Mastering in the analog domain

Hear the difference

As you may hear in the comparison above, the analog sound is way better, with more definition. Indeed, there is a sense of depth and weight that sound acquires when processed in the analog domain that cannot be achieved with digital emulations, no matter how accurate they are. but…

Don't let the knobs fool you

It is true that a good mastering studio will most certainly process your music with analog gear but this is not something that magically will make your sound good. In fact, most people believe that the more analog gear we pass their music through, the better it will sound but it's quite the opposite.

Proper loudness for streaming releases

Louder, please

One of the most common requests from customers is more volume for their mixes.

It is usually possible to make a mix louder (up to 10 dB!), especially in the digital environment, in fact, it is something you can do by yourself any maximizer –almost any plugin brand has at least one.

The thing is, more volume does not mean better quality and a mix will not stand out on a Spotify or YouTube playlist because it has more volume; in fact it is the exact opposite.

Walk in your audience's shoes

When you listen to music in any of these services, ask yourself the question: Would I like to play a song, adjust the volume to my taste, just for the next song to play way louder (or quieter)?

How to deliver your mixes for mastering

To obtain the best possible result in mastering, ask the recording studio to export each "bounce" with the following characteristics:

• Final volume between -20 and -15 LUFS
• -5 dBFS maximum peak (recommended)
• No plugins on the master bus (except volume meters, goniometers, etc.)
• No fades (in or out)
• Export with the same bit depth and sample rate as the project
• Wav, AIFF, FLAC or ALAC formats

Send the files through our official WeTransfer account: https://noisemastering.wetransfer.com

If you want to know more about these requirements, keep reading.