What is mastering?
Mastering is the last step before release. Starting from the final mix, the engineer adjusts tonal balance, dynamics and level, then prepares files for streaming, CD or vinyl. It is also what gives an EP its coherence from one track to the next.
What mastering actually does
Mastering carries two responsibilities. The first is technical: delivering a file that sounds right everywhere, from a club system to phone earbuds. The second is editorial: on an EP or album, making the tracks follow each other without breaks in colour or volume.
It works in small touches. On an already solid mix, corrections are measured in fractions of a decibel. That restraint is exactly what separates a master that breathes from a crushed one.
The processing stages
Critical listening. Before any processing, we listen in detail. If something limits the master, better to say so and revisit the mix than compensate afterwards.
Equalisation. Broad, gentle corrections across the spectrum: clearing the low mids, opening the top end, tightening the lows.
Dynamics. Light compression to glue the whole, sometimes multiband when one frequency zone moves too much.
Stereo image. Widening or tightening as the track needs, keeping the centre solid and mono compatibility intact.
Level. Limiting up to the target loudness, measured in LUFS and set for platforms rather than for the volume war.
Delivery. Files in the required formats, metadata, ISRC codes, and DDP when the project goes to pressing.
Loudness and platforms
Streaming platforms normalise playback volume. A master pushed very loud simply gets turned down, keeping its damage: crushed transients, listening fatigue. Aiming for a sensible level produces a track that keeps its impact once normalised.
Every project has its own target. Club techno and a piano-and-voice record are not mastered at the same level, and rightly so. See our mastering page for the full service.
Frequently asked
How much headroom should I leave?
Between 3 and 6 dB of headroom, with no limiter or maximizer on the main bus. If your mix is already limited, also send a version without bus processing.
Is automated online mastering enough?
For a demo or a working listen, it does the job. For a release it ignores the track's intention: it applies an average curve without knowing whether your low end should carry weight or step back. Every master we deliver is done by hand.
Tell us about your project.
We take on a limited number of projects each season, and we read every application.