Online Mastering: Have your song mastered by a professional

At Peak-Studios you can have your song mastered online: You upload your finished mix via ourupload formHigh-quality mastering is processed by an experienced mastering engineer, either analog or digital, and you receive a release-ready master optimized for streaming, CD, and vinyl – including a correction loop. Digital from €65, analog from €89.

Online mastering at Peak-Studios starts at€65 (digital)or€89 (analog)per song. Prices for EPs, albums, and stem mastering can be found on our website.Pricing.

You can find a detailed cost breakdown with examples and current price ranges in the guide.How much does mastering cost?

Online mastering: human engineer, custom workflow, feedback and revisions included.
AI mastering: fast and affordable, but less individual and with fewer adjustment options. We deliberately rely on the human factor.

It is less a question of "better" and more about character. Analog equipment uses tubes and transformers to create harmonic distortion that we perceive as warmth, pressure and brilliance - something that is often difficult to simulate purely digitally.

Digital mastering, on the other hand, is extremely precise, for example when surgically removing problem frequencies. That is why we work in a hybrid way: we combine the musical refinement of our analog hardware with the technical precision of digital tools. This gives you the premium analog sound without sacrificing modern standards.

Absolutely. Especially with home studio productions, mastering often makes the crucial difference between a "demo" and a "release." We ensure greater clarity, punch, and sonic balance so your track sounds competitive on streaming platforms like Spotify.

Mastering helps you with that:

• To smooth out frequency problems and room resonances.

• To bring the loudness up to a commercial level.

• To create a "common thread" throughout your EP or album.

Important: Mastering is refinement, not repair. We can't completely "save" a technically poor mix. If you're unsure, we'll use ourfree mix check so we can give you honest feedback in advance.

You upload your song via our upload form. An experienced engineer listens to your mix in studio quality, checks frequencies and dynamics, and optimizes it using analog or digital techniques – depending on your preference. You then receive a master version for approval and can provide feedback. No AI mastering, no templates – just genuine craftsmanship.

If you are still unsure whether your mix is really finished, we recommend our mix analysis.

We check technical aspects such as clipping, oversampling and loudness recommendations, as well as macro and micro dynamics, tonality and timing. You receive clear, practical suggestions for improvement - ideal for making your audio mastering-ready. Go to the mix analysis.

Export as WAV/AIFF in 24-bit, at least 44.1 kHz (ideally keep the project sample rate). Leave around -6 dB to -3 dB of headroom. No limiter, maximizer or normalizer on the master bus. No clipping peaks. Unsure? Our mix analysis can help.

Processing time is usually 3-7 business days after payment, depending on workload and the depth of the requested revisions.
If you need it fast, we offer prioritized express processing. Just send us your preferred deadline.

Yes, that makes sense for the best sound. Streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music use loudness normalization. An extremely loud CD master ("loudness war") is simply turned down there and often loses punch and dynamics by comparison.

The differences in detail:

• Streaming: We pay attention to True Peak values (headroom) to prevent distortion during MP3/AAC conversion.

• CD: Maximum loudness is often the goal here because no normalization takes place.

• Vinyl: Physical laws apply here. Too much bass or limiting can cause the needle to skip. That's why we create a separate, dynamic pre-master for this. You can find out more on our page forVinyl mastering.

Standard: WAV 24-bit / 48 kHz. Upon request, we can also provide 16-bit / 44.1 kHz (CD), a DDP image, vinyl files or additional preview formats. For pressings, we recommend our Vinyl Mastering.

We edit groups (Stems) such as drums, vocals, or synths separately. This allows for targeted corrections without side effects – more control, depth, and quality. Info:Stem mastering at Peak-Studios.