The art of audio mastering is just that: an art. Whether the final delivery format is CD, vinyl, digital download, streaming or Dolby Atmos, mastering is the last technical and artistic step in the production process.
While it’s true that great equipment is very important in realizing a project’s full potential, it’s only useful in the hands of an experienced engineer, equipped with the critical listening skills to help create a master that realizes your true creative vision.
We bring professional, unbiased ears, and a fresh, invaluable third-party perspective to each and every project. Our goal is to help our clients end up with the best sounding projects possible, giving your upcoming release a far better chance at being successful.
We encourage clients to attend sessions when they can; that’s one reason we built such a comfortable room here in Westchester, NY. Hearing your masters play on our full-range reference monitors in our calibrated listening environment may be the best listening experience you’ll have.
Our staff is dedicated to helping all clients, big and small, and will treat them with equal care, focus, and relentless commitment to the craft. We look forward to working together on your upcoming release.
Vinyl
Vinyl is still a viable way to get your project out to the world. In fact, it has become much more popular in recent years, especially in the alternative and rock world. With the increase in digital downloads and decrease in CD sales, vinyl is one of the best ways for many artists to actually sell their product.
Listening to a vinyl record is a unique experience, and there are some who insist it’s still the best way to listen to music. Similarly, cutting a record is a unique process, and is much different from mastering for a digital medium. Variables such as side length, volume, bass, sibilance, phase between left and right channels need to be taken into account. Knowing how to manipulate a cutting lathe and take all these things into account is critical to a great sounding record. (We work from the Neumann VMS70 lathe.)
There are a couple ways to create vinyl lacquers and acetates. One way is to have us EQ or “master” the audio then use those hi-res digital files we created to cut either acetates or lacquers. Specific adjustments to optimize the audio for the vinyl medium will be applied. This is the most common way when we are mastering the project. If the project is already mastered we can work from the CD audio files or if there is a data file or hi-res archive that’s even better. For the analog purist we have the ability to cut directly from analog tape. We can work off a Studer tape machine with a special head stack to create the proper delay needed to adjust spacing and depth of cut without converting to digital and back.
Apple Masters
JLM is an approved “Apple Masters” studio. What this means is that Apple has provided us with the proper systems to ensure we are creating files to their standards. The “Apple Masters” program allows you to submit files at 24-bit resolution and sample rates as high as 96k. (The typical quality is 16-bit, 44.1k). Please check with your digital distributor to find out if you’re eligible. We can provide you with high resolution masters, either way, in case you would like them for other sites.
Equipment List
Hardware
Maselec MTC-2 Master Transfer and Monitor System (MASTERING CONSOLE)
Buzz Audio REQ 2.2 Equalizer
Sontec MES 431C Parametric Mastering Equalizer
Manley Vari-Mu Stereo Compressor (MASTERING VERSION)
Prism MEA-2 Mastering Stereo Equalizer
Prism MLA-2 Mastering Stereo Compressor
Maselec 2012 HF & Peak Limiter (DE-ESSER)
Z-Sys ZQ1 Parametric Digital Equalizer
Lavry M-AD 824 A/D Converters
Lavry M-DA 824 D/A Converters
Sonic Solutions D/A
Pendulum Audio Analog Peak Limiter
Waves L2 Ultramaximizer
Lucid GENx696 Clock Generator
Z-Sys 16×16 Digital Router
AnaMod ATS-1 Analog Tape Simulator
Monitoring
KEF 207.2 Reference Monitors (Full Range)
McIntosh 2100 Amplifiers
Taytrix Custom Sound Panel Construction and Bass Diffusor
RealTraps Mondo Traps
B&B Systems AM-2B Phase Scope & VU Meter
Mytek DDD-603 Digital Level Meter (AES)
Mytek Stereo 192 DSD DAC
Players / Recorders
Ampex ATR-102 1/2” and 1/4” (ANALOG TAPE MACHINE)
Sony CDP-D500 CD Player/Recorder
HHB CDR830 CD Player/Recorder (w/ CD-TEXT)
Tascam DA-45 HR 24 Bit DAT Recorder
Tascam 122 mkIII Cassette Player/Recorder
Technics SL1200 MD3 Direct Drive Turntable
Software
SoundBlade HD DAW Mastering Software
No-Noise II (Full) Premier noise, de-click, de-hum, and de-crackle algorithms.
Sonic EQ 4-Band Equalizer
Pro-Tools Multi-Track Workstation (With all kinds of plug Ins)
Izotope VIVE Restoration Suite
Spectre Real-Time Signal Analyzer
DMG Limitless
Studio Configured With:
Middle Atlantic Products, Ltd. PD-915R’s