Mastering FAQ

WAV, AIFF, FLAC, and other raw or lossless formats are best to work with. Please avoid sending MP3 files.

The same format you sent to me. If you need more than one file, that’s no problem and won’t cost extra.

24-bit / 44.1 kHz (for CD) or 24-bit / 48 kHz (for film scores) would be ideal. 16-bit also works fine in most cases, but 24-bit is the safest choice. 32-bit or 64-bit is not necessary.

No. In 99% of cases, your mastered song will be louder than -14 LUFS, and you shouldn’t reduce the loudness for streaming. Nobody does that, streaming services reduce the loudness automatically. We care about achieving the best possible sound, not about numbers.

Absolutely! Just let me know in advance, as there are some specific things to take care of.

I don’t mind. Just make sure nothing goes over 0 dB.

No, make your song sound as good as possible. Just please remove the final limiter.

I will do whatever you want me to do with your sound. I personally love a wide, airy, and open high end in a well-balanced mix, and that’s what I aim for unless you request something different or your musical style requires another approach.

Maybe, but if so, we lost. In the past, there were many poor engineering decisions driven by the goal of being the loudest. But it wasn’t all bad. Some great ideas and plugins emerged from the Loudness War (limiting, compression, saturation, etc.) that no mastering engineer would want to miss today. Some genres even use extreme loudness as a sound design tool (modern metal or EDM).

I don’t know in advance. I increase the loudness until the changes start to become audible, then back off a bit. Most modern songs end up between -7 and -10 LUFS-I. If you want it extremely loud, I can do that, of course.

You never really know what an AI is doing exactly, and there is very little control. The results can be strange at times. AI usually doesn’t listen to the full song, only to the loudest section. This may work in some cases, but not in others. There is no AI involved in my mastering process.

I could simply say, “Send me your song and I’ll give it that final polish,” or “My mastering brings out the best in your track,” or “I’ll make your song loud, punchy, and club-ready,” or “I’ll add warm analog vibes to your mix.” Or I could just show photos of vintage analog gear. This is the kind of stuff you’ll see on many mastering studios’ websites. But honestly, it’s not about my mastering, it’s about your song. If you’re happy with your mix and love how it sounds, my job isn’t to change your vision, but to support it.

If you’re after “fat,” “loud,” “warm,” or similar qualities, there are countless studios offering that, maybe even a $5 AI could do the job.

But mastering is about setting the right foundation for your release. That’s what really matters to me: your song. I respect your artistic choices and your mix, and I only intervene where necessary. If you want it loud and heavy, that’s absolutely doable, but I’ll always discuss any major adjustments with you beforehand. As the final quality check before your release, I work on your music with the utmost care. That’s why you should choose Overstratum Audio Mastering.