The signal chain
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01
Stereo master
One stereo mix in, release-ready masters out. Level, tone, and sequencing for the format you're actually releasing on.
WAV inWAV + DDP out -
02
Alternates pack
Instrumental, a cappella, clean, TV mix. Cut from the same chain in the same session, so no version drifts from the record.
Same sessionSame chain -
03
Stem mastering
Three to eight stems when the mix is close but one element won't sit. More reach than stereo, less surgery than a remix.
Stems inStereo out -
04
Vinyl premaster
Side-aware levels, mono-checked lows, gaps and side lengths accounted for. Cut sheet included for the plant.
Side A/B WAV+ cut sheet -
05
Restoration
De-click, de-hum, and level rescue for archive tape and live boards. We tell you what can't be saved before you pay for it.
Whatever survivesIn
The room
A master is a bet on every playback system your record will ever meet. We place that bet in one room we trust completely, then check it against the ones we don't.
Every pass gets referenced on the mains, on grot boxes, and on the cheapest earbuds in the drawer. If the low end only works on the expensive monitors, it doesn't work.
You'll notice nothing on this site makes a sound. No autoplay, ever. A mastering studio that starts playing audio at you uninvited has already made one bad level decision.
[set your main monitors] on a calibrated level, plus the ugly small pair that tells the truth
[set your conversion] in and out; one clock, no surprises
[set your processing chain]; analog or in-the-box, printed and recallable either way
Treated room, [set your room notes]; measured response on file
How a session runs
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Pass 01 / Send
Send
Upload the mix at its session rate, peaks under -3 dB, no limiter on the bus. Add one reference track and where the record will live.
You get: a slot date in writing
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Pass 02 / First pass
First pass
You get the full-length master back, not a 30-second teaser. Play it where you actually listen. Notes at timestamps welcome.
You get: the whole song, every time
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Pass 03 / Revise
Revise
Revision passes are included [set your policy]. Most masters land in one. If it isn't landing after two, we talk instead of grinding.
You get: recalls, not do-overs
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Pass 04 / Deliver
Deliver
24-bit WAV masters per destination, DDP for duplication, vinyl premaster if you're cutting. Files named the way plants and distributors expect.
You get: every format, labeled
This desk, measured on this very page
What it costs
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Stereo master, single
One song, all delivery formats, alternates quoted with it.
[set your rate] -
EP or album, per track
Sequenced and gapped as a record, not a folder of songs.
[set your rate] -
Stems or vinyl premaster
Scoped per project once we hear what we're working with.
from [set your rate]
Rates on this demonstration are placeholders on purpose: published numbers qualify leads before the first email. The full card lists revision policy, rush terms, and delivery specs.
Fair questions
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The final mix as a WAV or AIFF at the session's sample rate and bit depth, peaks somewhere under -3 dB, nothing on the mix bus you wouldn't defend. If the limiter is part of the sound, leave it on and say so; we master around decisions, not against them. Add one or two reference tracks and tell us where the release is headed.
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As loud as the song wants and no louder. We master to the record, not to a number; chasing a spec sheet is how choruses stop hitting. If a platform or a label hands you a hard loudness target, tell us and we'll deliver to it, in writing, alongside the version we'd stand behind.
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Standard turnaround is [set your turnaround] for a single and [set your turnaround] for a record, counted from when the files and the notes both arrive. Rush slots exist and cost more; the rate card says exactly how much. We'd rather tell you a real date than a fast one.
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Yes. Attended sessions run in the room or on a call with the board feed; some records need the artist's ears in the chair. Most projects run send-and-return because it's cheaper and the notes are calmer. Either way you hear everything before anything ships.
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You say so, with timestamps if you have them, and we recall the session and move the faders, not your expectations. Revisions are included [set your policy]. If we're still not landing it after two passes, the problem is upstream or between our ears, and we'll say which; nobody pays for a master they won't play.
Got a record that needs a room?
Patch it in.
Tell us what the record is and where it has to land. You'll get an engineer's answer, not a sales sequence.
- 01An engineer reads it, not a pipeline.
- 02You get a slot and a rate in writing within [set your promise].
- 03Nothing is due until the slot and the rate are both confirmed.
Or bypass the bay and hit the desk address direct.
patch@frequencyhouse.example