Trutone

A good recording and ultimately a successful release is the right collaboration of writers, arrangers, musicians, artists, mixers and engineers. All play an integral role on the impact of the project.

Mastering is the "last creative step" in the preproduction process, but it is by no means the least. The need for mastering bears no relation to the quality of the recording. Mastering is a separate and necessary process in the preparation of your project for manufacturing, whether it be CD, Vinyl or Cassette. The mastering fee represents a very small percentage of the preproduction budget, a sum that cannot be weighed in relation to the competitive edge mastering affords the finished product.

With the advent of digital work stations, the trend of late has been to skip this vital process and replicate from unmastered CDRs. But, the experienced producer appreciates the importance this critical last step has on the marketability of the finished product and therefore always insists on mastering his projects.

A state of the art mastering lab affords the producer an acoustically controlled listening environment to seriously review the finished mix utilizing one or more speaker types. The mastering engineer affords an unbiased perspective to the project as a music pro who has not been involved in either the recording or mixing. He is truly a "fresh set of ears," a literal "sounding board" who can render an unbiased critique of the mix.

Via the use of sophisticated analog and digital equalizers and limiter/compressors typically found only in a dedicated mastering lab, the engineer works with the producer, experimenting with various level and EQ adjustments until a good mix is great and a great mix is spectacular!

A complimentary evaluation of your master by one of our engineers is available upon request.

TRUTONE INC.
on the Art of Mastering
for Vinyl Records

Trutone has received much acclaim in the USA and in Europe for the development of a specific vinyl equalization and enhancement technique referred to as “EURO-EQ.” by our ecstatic DJ/producer clientele.

"If It's Not HOT
We Didn't Cut It".

Vinyl records store information (music) mechanically, unlike the digitized storage medium of compact discs. As such, cutting a successful record presents many challenges that are not typical to the conventional recording/mixing process. Great technical skill is required to maximize the performance of a vinyl record. Trutone’s vinyl mastering is performed by engineers who have decades of experience specific to this format and who possess the creativity and expertise necessary to maximize the level as well as enhance the clarity and definition of a vinyl record.

To augment our engineering expertise, we carefully select each piece of gear in our mastering channel based on its ability to improve the sonic quality and technical excellence of the finished master. For example, our Neumann VMS-70 lathes are controlled by Zuma disc computers which adjust the spacing between grooves to ensure that no space is wasted (causing lower recorded levels) or that grooves do not overcut one another (causing a skip). Additionally, we have equipped our lathes with the Technics SP-02 drive motors, that reduce wow and flutter to 1/100th of the original Neumann drive system. The result, a cleaner sound and greater definition.

At the engineer’s discretion, equalization and dynamics control can be performed in any combination of solid state, all digital or vacuum tube processing. This equipment includes: Sontec MES 430 & 432 parametric mastering equalizers, Pultec EQH-2, EQP-1 and EMH-7 vacuum tube equalizers, Prism/Maselec MLA-2 mastering compressors, Fairchild 670 vacuum tube compressors, NTP 179-120 compressors, Maselec MDS-2 deessers, Weiss EQ-1 digital equalizers and Weiss BW-102 main frames with digital equalizers, dynamics processors, limiters and deessers.

Analog Record Masters and Reference Acetates (per side)

For maximum level we recommend that you keep 12" 33 1/3 RPM sides to
10:00 and 12" 45 RPM sides to 8:00.

Lengths	Master Lacquers	Reference Acetates
10" or 12" up to 14:00	$175.00	$100.00
12" up to 22:00	200.00	145.00
7" up to 4:00	100.00	70.00
7" up to 7:00	150.00	85.00

Rates are for 1:1 transfer with level maximization.
EQ and enhancement services are aditional, call for a custom quote.

Audio & Forensic Restoration Services

Trutone Inc. utilizes Sonic Solutions NoNoise, the world's premier tool for restoring audio recordings. Sonic's advanced processes isolate and eliminate audio artifacts such as hiss, scratches, hum, mechanical and impulse noise. NoNoise is not a single process or software module, but a set of powerful tools to remove bothersome noise without compromising the program material. NoNoise can be utilized to restore old recordings, remove unwanted noise from field recording and repair audio materials that may have suffered damage.

NoNoise encompasses a number of specific processing technologies including:

Manual declicking
Production declicking
Broadband denoising
Decrackle
Complex filtering

Audio artifacts come in many types and every restoration project is unique. As such, each job is individually quoted based upon it's complexity. Please request information.

Mastering Services