Most of what we fix is pretty boring, to be honest. Dialogue sitting two decibels under the music. Levels jumping between scenes because the edit was pulled from three different sources. A master that sounded great on studio monitors and then disappeared through a phone speaker on the tram. That last one? We see it all the time, and nobody ever checks for it.
One track, or the audio for a whole campaign. Brand films, commercials, podcast series, stock music cutdowns, and a pile of formats that all need to sound like they belong together. You can bring us a voice memo from your phone or a fully produced session. We'll take it from there.
Mixing
We balance everything so you can always follow the dialogue, the music supports without pushing, and the effects sit where the picture says they are. And we mix for where it's actually going, because a TV mix and a social mix really aren't the same thing.
Mastering
The very last step. Loudness to the spec of your platform, and the same tone across the whole campaign so the 6 second cut and the 60 sound like siblings. Before anything leaves, we check it on earbuds and a laptop. Here's why we test every mix on a phone speaker first.
Post sound mixing
From cleaning up dialogue to placing sound in the space, we do the full audio track from rough cut to final master. Film, branded content, social, streaming.
Stock audio treatment
A licensed track almost never hits where your edit needs it. So we retime it, cut it up and reshape it until the accents land on the picture. Usually faster than having something new written.
What happens to your audio
1. Assessment
We listen through your raw tracks or rough mix first. Noise, phase issues, levels all over the place: we flag it before the creative part starts.
2. Mix
Then the mixing. Balance, EQ, effects. A podcast gets a different mix than a film or a TV spot, obviously.
3. Master
In mastering we set the loudness, the stereo width and the overall tone. Earbuds, laptop, cinema: it should hold up everywhere.
4. Delivery & QC
Every file gets checked before it goes out. Exactly the loudness and format your platform wants, no surprises.
We mix and master for agencies, production companies and in-house brand teams. Their audio gets judged twice: once on the director's studio monitors, and once on somebody's phone in a noisy kitchen. Got a rough mix or a bunch of raw stems? Great, that's plenty to start with.
In Amsterdam, or online
The studio is on the Baarsjesweg in Amsterdam and sessions run by appointment, so you can sit in on a mix if it helps. Most of the work does not need that. You send the files and review the mix against picture at your own desk. Online mastering has been the normal way to work for years, and the result is the same.
Files to send
Stems or the whole session, whichever you have. WAV or AIFF at the sample rate you recorded in, with a few decibels of headroom left on the master bus. If all you have is a bounced stereo mix, send that. Plenty of mastering starts there.
Single tracks welcome
Just one track? One podcast episode, one film that needs a proper master? That's completely normal here, and you get a quote for one job, not for a campaign.
Notes against the timeline
You get a link where the mix plays against the picture, and you can drop a note right on the timecode. Much easier than an email saying "that bit around the middle". Saves you time, and we don't have to guess which second you meant.
Booking the room
Sometimes a mix turns into a tug of war. The client wants the music louder, the director doesn't. One hour together in the studio sorts that out. A week of emails won't. That's when you book the room.
Mixing & mastering, explained
What's the difference between mixing and mastering?
Mixing is about getting all the separate parts of a track to sit right together. Mastering is the last step after that: it sets the loudness and evens out the sound, so it holds up on any speaker.
Can you fix badly recorded audio?
Usually, yes. Noise reduction, EQ and compression can do a lot for a rough recording. How much depends on how it was recorded in the first place.
Do you master for streaming platforms specifically?
Yes, we master to the loudness and format standards of whichever platform you're releasing on, from Spotify to broadcast to cinema.
How fast is turnaround?
Most single track mixes and masters are delivered within 3 to 5 working days. Larger campaigns are scoped and scheduled up front.
What does mixing and mastering cost?
We quote per job, because one track and a campaign with twenty deliverables are not the same work. Send what you have and you get a fixed price before we start.
Do I need to come to the studio?
No. Most work runs online, wherever you are. The studio is on the Baarsjesweg in Amsterdam and sessions run by appointment if you would rather be in the room.
What files should I send?
Stems or a full session, WAV or AIFF, at your recording sample rate, with headroom on the master bus. A bounced stereo mix is enough to start a master.
Do you take single tracks, or only campaigns?
Both. A single track, one episode or one film is normal work here.