Sound Art Mastering
Cowichan Valley, British Columbia

Mastering is the final step in the post-production of all audio recordings, whether it be music or spoken word. Mastering is both an art and a science. The goal is to balance the sonic elements of the mix in order to optimize reproduction across a wide range of systems, from earbuds to car audio to high-end audiophile speakers. Mastering puts the final polish on a good mix, enhances the overall sound, and prepares the track for distribution on streaming services and the pressing of vinyl or CDs. Sometimes more than one master is needed: one for vinyl, another for streaming and CD manufacturing. A mastering engineer uses tools that are specifically designed for mastering which may include mastering equalizers, compressors, transient shapers, stereo enhancers, and limiters. They can be hardware, digital plugins, or a combination of the two. In today’s world, most top mastering engineers use both digital and analogue processors. A mastering studio is set up quite differently than a mixing room, or a recording room. A mastering studio must be sonically neutral, with speakers that are sonically accurate throughout the entire frequency spectrum. The room and speakers should not add any ‘colouration’ or resonances to the sound and must not boost or mask any frequencies. The importance of this cannot be understated. The mastering engineer must be able to hear EXACTLY what the mix sounds like to correct any problems. That’s why it’s essential for mixing and mastering to be done by different engineers using speakers designed for each task in rooms optimized for each task. A mastering engineer listens for very different things than does a mixing engineer. One final comment: mastering can’t fix a bad mix it can only improve a good one. Out of courtesy, I will always let you know if you are wasting my time and your money on a mix that needs fixing first.

After investing a lot of time and effort into your song writing, arranging, practicing, recording, mixing…and re-mixing, why would you not want to invest in a professional mastering job? But you may ask, ‘With all of the cheap plugins and automated online mastering for ten or fifteen bucks a track, why can’t I master my own mixes or use online mastering?’ Well, of course you can master your own tracks or use online AI automated mastering. Either might be acceptable. But do you want your musical creations to be ‘acceptable’ or the best they can be? Mastering isn’t only about automated pre-sets and hitting a LUFS target. And the keyword in ‘Artificial Intelligence’ is ARTIFICIAL…LOL. Your ‘human’ mastering engineer can provide valuable feedback if your mixes need some adjustments that can’t be achieved at the mastering stage. Often certain elements of a mix will jump out or sound out-of balance when mastering processing is applied. Being able to discuss your project with the mastering engineer before and during the mastering process is invaluable. As the mixer, your ears have become tuned to your mix and work environment. You are ‘too familiar’ with your mix and your speakers and your room. You no longer hear your mix objectively the way a good mastering engineer can. Mastering engineers listen differently for different things than do recording and mixing engineers. Are your speakers and room good enough to detect the subtle things that need adjusting to make your mix really stand out and shine on any system? For the two reasons above it’s not a good idea for the same person to mix and master in the same room on the same pair of monitors. The room and monitors in a professional mastering studio will inevitably be far better than your room and monitors. This is essential for the mastering engineer to be able to hear the subtle adjustments that need to be made to bring your mix to its full potential.

In a word, no. A poor mix will only become a poor master. Out of courtesy, I will always let you know if you are wasting your money, and my time, on a mix that needs fixing first. I will evaluate your mix, for free, and suggest any changes that I think could improve it. After all, we are partners in this process and I want your mixes to sound great if my name is going to be attached as the mastering engineer!

New Prices 2026 Single track: $75 Two to Six tracks: $65 per track Seven or more tracks: $50 per track You will get a reference Master in the original resolution of your mix plus as many of the formats below as required. Please specify. 1. Full resolution WAV file in 24 or 16-bit / 44.1 kHz is the most common for streaming platforms (check your distributor’s requirements) 2. MP3 320kbps 3. Lossless compressed file: FLAC 24 bit up to the resolution of your mix. FLAC is the standard format for high-res paid downloads on most sites. DDP File for CD manufacturing if needed is $75

If you provide me with specific issues that are not due to your mix, I will re-do the master at no charge.

Yes, reference tracks are very helpful. Keep in mind though that your mix must have similar characteristics to the reference tracks in order for the mastering to get you there.