Summit Mastering Services
Dave Daw is chief mastering engineer at Summit Sound Inc.

Mastering Fees

MASTERING DESCRIPTION:

There is little doubt that most audio masters will benefit greatly from professional mastering.

Upon request, Summit Sound will provide a free consultation service for your master, and can recommend the proper mastering services, along with cost estimates, to ensure a professional finished product.

 

Digital mastering in it's most basic form, is the step in manufacturing following mix-down, where this information is re-loaded into a digital workstation and a master "red book compatible" CDR is created, including the "P&Q" codes a CD player uses to identify selections, mutes and item timing.

More advanced mastering can be a very complex process involving additional frequency selective compression, EQ-ing, noise reduction, stereo enhancement, complex editing and overall loudness enhancement. Often mastering is used to match sounds or levels between tracks, or even to alter the over-all sonic content of the master.

The experience of Summit owner/engineer Dave Daw, who has mixed more than 2000 album projects over the past 34 years places him in a unique position as a mastering engineer - experience that is seldom matched by most others who claim to offer similar services. Dave utilizes a variety of both vintage analogue, and cutting edge digital, equipment in the mastering suite at Summit Sound Inc..

 

FORMATS:
Summit Sound is able to accept your original audio master in most popular formats. Recordable 16 or 24 bit audio CDR is probably the simplest and best way to supply your master, however, we can also accept your master on DAT or even on traditional 1/4" - 15 ips analogue reels.

All formats other than CDR and must be converted to CDR by Summit Sound at extra cost. 

Beware: not everyone with a computer, a BIG hard drive, and a CD burner is a mastering engineer... (we commonly see serious damage done to perfectly good masters by people who don't know what they are doing).

Even the basics like proper P&Q codes and a printed log sheet are essential for track identification etc., so if you don't really understand how to get these, it may be wise to leave this job for the mastering engineer at Summit Sound.