Mastering is the final step in the music production process, where an experienced audio engineer (known as a mastering engineer) prepares and finalizes a mix before it is released to the public. The goal of mastering is to enhance the overall sound quality, consistency, and coherence of the audio tracks, ensuring they sound their best across various playback systems and platforms.

Mixing and mastering are two distinct stages in the music production process.

• Mixing involves combining individual tracks or elements (such as vocals, instruments, and effects) into a cohesive and balanced stereo or multichannel audio mix. During mixing, the engineer adjusts levels, applies equalization, adds effects, and addresses issues like panning and spatial positioning to create a pleasing and harmonious sound.
• Mastering, on the other hand, is the final step before distribution. It involves processing the stereo mix of a song to enhance its overall sonic quality and prepare it for various playback systems. Mastering engineers focus on tasks like final equalization, dynamic range processing, stereo enhancement, sequencing of tracks, and applying subtle adjustments to ensure consistency across an album or collection.

  In essence, mixing is about fine-tuning the individual elements within a song, while mastering is about optimizing the entire collection of songs for a polished and professional final product.

• Audio File Formats: It is suggested to use the same audio bit depth and sampling rate of your recording in WAV or AIFF formats. These formats offer high-quality audio resolution and are suitable for mastering purposes.

• Avoid Limiting/Compression on the Final Mix Bus: When preparing your tracks for mastering, make sure there is no compression or limiting applied to the final mix bus. These processing techniques can alter the dynamics and overall sound, potentially affecting the mastering process negatively.

• Sending a Reference: If you have already mixed your track with compression and limiting on the final bus, it’s acceptable to provide that version as a reference for the mastering engineer. This allows us to understand your creative intentions and the sound you’re aiming for.

• Provide an Uncompressed Version for Mastering: However, alongside the reference mix, it’s essential to also send an alternate version of the mix without any limiting or compression applied. This clean and uncompressed version will be used by the mastering engineer to achieve the best possible sound during the mastering process.

The cost of our service varies based on a few things – how many tracks you want, if you want us to manually tune them, recording a real drum on your midi line, and how many different versions you need (like a film version or a 30-second trailer version).

To find out how much it will cost and to book our service, please fill out the contact form on our website.

Prices depend on different types of services such as Stereo Mastering, Stems Mastering, Album and EP Mastering, DDP files, and Vinyl Mastering. If you would like to know the rates or book a session, please contact us through our contact form.

The cost to record for a full day is €550 from 10am to 6pm. To give you a better price depending on the instruments and equipment you need, like tape recording and Avalon through console, we need more information about your project. Please share more details with us so that we can give you the exact cost.

Yes, we will give you a 30 second finished version of your song, and then you can decide if you like it.

1. Organize your tracks: Ensure that all of your audio tracks are correctly labeled and organized within your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation). Name tracks logically, such as “Vocals,” “Drums,” “Guitars,” etc., to make it easier for the mixing engineer to understand your project.

2. Consolidate and Export: Make sure all of your audio tracks start from the same point (usually the beginning of the session) and end at the same point. Trim any unnecessary silence at the beginning or end of tracks. Then, consolidate or export each track individually as high-quality WAV or AIFF files. Please keep your audio’s bit depth and sample rate the same as recording.

3. Disable effects: Disable all effects and processing on individual tracks and the master bus. I will want to work with raw, unprocessed audio to have full control over the mix. If you want your effects on your tracks, please send both processed and unprocessed files.

4. Include a reference mix: If you have a rough mix of your project that you like, include it for reference. This helps me understand your vision and direction.

5. Create a session notes document: Write down any specific instructions, preferences, or notes you have for the mixing engineer. Include details about the desired sound, any reference tracks, and any creative ideas you have in mind.

6. File organization: Zip or compress all of your files into a single folder. Name the folder clearly with your project name and date. Inside, include the session notes document and a tracklist.

7. Check for errors: Double-check that all files are present and nothing is missing or corrupted. Listen through the exported tracks to make sure they sound as expected.

8. File sharing: Use a secure and reliable file-sharing service like Dropbox, Google Drive, or WeTransfer to send files to the mixing engineer. Ensure they have access to download the files.