What is mastering and why is it important?
Audio mastering is a vital part of the music making process and there are many different aspects to it. These include:
A quality check - getting your music mastered by a professional can be super helpful to your music by making you aware of anything that could be improved upon, ensuring that there is no unwanted clipping, clicks or pops, and checking for any technical errors. Is that little click a snare transient or a bad edit? Is that talking over when the cymbals ring out been left in intentionally, or has someone forgotten to mute a channel? It’s our job to double check this stuff just in case!
Audio processing - enhancing your songs for optimum translation so they sound awesome anywhere, using a variety of techniques, including EQ, mid-side processing and limiting, on both digital and analogue equipment.
Providing mix feedback where necessary - critical listening to evaluate the effectiveness of your track and potentially liaising with the mix engineer / producer for any changes to the mix that may be helpful in order to get a better sounding result.
Taking loudness into consideration - being sensitive to different styles without compromising quality for loudness, and ensuring that your music is as loud (or quiet!) as it needs to be.
Delivering high quality masters in any formats you require for your release, such as digital (for streaming), ADM (Apple Digital masters), CD, vinyl and cassette tape.
Easy! Have a look through our website, check out our engineers and their work, and fill out the contact form to request a booking with your preferred engineer. Carla, our lovely bookings manager, will find a date that suits you before booking it in with your chosen engineer and will look after you throughout the process.
Can I hear some examples of your engineer’s mastering work?
Of course! Head over to our Engineers page, where you can take a look at our discography.
How long will it take for our tracks to be mastered?
That depends, the more songs you have, the longer it will take our engineers. We aim to send back a first draft master for you to listen to the morning after your booked mastering date. Revisions can be done once feedback has been provided. If you’re working to a deadline please let us know so that we can work with you.
Do I need to book in advance?
Yes, our engineers can get booked up anywhere from 1 - 6 weeks in advance. Occasionally we can fit in short notice work, but do check our availability first before sending over your music!
I booked in for mastering, but my mixes aren’t ready. Help!
That’s absolutely fine - just let us know as soon as possible so we can rearrange your booking. You may be charged if you cancel/postpone within 48hrs of your booking.
All the Weird Jungle engineers have different studios that suit their approach to mastering. The gear that they will use on your music entirely depends on the music. Part of our jobs as Mastering Engineers is to make informed decisions about what equipment to use in order to get the best possible results.
Do I need to provide any information when I send you my music to be mastered?
To confirm your booking Carla will need the below booking information (don’t worry if some things are still TBC).
- The number of tracks you would like to book in:
- If any alternative versions are required:
- The formats you’ll need masters for: Digital, CD Vinyl, Cassette, ADM (Apple Digital Masters)
- Name confirmation (how you want it to appear on the release - so correct capital letters, spellings etc):
Artist name:
Album name:
Track names (in your preferred running order):
ISRC’s (if applicable):
- Where you would like the vinyl format A/B sidebreak (if applicable):
- If you have any references you would like to share:
- How is the project being funded (self-funded/indie label/major label):
- Invoice details (email, name and address):
- Any timelines/deadlines that we should be aware of:
Can I be present whilst you work on my music?
This really depends on the engineer and what they’re comfortable with.
Once you’ve sent me my final masters, what do I do with them?
Make sure you backup your masters in at least two different places! Weird Jungle does not run an archiving service, and it is your responsibility to safely store your masters.
I’m an engineer too, can I join the Jungle?
Maybe. We’re always open to working with other engineers who have the right attitude - drop us a message through the contact form and let’s have a chat.
