Hook and Loop Audio provides digital audio mastering services, offering friendly assistance to musicians, producers and songwriters.
Based in the UK in Southsea, Hampshire, we cater for all types of music made by anyone anywhere.
If you'd like an informal chat about your project or have any queries about the mastering process and what it entails, you can get in touch via email at contact@hookandloopaudio.com
Pricing and full terms and conditions are available upon request.
To get things started, we'll discuss your project, what your desires are for the final outcome, turnaround times, as well as any issues you've encountered with your mix and how we might work around those
We'll also discuss any reference tracks, albums or artists that you have in mind - typically these would relate to the type of sound you're going for and how your mixes or the mastering process might help you achieve those goals
You'll be provided with a secure upload link to upload your file(s), although you're free to provide us with a link to your hosted files, should you prefer.
Once payment has been received and delivery times have been agreed upon, work will start on your audio files with the aim to provide the final masters within the agreed timescale.
One revision (per song/track) is included in the price. Further revisions will be available at extra cost (depending on the level of work involved).
File Format: Please send high-quality unmastered stereo files (e.g., WAV, AIFF) at a sample rate of at least 44.1 kHz and a bit depth of 16-bit, though a 24-bit or 32-bit floating point file would be best. The higher the resolution, the better!
Loudness: For 16-bit and 24-bit files, please leave plenty of headroom on your mix. For safety's sake, a peak level of -3dB is recommended - part of the mastering process is to set the final volume level, and it's always 'cleaner' to start with more headroom. While rendering your final mix, you may see your meters warning of intersample peaks (ISPs) exceeding 0dBfs - if you do, reduce the level until you see those disappearing.
For 32-bit floating-point files, the peak level is less problematic, as the dynamic range afforded by this format means peaks above 0dBfs are less of a concern during processing as signals above that level will not be clipped during the mixdown render.
Limiting on your mix: There are times where creative limiting on the master bus may be crucial to reach the effect you're going for, but do keep in mind that this may lead to compromises with dynamics if the mix is excessively brickwall-limited. If you're unsure, it's often best to leave limiting until the mastering stage.
If you've been using a limiter for pre-master checks or making loud copies of your mix to listen to before mastering, don't forget to turn it off or (even better) remove it before rendering. If you choose to do this, a good approach is to render your final mix and keep it safe as your master mix file, then open that up in a new project and then engage your limiter. This ensures you're not accidentally leaving unwanted processing in your final mix project.