Clients & Labels include Anjunadeep | Max Cooper | Global Underground | Franky Wah | Afterlife (Tale of Us) | Braxton | Confession (Tchami) | Outside The Box (Eelke Kleijn) | and More…
Hi, I'm Nicky. If you're looking for a punchy modern sound that'll make your music "FAT", let's work together!
As a professional mastering engineer of 20 years, I founded The FAT Mastering in 2010, a studio facility based in Yorkshire (UK) that was designed and custom-built from the ground up with the intent of creating an acoustic environment suited to the highest mastering standards.
Full-Range 3-Way PMC Monitoring, the most desirable Analogue Equipment, cutting edge Digital Processing and experienced ears at the helm deliver a truly modern sound.
I'm a fully certified member of the Music Producers Guild and am nominated for the MPG Mastering Engineer of the Year Award 2022.
Equally at home with major and independent artists, I simply love to work with people who are passionate about getting the very best out of the music that they've put everything into creating.
As a mastering engineer, working with a style of music that you know every detail about is essential. The genres I listen to every day are Electronic, Dance, House, Techno, Trance, Pop and Rap/Hip-Hop. This focus on a range of specialised styles is how I create my signature "FAT" sound.
I'd love to work on a project with you, simply hit the big green "Contact" button and let's get started. đź‘Š
Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.
Credits
28 Reviews - 4 Repeat Clients
Endorse Nicky Howard
check_circleVerifiedNicky did an amazing job! turned out just how i wanted it to :)
check_circleVerifiedAn absolute dream of a mastering engineer. Brought my track to life with so much attention to detail and amazing insight on my mix before beginning work on the master. Will definitely be back in the future!
check_circleVerifiedNicky was awesome! He provided extensive feedback on my mix before he started working on the master. Communication was great and he was very detailed with improvements i could make in order to get the best out of the master. Im very happy with the final result. Thanks again Nicky!
check_circleVerifiedFully committed and super passionate about his work, I'm super impressed with Nicky's skills. Highly, highly recommended to work with if you get a chance.
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Working with Nicky was a joy. Apart from delivering an outstanding master his feedbback on the mixdown helped to raise the track to a new level. Turn around was also very quick. Highly remommended!
check_circleVerifiedNicky provided amazing master! Outstanding experience to work with this guy.
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Loved working with Nicky! Very professional, and gave me some good feedback on a few tracks that needed some tweaks before mastering. Would definitely recommend it.
check_circleVerifiedNicky was supportive and helpful and really worked his magic to my song sound as best as possible. i will for sure work with him again :D
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I gave him a subpar file and he worked his magic as much as possible.
I recommend to everyone as he did such a great job.Definitely worth every penny spent and will be back.
check_circleVerifiedNicky was a pleasure to work with, he had great postivity and enthusiasm towards my EP. Nicky provided some really useful critical feedback on my mixes which I really appreciated. It helped me to improve my mix and learn a little on the way.
Once amendments were made turn around was fast (even over Christmas) and the results sound great!! Lovely balanced, weighty and sparkley. Excellent professional approach - would use again. Cheers Nicky :)
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Nicky was extremely responsive and open to ideas on how to best collaborate. Most importantly he ended up creating a fantastic master that highlighted the best parts of my mix. Thanks Nicky!
check_circleVerifiedKnowledgeable, responsive, and friendly! Nicky is great to work with and really knows his stuff - I’d absolutely work with him again, it was a great experience.
check_circleVerifiedGreat attention to details. Quick feedback. Very satisfied to work with Nicky!
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Really impressive work, insanely fast turnaround and super helpful throughout. Thank you, Nicky!
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Nicky had such a fast turn around time, got the project back much quicker than anticipated, without the sacrifice of quality. I’m amazed at how the project turned out, I will definitely be coming back to Nicky with my future projects!
check_circleVerifiedVery satisfied with the mixing and mastering of my track!
check_circleVerifiedAbsolutely satisfied with the result. Huge, wide, punchy and warm mastering. Just what I was looking for. Nicky is a world class engineer and he gives a great service.
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Best Job I heard so far.. Kudos to Fat Mastering.. Nicky keep up the Great Work..You'll be hearing from me again real soon..
check_circleVerifiedI think he is an engineer who understands a wide range of dance music and can be an objective and effective mastering.
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Very professional, open and flexible.
Top service and very very good result (y) Pleasure to work with, provided valuable mix feedback and delivered an amazing master! Nicky is the man
Nicky is a pleasure to work with. He produces extremely high quality, great sounding masters and personally provided me with excellent advice on my mixes to ensure we got the best possible results. Very fair pricing too. I highly recommend him for any mastering needs.
Nicky is a great person to work with.He mastered my album and i couldn't more happy ( :
Great communication skills and talented, easy to talk to. He will make sure your tracks sound as good as possible and that you are 100% pleased with it . Also the attention to details and feedback he gave me were very helpful and much appreciated . Thank you
Really professional service and listening to the customer to achieve the best possible result!
If you are looking for mastering engineer to work with and not just send your tracks to someone and hope to get good results, then Nicky is your guy!
Responds quickly and really wants the final product sound as good as possible, working together.
As a solo producer, mix analysis report was big advantage for me.I'm using The Fat Mastering service since 2018 and, before to know it, I tried other master services but I continue today to think this is the best! I can tell Nicky loves this work, because he's very precise to the minimum detail, in addition to being super kind and always available to help you. The final products, available in different bitrates and for different platforms, sound like a bomb!!
Professional, quick and easy communication for exactly what I wanted as a result. Will work again very soon.
Very straight forward and pleasant to deal with, not to mention the tune sounds amazing! Great person to work with!
Interview with Nicky Howard
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Depends entirely on the task! There's a human connection to analogue that creates a certain sense of excitement that can get lots in the digital realm. On the whole, my analogue units are sonically superior when compared to their emulated digital counterparts, however, there are certain tasks when digital processing is simply the only tool for the job.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That we simply look to make music louder. Loudness and playback levels are an important part of my job, hitting the perfect zone where any increased maximisation is bringing a positive enhancement and a certain density to the sound is part of the skillset of an experienced Mastering Engineer.
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: Calvin Harris. Back at the very start of his career, he interviewed me as part of a Pete Tong show. It'd be great to come full circle especially given the phenomenal success he has achieved.
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: I work my magic throughout a diversity of modern styles, from Pop chart mega hits to underground Dance anthems, from Rap & Hip-Hop monster beats to eclectic Electronic.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: I've been working as a professional mastering engineer for 18 years, 11 of which running my studio, The Fat Mastering. As a teenager, I had two passions, one for music and the other for technology. While at university, these interests become entwined into the pursuit of understanding how audio equipment operated. Graduating with a Masters Degree in electronic engineering with a dissertation on my design and build of a VST controlled analogue compression unit. While studying, I became heavily involved in the Sheffield (UK) dance music scene, producing and releasing music that would lead to my first mastering gig for one of these record labels. By graduation, an internship in a local production and mastering facility was already in place. I spent the next seven years learning my craft while furthering my knowledge with a Diploma of Higher Education in music, sound and technology. By 2010 I was handling the senior mastering work and decided that it was time to establish my own company, The Fat Mastering. Shortly after this, I became a member of the professional body Music Producers Guild and started to work closely with a broad range of industry professionals. Into the present, I continue to look to improve every aspect of my work and business. I'm always on the pulse of new and emerging technologies and looking for new and exciting clients.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: As a dedicated Mastering Engineer I'm responsible for the final stage in the production process prior to release. I'm the fresh ears and ideas that take a project across the finishing line. This involves enhancements to the client's audio and also ensuring that all of the required levels are optimally set before delivering correctly formatted media that's ready for distribution.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: I'm a fresh set of ears. I can confidently push a project over the finishing line and equally breathe life into one that requires a new perspective. I'm in a different studio space. The final Mastering stage includes quality control. Moving a project into a new space can help illuminate any areas of the mixing space that may be less than perfect.
I was the Mastering Engineer in this production
- Mastering EngineerAverage price - $50 per song
▪️Mix Feedback before Mastering.
▪️Unlimited Revisions.
▪️Fast Turnaround.
▪️Freindly & Professional Service.
- Maceo Plex
- Tale Of Us
- deadmau5
- Custom Studio Space
- PMC IB1S (Full Range 3-Way) Monitoring
- Lynx Hilo
- SPL Hermes
- Thermionic Culture The Phoenix
- Bettermaker Darthlimiter
- Gyraf G14-S
- Elysia XFilter-ME
- TK-Audio BC2-ME
For 10% Off Use Code: SOUNDSBETTER10
- Watch a Full Mastering Session!Oct 18, 2021
Full Mastering session in the studio with Nicky Howard from The Fat Mastering, UK. Watch from start to finish as we go step by step from the initial Quality Control, through the Enhancements made right up until final delivery. Working in Wavelab Pro 11 and jumping out of the box with some high-end analogue processing.
Full Mastering Session on YouTube
