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Audio Mastering Samples

Below you will find audio clips of my earlier mastering work.  The purpose of this is to show you what is possible when I master your music. All bands have granted permission to share their music.  Please Google them and spread the love.

To listen, click on a song and press play.  The first 30-40 seconds will play the mastered music. The second half of the clip repeats, playing the un-mastered  music.   The second half is what I am provided with to work from.  The first half are the results when I am finished. 

I enhance the tone, loudness, groove, clarity etc according to the artist's vision and my ear.   

The difference in volume between master/source is significant for some.  This is because certain mixes have greater dynamic range than others.  The louder the master, the more I have squeezed that dynamic range in exchange for loudness.  It's a balancing act.

Both versions are normalized and lightly touch "Digital Zero" without any clipping.  For proper assessment the volume of the source mix will need to increase by  4-7db to get a true sense of the difference.   

While working I constantly toggle my master and source at matched playback volumes.  If it fails this step then it fails as a master.  The only rule in mastering is Do No Harm and volume matching exposes this every time. 

For superior sonic playback please use the Bandcamp player or download at full resolution from Bandcamp.  You can jump between the before / after by dragging the 'slider' in the player from left to right and back again.  You'll find that your laptop, tablet, phone, will turn up to 100% volume and the playback will sound loud and proud without stress, fatigue, or distortion.  

Take your time and scrutinize the difference.  There's a lot going on.  

This is my art and what I love to do.   I'd love to hear your thoughts.     Enjoy! Timothy Stollenwerk 2018

(click the blue link if you're unable to skip around in the track)

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