What is Mastering?

Mastering (or pre-mastering) is the process of preparing a track or album for its final destination medium. This means ensuring that things will sound as good as possible on the widest variety of sound reproduction equipment, sequencing and preparing CDs for final album releases, providing an error-free master copy of such CDs, and in the case of vinyl, ensuring that a track can be cut to vinyl with no problems. Mastering an album also involves making all the constituent tracks sound consistent as a single project.

How does SC Mastering work?

You send us your track or tracks in a single ZIP or RAR archive. We will master the tracks for you and send back a 2 minute clip of the track (or a selection of tracks) for approval. Once approved, we will make the full final versions available to you upon receipt of payment.

Who will perform the mastering of my tracks?

One or both of our two experienced engineers will perform the mastering, depending upon the preference of the artist, and the size and nature of the project.
When you use or work request form you can specify which engineer you would prefer to master your tracks.
We will do our best t accomodate your preference, though schedules may mean that your choice of engineer is not available within the required timescales.

How do I make a booking and pay for my mastering work?

Once you have registered an account on the SC Mastering website, you can upload your tracks using our file upload applet.
Payment instructions will be provided to the client in an email also containing links to the short previews of the mastered tracks.
Payment can be made by PayPal and must be paid before the full mastered tracks will be delivered to the client.

How much does it cost for my tracks to be mastered?

Prices can be found here.

How long will it take for my tracks to be mastered?

We aim to have your tracks back with you within 5 days.
If things are more or less urgent, then let us know and we will try to accomodate your timeframe.

What if I'm not happy with the mastering of my tracks?

This is the purpose of the approval procedure. In the unlikely event that you are not happy with the clips, simply tell us what changes you require and we will revise the master accordingly.
The first revision will be non-chargable. Any subsequent revisions will be charged at a negotiable rate.

In the event that the artist/producer decides to make significant changes to the mix following mastering, all processing will need to be revised and redone. As such, this new version will be charged at the standard rate.

What equipment does SC Mastering use?

See here for a full list of equipment used by the SC Mastering engineers.

What formats do I need to use to upload my tracks?

See here for details of the formats that we accept for mastering.

What format will my mastered tracks be returned to me in?

See here for details of the formats that SC Mastering will return your mastered tracks in.

What guidelines should I follow when mixing my tracks before I send them for mastering?

The simplest advice here is that you make your track(s) sound as good as you possibly can before handing them over. Make sure you have checked them on several different playback systems, and referenced them against tracks that you like (preferably at the same subjective level). Make sure that all of the parts in the track sound how you want them, the balance of elements is as you want it, and that all in all you can’t think of any way it can be improved. We will then improve it.

It’s also much better for the final results that you don’t limit (L1, L2, L3 etc) your track. Often, inexperienced producers apply too much limiting without considering the damage they are doing. Limiting should be the last stage of processing, and it is impossible to undo! So please leave any limiters turned off, and ensure your track is not clipping. If you like to mix into a compressor, then go ahead - however, putting a compressor on after your mix is finished is not recommended.