House · techno · Afro house
Electronic music mastering.
House, techno and Afro house, mastered by an engineer who makes this music himself. Low end that holds on a club system, level that sits beside your references, and files ready for the label.
What a club master has to do
A dance record is judged on a big system first and a phone second. The master has to work on both.
- The kick and the bass share the bottom octave. Getting them to sit together, rather than fight, is most of the job, and it's where a home mix is hardest to judge.
- The low end stays centred and solid, so it holds up on a club rig and survives a vinyl cut.
- The top stays open without getting harsh. Hats and percussion carry the groove, and they're the first thing a loud master ruins.
- The level matches your references, not a number. Send the records you want to sit beside. Streaming platforms turn loud masters down, so loudness past that point only costs you punch.
House
Groove first. The swing in the drums, the space around the kick, a bassline that moves without smearing the low end, and vocals that sit inside the track rather than on top of it. House mastering in detail.
Techno
Weight and pressure without fatigue. Long tracks built for DJs, where the low end has to stay steady for seven minutes and the high end can't wear the room out. Harder, faster techno needs the same care at a higher level.
Afro house
Percussion, space and warmth. Layered hand drums, log drums and shakers need room around them, and the vocal often carries the track. Credits include Shimza's "Kings and Queens" EP on Knee Deep In Sound.
Stereo or stem
Send a stereo mix if you're happy with it. Send stems (drums, bass, music, vocals) if the low end or the vocal needs more control than a stereo file allows. How stem mastering works.
For labels
- Masters delivered as the label asks: WAV at the session rate, a streaming master, and a vinyl premaster when there's a pressing.
- A consistent sound across an EP or a compilation.
- A label rate on invoice for regular work. Ask for it.
Prices
Mastering is A$150 a track, and stem mastering A$220, with EP and album discounts. A$ prices include GST. All prices.
Before you send
- A stereo WAV at 44.1 kHz or higher, with peaks between −3 and −4 dBFS and no clipping
- No limiter on the master bus
- Two or three reference tracks