Although there is a lot of confusion and misconception regarding the role of mastering in modern music, mastering
is simply the final stage before your music goes out to the world and although it is not magic it is very important. Mastering use various tools to take your mix to professional standards in terms of perceived volume, balance, width and dynamics. Good mastering will make a mix come alive while retaining the integrity and aesthetic of the original mix. Along with high end mastering specific tools, one of the most important tools in the mastering process is a specially treated and designed room and monitoring system. Coupled with years of experience and well trained ears, this allows the engineer to make subtle but important decisions and adjustments that are not possible in most mix rooms with traditional studio gear. Whether it the final destination is millions of CDs, MP3s or a demo for a label,
mastering will make both the music and the mix have maximum impact and sound its
best when played on any system.

Our approach to mastering ...Like a doctor, the first rule of mastering should always be “first, do no harm”. This means that mastering should enhance but not ‘change’ the aesthetic and vision of the mix. To accomplish this requires being able to hear very clearly and accurately. While this seems simple in concept, it takes a great deal of effort and expense.

Our monitoring chain starts most importantly with a specifically designed room where acoustics are the main consideration. With no parallel walls, sloped ceiling, massive bass traps and carefully controlled reverb times, our room is the perfect stage for a great pair of speakers. In our case, that great pair of speakers is a pair of Barefoot MM27s on custom built stands. One of the most revolutionary designs in recent years, the MM27s allow us to hear mixes with a new level of clarity and perspective that is absolutely critical in the mastering process.

Another rule of mastering is that you are only as good as your weakest link. For that reason we have chosen world class converters and stepped, calibrated monitoring system from Cranesong. This means that our monitors are fed with the most pristine signal possible and the conversions are flawless to allow a perfect platform for the rest of our world class mastering tools.

We utilize high end Analog and Digital tools in our chain and have spared no expense to
have the best of the best. From cutting edge technology in the revolutionary Elysia compressor to the hand made magic in the passive EQ from Gyratec and total harmonic control in the Cranesong HEDD, each piece has been carefully selected for its no compromise design and one of a kind sound. Along with high end and custom built
outboard we also utilize top of the line software from McDSP, URS, Waves and many
others on a Digidesign HD Accel system.

Studio Gear

• Cranesong HEDD 192
• Elysia Mpressor
• Universal Audio 6176
• DBX 160VUs

See Our Studio Page for a complete list.