project moves onto the final stage at the pressing plant.
Accepted formats to master from
CD Audio, Data DVD, Data CD (as a .wav .mp3 or .aif), DAT tape, mini disk, Cassette or vinyl.
Preferred format for master
Do bring in your ‘mixes’ on either data CD or a digital storage device (such as a mobile hard drive or flash memory stick). It’s best if you save or export/render the finished mix/s in real time at the same sample rate your project is set to at 24 bit resolution, for example, 44.1 kHz sample rate at 24 bit resolution in stereo (interleaved). Carefully listen over to all mixes before sending to check for any pops or clicks in your mix, these may have been incurred by your sequencer/digital audio workstation.
Further information and help:
Mastering track sheet download to submit with mixes via email.