What is Masteing ? ( In Simple Terms )

Audio Mastering is the final step between your production's studio mixdown and mass production at a pressing plant. A good mastering engineer combines objectivity and precision with the creativity of an artist, helping you to unlock the full sonic potential of your music. He will tweak your productions with high-end sound-processing gear to give them that final finish you were looking for. Your tracks will gain punch, depth, volume and spectral balance, in other words, they will sound exactly the way it's meant to be. It's the audio step that comes just before manufacturing a CD. Some people would even say it's a crucial step.

Other Processes Of Mastering

� Optimizing average and peak volume levels for proper relative loudness
� Signal processing - compression & EQ
� Arranging tracks in final sequence
� Timing of the space between tracks
� Establish a sonic "field" for all tracks
� Place track markers at head of all tracks
� Remove unwanted noise like clicks, pops, hiss
� Clean-up start and ending of each track (including fades)



"Loud vs. Proud."

Contrary to popular belief, mastering is only a little about making a hotter sound. While it's true that the gain, or volume level, is boosted during mastering, it may be that raw decibels are the least critical aspect of the process. What's important is the way mastering makes songs sound. Because in the end, mastering is less about "loud" and more about "proud."


Why pay for audio mastering instead of mastering myself?



While recording and mixing a track, even the best engineers can get used to the sound which could lead to �´hidden�´ mistakes in the mix you simply donâ��t notice anymore. The mastering engineer will find and fix them. On top, his musical understanding gives him the opportunity to recognize important details of the track and put the focus on them. His trained ears can reveal sounds and details that canâ��t even be heard on other sound systems, making sure your music will sound good on all kinds of real-life systems, whether they are high-end stereos, car-hifi, ghettoblasters or big club PAs.

Can I get a sample / mastering demo before paying?

Yes, sure. We are so convinced of the quality we deliver, that we offer a free mastering demo service to all new customers - before making any payments. We are sure you will be amazed how good your music can sound!

How to prepare your music for best results during mastering� ?

Please send the final stereo mixdown of each song you want us to master. Please turn off all kinds of dithering and noise shaping and do not apply ANY sum effects. All sound processing on the sum channel has to be turned off (No loudness maximizers, multiband, L2 or similiar processing on the sum!). Before uploading your tracks check the mixdown to assure that no clipping has occurred while recording. We highly recommend that you leave at least around 3 db headroom, means the peaks of the signal should never exceed the -3db mark. Finally, just send hi-res data (see question below). To give us a feeling of your desired sound you can also include a sample or even a reference track of another artist or a previously released track of your own, so we get an impression of your personal preferences in terms of musical feeling.

Which media formats do you accept?

For professional mastering results we need WAV (PC) at least 16 bits / 44,1 kHz or better. 24 bit resolution is preferred. Please do NOT upload any kind of data reduced files like MP3, Real of OGG. These are lossy audio formats which destroy harmonic content irreversibly, so they can�t be used as source files for audio mastering.

Which media formats do you deliver?

The files we deliver depend on your needs, in most cases it�s 16 bits / 44,1 kHz for CD mastering. Alternatively, full albums can also be delivered as DDP image files or, if required, we could send master CDs by courier instead of internet delivery.

Do you offer multitrack / stem / separation mastering?

Definitely. Working with separations / stems is a premium addition to the range of traditional 2track audio mastering techniques. Separation Mastering increases the sonic possibilities to boost, grade up and enhance your mixes dramatically. As this type of processing is much more complex and time-consuming as well, the rates for separation mastering have to be fixed on a time basis. Get in touch with our office and we will calculate your project individually.

Demo Mastering.

"Mastering demo CDs is becoming a standard practice in the hyper-competitive music market, It's easy to see why: record label A&R departments are deluged by demos from aspiring artists. Mastering of demos can be an important step in giving an artist an extra edge over the competition."