Mastering
Mastering is the final post production process which is carried out before a recording is turned into a saleable product such as CD or audio download.
We take a twofold approach to mastering. Firstly our senior engineer will listen to the final mix in the controlled conditions of our acoustically tuned studio. At this point decisions concerning tonal balance, reverb and equalisation are taken. The final consideration is levels. We pay particular attention to the average level whilst ensuring the listener will appreciate the full dynamic range of the music. In the case of high resolution recordings the mastering process will process the audio so it is suitable for release. For example the current release format for a CD is 44.1kHz/16-bit.
The second element of the mastering process relates to the preparation of the pre-master that is used during the replication/duplication process in the case of CDs. In addition to the audio tracks this will also contain timing information along with the barcode and international standard recording code.
When preparing pre-masters we always burn the discs at a low speed on our extremely reliable drives using the highest quality branded discs. Where necessary we can also produce the PQ lists and verification.
