9-Mastering

Mastering & Mixing

9-Mastering on SoundBetter

I am your partner for high end mastering and flexible turnaround delivery shedules.

9-Mastering is a small mastering facility inside the already existing parallel Studio GbR situated in Hamburg, Germany. I have a small Hardware setup with some of the best available analog gear and work with Highend Monitor system from the manufacturer Barefoot the MM35 Gen1.
My philosophy is, less is more. I always try to find the best approach regarding the source material to get the best out of the product. Sometimes i will use outboard equipment for tonal balance or to get analog sound into the song and another time i will stay in the box. It always depends on what i am working on.
Their are many roads leading to Rome. I will always try to preserve and maintain the overall impact and dynamic of the source material. Loud is not always better but can be realized if needed.
If you think i am your new partner for mastering, or mixing, then please contact me.

Click the 'Contact' above to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Interview with 9-Mastering

  1. Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

  2. A: That would be for the Artist Skyence. I did the master and i prepared it for Tape. Ao that was a very nice work and the Artist is a joy to work with.

  3. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

  4. A: German Rock pop as well as some Hiphop Rap from Congo

  5. Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

  6. A: no

  7. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  8. A: Analog for Depth, flavor and Life. Digital for Precision, Tightness and recall-ability.

  9. Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

  10. A: I will work until you are happy

  11. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  12. A: That i get to work on music that nobody else has heard before and that it is always new.

  13. Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

  14. A: If they can get it louder. I normally say that i can get the song louder but it will have to trade the loudness for something else in wich case it's always a loss. well in term of clarity, depth and dynamic.

  15. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  16. A: That i can manipulate the song and make gold out everything that i get. Wich is just not possible.

  17. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

  18. A: In what direction do the want to go and if the have a reference.

  19. Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

  20. A: To always be open and to make a test mastering and to check out different provider. In that way you can as a client always get the best result for your produkt. The most important part in this is to make an AB with the Levels set to be the same so that you don't fool your self because even 0,5 db louder makes it sound better then the one that is not as loud. SO be aware of that.

  21. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

  22. A: Maselec ML4a, Pultec, Neve 542`s, Airfieldaudio Liminator 2 and last SPL tube vitalizer

  23. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

  24. A: I started out as a bassist in my family's Band and later i did more of the FOH job. around 2010 i finished my SAE (School of audio Engineer) and started to produce other artist. More and more Mixing came into play and step by step the artist wanted to also let there songs get mastered by me. so in 2013 i did seminar at the mastering academy in Köln Germany. After that it was clear that i want to do this full time. and so i build a mastering studio. Since then a lot has happened and now i am again doing it for the passion, for the artist and of course i am doing it to be able to live from it.

  25. Q: How would you describe your style?

  26. A: Punchy, forward and if needed loud. But i can also do very dynamical stuff ;-)

  27. Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

  28. A: Uff thats a tough question. There are a lot Of artist i would like to work with from different Styles, genre and different Countries. But i guess one artist i would love to work with is "Fred again"

  29. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  30. A: If i had to share one production tip then it would be to listen with your guts. with your feeling. If it sounds right it is most probably right!. But a real world tip would be to alway check your levels and try to get the right balance thought-out your song right from the beginning.

  31. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  32. A: It depends. Sometimes i get more Hiphop songs. Then i get a lot of electronically stuff and recently i got more and more into dnb. So it is an ever changing genre.

  33. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  34. A: I would say my listening skill and the skill to make the right decision for the right material.

  35. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  36. A: I typically try to enhance what is needed to get more punch, depth and a nicer stereo image and i try to get rid of unwanted stuff like rumble, or if something is sounding dull. Then i want to get back that transparency, clarity and openness.

  37. Q: What's your typical work process?

  38. A: Normally i always have a first listening session just in case something is wrong and i can contact my client and he can make changes. If everything is alright i typically import the song and start working. Sometimes i use only in the Box tools, sometimes only analogue gear. Sometimes both and very rarely nothing else then a limiter.

  39. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  40. A: Right now i work with Mira 14 from the small Manufacturer Abacus. My main converter i use is the Anubis Pro SPS from Merging technology wich is now owned by Neumann. I work with Audeze LC-X as main reference Headphones and Sennheiser HD660S. On the precision side i use all the Digital Plugins available from all the Big names. My analogue gear is hand picked from different manufacturers and consists of mainly gear that brings flavor. That brings Mojo. That gives the little extra wich sometimes can be just the right stuff your track needs.

  41. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  42. A: I look up to people like Bob Catz or Fabien Dupon. i want to get one day in a similar position and i will do what is necessary to get there.

  43. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  44. A: Normally i work in the Hiphop, Elektro/EDM or DnB scene but i do sometimes also Blues and world music Jobs with very happy clients around the World.

GenresSounds Like
  • Skyence
  • L'Or du Commun
  • Gatwick
Gear Highlights
  • Neumann KH420
  • Abacus Mira 14
  • SPL Tube Vitalizer
  • Gainlab Empress
  • Elysia xpressor
  • StamAudio SA4000MK2
More Photos