What is mastering?
It’s the final steps to get your audio ready for release.
Steps that we will take include:
checking that the mix is balanced (left/right channels)
checking for any unwanted distortion or phase issues
limiting and loudness to meet industry standards
Other steps that might be taken, depending on the needs of your audio:
stereo image widening (or narrowing)
saturation
EQ
compression
…….all to taste (decisions made by us or guided by you via instructions such as matching the tonal style of a reference track).
If there are issues with your audio, we may need to come back to you to ask for changes to the mix. This is rare, but we’d let you know as we want your audio to sound amazing.
What services do you offer?
For details about our services and pricing go here
Mastering for digital media
Standard format will be 24-bit (or 16-bit for CD), 44.1 kHz WAV. Please send us a message if you also wish to have files in MP3 (320 kbps).
[these bit/sample rates may be varied (e.g., 32-bit, 96kHz) depending on the audio supplied and your needs; we can also provide other formats; e.g., FLAC].
Mastering for vinyl
A good digital master should not have issues translating to vinyl. There are, however, a few extra considerations depending on the tonal balance of your audio, such as high frequency content (e.g., sibilance) and stereo low end. If you would like to read more about the considerations, there is a useful article here
If you order mastering for vinyl you will also, as standard, receive hi-res audio for streaming.
DDP image for CD and vinyl
For CD, a DDP image with the full track listing and timing (if you order a CD DDP image, your tracks will be provided in 16-bit audio for CD production, but you can ask for separate hi-res audio, too).
For vinyl, a DDP image (to give to your cutting engineer) will organise the tracks into WAV files to fit on each side of the vinyl.
How do I submit audio for mastering?
Send your files via our file transfer service and then submit the information form on the same page.
How will I receive my mastered tracks?
We will send you a link to download your mastered tracks and any other information requested.
How long will mastering take?
From a few days to a week from ordering. If it’s going to take longer we will let you know. You may see a notification on this website if we are away or unable to take orders at that time.
do you master for Dolby Atmos?
The short answer is, we don’t. We currently don’t have the type of studio that would support the array of speakers for Dolby Atoms. There are bespoke facilities in other studios that provide this service: