Top-notch acoustics & monitoring
The state of the art mastering room was built in the span of one and a half years. Knowing the mixing space's acoustics in and out, our head engineer Philip is able to deliver masters that are going to translate to any speaker system or any listening environment.
Our state-of-the-art KRK Exposé E8B reference speakers, as well as our two other nearfield monitors - including PSI Audio, and Neumann - allow us to hear your songs exactly the way they really sound and reveal flaws in your mix that will otherwise remain hidden.
Combined with the accurate and made-to-measure acoustics in the studio, Philip is able to expertly balance out every part of your track until it "sits" just right.
Hybrid mastering par excellence
At Dust Mastering, we master hybrid, which means that in addition to working solely "in the box" using a multitude of industry-standard plug-ins, we also make sure that every song runs through world-class AD/DA conversion by Antelope Audio into a variety of boutique analog outboards, including compressors and equalizers by Manley, Prism Sound, Pultec, Avalon Audio, TL Audio, Teletronix, Tube-Tech, UREI, and Focusrite giving your music that coveted analog sound so sought after in modern recordings.
Hassle-free workflow
Professional equipment and an experienced engineer are crucial when mixing or mastering, however, what truly gives music its heart is creativity and soul. That's why we've put so much effort into creating a studio workflow that allows and inspires the creative process and provide unlimited free revisions on each master based on your feedback.
Our first round of masters almost always get approved, but if there’s anything that isn’t perfect, please let us know and we’ll make it right.
Once you receive the files, you will be able to make any changes if necessary.
Goals while mastering
Our goal is to achieve the perfect balance of loudness, liveliness and emotional impact. Philip will work to correct the frequency balance, stereo optimize, treat the dynamics, and increase the loudness of your music in a transparent and effective manner. The end result is greatly improved sound quality and a cohesive finished product.
Common mixing mistakes we tackle during mastering
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Sub-Bass (anything below 100 Hz) covering up the kick drum and midrange detail
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Either too little bass or too much bass due to use of small range speakers and mixing in a room that has not been properly treated to help tighten up impulse response and attenuate room modes
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Edgy, fatiguing and harsh sound in the 2kHz - 6kHz area
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No Sparkle and Bottom
Selected Analog Equipment
Monitoring System
KRK Exposé E8B
PSI Audio A17 M
Neumann KH 120a
Analog EQ
Prism Sound Maselec MEA-2 Mastering Equalizer
Pultec EQ-P 1A
TL Audio 5013 IVORY II Dual-channel Tube Parametric EQ
Pultec MEQ-5 Midrange Equalizer
Analog Compression
Manley Vari-Mu Limiter Compressor
Avalon Audio 747 SP Spectral-Opto-Compressor
Tube-Tech CL 1B Opto Compressor
Universal Audio 1176 LN BlackFace
Teletronix LA-2A CLassic Leveling Amplifier
Audio Conversion
Antelope Audio Orion³² Multi-Channel AD/DA Converter