Our ethos

When I started Human Mastering, there was already an awful lot of talk and hype out there about “smart” tools, AI processing and “press & go” mix conversion.

Not to say that we shouldn’t face forward and explore the benefits of new technology. I welcome the advantage of speed in using tools with “learning” built in, particularly for audio repair.

But for tonal shaping, sonic enhancement and artistic intention?

For the macro-dynamics of a song? Groove? Impact?

Let’s say you relinquish control and allow the software to mould the track’s dynamics or EQ. Perhaps you’re a beginner and it’s made the track better than you can. Or it finishes it faster.

Do you understand what it has actually done?

And will your track sound like every track that’s used that genre preset?

And then… what about the next song? Did you learn anything? Or will you simply repeat the same process? And will that be the best solution for all your songs? Will the tracks that you’ve poured hours and love into all just end up sounding the same?

There has long been wisdom, in many artistic and engineering-based disciplines, that if you don’t know why you’re adding or changing something: don’t. If you do not understand how a tool works, stop; put it down; and first learn about it.

“Do no harm.”

That said, I have no idea how the inside of my smartphone works and I use that every day – although I don’t open it up and try to tinker with it.

Further insight from the musical masters tells us that pressing all the buttons and adding all the gadgets, simply because you can, stifles any true sense of artistic direction and integrity.

Back-to-basics champion Jack White believes, “too much opportunity kills creativity”.

While bad-boy Russian composer Igor Stravinsky proclaimed, “the more constraints one imposes, the more one frees one's self”.

This doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy and benefit from using a wide variety of tools while mastering – I do. But the real nuance - the real gains of the craft - come from the selection of those tools, from having knowledge of how and when to use them, and a sensitivity to how far to go with them.

We understand that pushing things too far is counterproductive, so we restrain ourselves to the considered use of specific, specialised processes.

This is where partnering with a trusted engineer, who understands your goals, sets you apart.

Human Mastering works in partnership with our artists through individual consultations, to realise their vision through the most appropriate mastering applications.

Creative decisions are not surrendered to an algorithm. We collaborate with our artists towards a shared objective.

We provide bespoke mix revision notes to give your songs the best preparation possible for mastering, rather than letting a couple of ‘smart’ tools do all the heavy lifting.

Correction and control are applied in a broad and considered context of genre, atmosphere and musicianship.

We let the music tell us what it needs – then follow a series of considered, focussed and apposite steps in our quality control, audio analysis, and sonic enhancement to get the best out of your mix; to let your artistic intent shine through; and ultimately to give your songs the bespoke mastering they deserve.

This is bespoke mastering – with the human touch.

– Steve