All. I can even help you with cleaning up recorded speech and other things.

I’ve had mentors who are some of the best at working with different genres (for example, classical, rock, EDM, techno, world music, jazz, dubstep, etc.) and also different styles of mastering (purist, creative, and experimental in different ways), so I got a thorough understanding of how to handle just about anything you throw at me, even some very special genres like IDM, black metal, synthwave, and neurofunk.

Yes! I have included two revisions for free. One for the cheaper “indie” service. That should be enough 😉

I’ll revise it based on your feedback! If we are still not in a good place after the first revision, we can book a call or write a few more emails/messages so I can understand precisely what you are looking for.

For me, this isn’t only a technical “one way to do it” type of work; taste really matters. Sometimes, we need to communicate so I understand what you want to express with your music.

The most important thing is that you are happy with the result by the end of this process!

While it is possible to enter mixing territory with stem mastering, that is not what it is all about. For me, this has nothing to do with changing levels, adding effects, or changing “the mix.”

I offer stem mastering because I started working with indie/bedroom artists who mostly learned mixing through trial and error, books, and online videos. Many of these customers don’t have the skills or listening environment to, for example, do a good job de-essing vocals, sculpting the low end, or filtering out weird resonances from their guitar recordings.

If I receive about 3-8 stems, I can make changes like these in a very transparent and nice way quickly. Sure, it is often possible to do this on a stereo track, but it will rarely sound as good.

I’m all in for both alternatives!

Many have read or heard that a mastering engineer should only use an EQ and maybe a limiter. In most cases, I’m sorry to say that this is most often based upon a cute idea and not from experience. But in some rare cases, that is enough! The better mix I receive, the cleaner master I will do.

If I feel there is, for example, room to make subtle changes to make the music express more/stronger feelings in some way, and I feel that may be good for the song, then I will. In my opinion, the result is so much more important than a theoretical point of view.

Now that plugins are starting to sound good, there is, in my opinion, still a big difference in sound against a well-calibrated hardware chain. Most ITB vs OTB videos you will find on YouTube don’t do the hardware justice, even though the hardware still almost always sounds better. Why? Most people don’t know how to set up a good hardware chain. There is more to it than connecting a hardware unit to a set of converters. Details like converter quality, using good sounding amps to gain stage the hardware, cabling, clean electricity, and how different electronic designs work together in the chain all make a difference. Several subtle changes quickly add up.

That said, there are some digital tools that are just plain amazing, and I use some of the best ones when needed, but it is very rare that I don’t use any analog hardware during a mastering session.

Some mastering engineers take pride in doing a very quick job, but I’m sorry to say that is not my style. Don’t get me wrong here; I work pretty fast, so I don’t get used to the mix’s sound, but I do not want to skip important details. I want to listen carefully to the music, make some planned changes, and then try a few more things, for example, try with different sounding units, maybe write some automations, etc. I also like to take regular breaks to rest my ears so I can hear all the details more clearly. All of this takes more time, and I do not want to rush things for this work. I want to deliver better-sounding results!

Still, for an extra fee, I may be able to deliver the master much faster than usual. In that case, I would get a babysitter for the kids and work overtime.