Mastering
Simon no longer masters records himself. These are the engineers he sends his own mixes to, starting with the one down the hall.
The Importance of Mastering
So you’ve just finished recording your latest tracks and need to get them ready for release with mastering? Simon can help you get your single, EP, or album sounding polished and ready for your fans! As well as having professionally mastered tracks, you’ll receive correctly formatted files for digital outlets such as iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, or physical releases on CD or vinyl.
I no longer provide mastering as a service, as my focus is on Mixing and Music Production. I will, however, consider mastering your record if you’d like, just send me a message.
I have provided some links below of mastering engineers that I regularly work with and respect.
You can read about the mastering process and the specifics of CD mastering.
How mastering works when I mix your record
Who masters it
I mix, and a mastering engineer masters. Those are two different jobs done by two different sets of ears, and the record is better for it. When a mix is signed off, my first call is Terry Hart, who masters in Studio C at The Avenue, a few doors from my room, so a master can come back the same day if something needs a second look. Joe Carra and Martin Pullan are the two other engineers I trust, and if you already work with someone, I am happy to send it there. If you would prefer I master it myself, ask: I will consider it for records I have mixed, but it is the exception, not the offer.
What it costs
Mastering is quoted and billed by the mastering studio, per song, on top of the mixing rate. With an experienced engineer expect somewhere between $160 and $250 a song, often with a discount for an EP or an album.
What to send
A mastering engineer works from the finished stereo mix, not the session, so everything creative (balances, panning, effects, the vocal sound) is settled in the mix first. That is why mastering follows mixing and never replaces it. What goes to the engineer from my room is the approved mix as a full-resolution file at the sample rate and bit depth it was mixed at, with headroom and no limiter on the mix bus, plus the instrumental if you want that mastered too, the track order and the release details.
What happens next
The engineer balances the songs against each other so an EP or album plays through at a consistent loudness and tone, brings the level up to sit beside commercial releases, and prepares the files each format needs: streaming and download masters, a DDP image for CD, a separate cut for vinyl with the low end kept in mono and a little less loudness. If a master shows up a problem that lives in the mix, it comes back to me, which is the advantage of mixing and mastering being two people who talk. Mastering is unattended, and depending on the engineer’s capacity the masters are typically back within a week.
The longer versions are in What Is Mastering? and CD Mastering.
