Beyond Traditional Mastering

The proliferation of computer-based recording systems has changed the face of the recording business.  It is now the norm for albums we master to have been at least partially recorded or mixed outside of a traditional studio environment.  The services described here are a direct result of requests we have received and techniques we have employed to help self-recording artists acheive their sonic goals, using analog equipment typically unavailable to the home recordist.

None of these techniques are first call during a normal mastering session, so please contact us in advance to discuss your project if you feel one of these options may be right for your album.

Analog Summing and Stem Mixing

Mixes may be provided as stems (eg. lead vocal / bass / rest of mix) to allow finer control over certain elements during the mastering process.  A more elaborate version of this may involve stemming out most mix elements to allow for summing (mixing) in the analog domain.

Stereo Analog Tape Layback

Full mixes are recorded to 1/2" analog tape on our custom ATR-102 recorder either before or during the mastering process.  Probably the most popular of these services.

Multitrack Analog Tape Layback

Mixes are stemmed out and recorded to 16 tracks on 2" analog tape then remixed from the tape in the analog domain, possibly recording this new stereo mix to 1/2" tape as well.  An extreme approach that can completely change the character of a recording.

Full Analog Mixing

Analog mixing on our Toft ATB16 with a full complement of high end outboard equipment and the option of 1/2" analog tape as the mixdown format.