Forensic Audio Mastering

 

When sending or bringing mixes into us for mastering, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure that the mastering session runs smoothly and that there are no delays in being able to provide you with a finished product ready for manufacturing or distribution. Please feel free to contact us if you have any further questions about the information below.

 

Mixes

 

Please ensure that all of your mixes have sufficient headroom. If your mixes peak at -3 dBFS or lower,  there is sufficient headroom for the mastering engineer to process the track without introducing clipping. Also please make sure that no limiters are placed on the mix bus. While it can often be useful to check your mix with a peak limiter, the mastering engineer can’t restore the dynamic range that may be lost in the recording. Similarly, unless your using a compressor on the master bus for a specific sound or you mixed into the compressor, please leave it off the final mix. If your not sure you can always run off two mixes, one with and one without the compression, and bring both versions to the mastering session.

 

Also please leave enough silence at the start and the end of the track to make sure that no audio is lost in these areas. For example, often at the end of a track the reverb tail may still be decaying further than you’re hearing in your studio. Leaving an extra few seconds of silence at both ends will prevent this form happening. Any silence on the track can be easily cleaned up in the mastering session.

 

File Formats

 

While we will accept most file formats, we do prefer to receive files as a stereo WAV or AIFF files at a 24-bit wordlength. All sample rates above 44.1KHz can be accepted. We also recommend that the tracks are left at the same sample rate they were recorded. Please provide all tracks as data files either on CD/DVD or on a portable hard drive, alternately tracks may be uploaded to our online drop box. Audio CD’s that will play in a normal CD player are not desirable. While we can import tracks from audio CD’s, they can often import with data errors and are at 16-bit. MP3′s should also be avoided if possible. Essentially, please send us your tracks at the highest resolution you can.

Track Information

 

Please provide all of the relevant track information for the recording prior to the commencement of the mastering session. This includes the final track order, final song names with the correct spelling and the release title. All of this information will be encoded into the final master as CD-Text.

 

 

International Standard Recording Code (ISRC)

 

ISRC’s are a form of data that can be encoded onto each track of a recording. The codes are useful as they can allow for automatic tracking of things such as radio airplay and digital downloads, resulting in the more accurate recording of artist royalties. As these codes are a unique identifier of each song, different versions of the same song will each require an individual ISRC. For example a radio edit of one song will have a different code to the non-edited version. These codes can be assigned by a record label, distributor and can also be applied for by the artist. In Australia, ISRC’s are administered by ARIA. Please see ARIA’s website for more information.

 

UPC/EAN

 

UPC/EAN is the same number as the barcode that will appear on the final release. This can be embedded onto the final master and can also be useful for the tracking of royalties and digital downloads. This code will normally be allocated by the record label or the distributor, however independent artists can also purchase unique UPC/EAN codes online.

 

Final Production Master (DDP or Red Book Audio CD)

 

Please advise us of the type of final production master that you require for your CD to be manufactured at the pressing plant. We can provide two different types of masters for manufacturing, DDP and Red Book Audio CD. The type of final master that you require will depend on what the manufacturing facility will accept. A Red Book Audio CD is a physical CD copy of the final recording that is used by the manufacturer to reproduce your recording. Essentially they are making an exact copy of an audio CD that you provide to them. While this type of master is widely accepted, it is a physical format, meaning that the final production master will need to be provided to you and then posted to the pressing plant. The other downfall of this type of master is that CD’s are prone to data errors and are therefore not the best master of the recording.

 

DDP (Disc Description Protocol) is a type of data file that can be used to manufacture CDs. The DDP file format is much more robust than a Red Book Audio CD and can include data verification, ensuring that there are no data errors associated with the final master. In addition to this, because DDP consists of data files, the final master can be sent online, eliminating the need for posting a physical copy of the final master.