MajorDecibel | Instant Online Audio Mastering Service

FAQ

What is mastering?

Mastering is the final stage in the production process. Through a combination of techniques including compression, equalization, limiting, and other adjustments, a track is dynamically enhanced to meet its full potential. A mastered track is ready for distribution.

How does your processing work?

When you upload a track it's sent to our server for mastering, a process that typically takes no longer than a few minutes. Our custom audio processing engine masters your track, applying a variety of techniques including bass and sub-bass enhancement, stereo-linked multiband compression, linear phase equalization, gain and limiting, and stereo enhancement to widen the sound stage. This produces a signature sound based on the way that we have developed and tuned the process.

Can this replace a mastering studio?

No instant online mastering service can claim to replace the work of a skilled mastering engineer. Our objective is to provide quality masters that should satisfy the needs of many artists quickly and affordably. We expect that our service will be most suited to those who aren't looking to work with a professional mastering engineer just yet, artists who want to improve their sound before posting their music online, and those who want to know what their music could sound like quickly and affordably. If you're just about to master your demo, or don't have the experience with mastering to take your music to the next level, we can help.

How should I prepare my tracks?

Make sure to export your tracks in WAV format, which allows us to deliver the highest quality masters possible. We also recommend that you don't perform any more than limited dynamic processing on your tracks before uploading. If you have already provided sigificant compression and/or brick-wall limiting to your mix this may adversely impact our ability to master your track. We do not apply any active noise reduction techniques, so providing us with the best possible recordings will produce optimal results.

What mastering options do you provide?

We provide three mastering intensity levels spanning Low, Medium, and High. As you might expect, High sacrifices some dynamic range in favour of a louder, punchier sound. Low preserves more dynamic range and reigns in the loudness. These mastering intensities are available to all users.

Artists who have purchased a Premium Mastering Pass have the additional option of selecting five different post-mastering equalization options: Warmer, Warm, Neutral, Bright, and Brighter. These can be selected after choosing your mastering intensity. Warm/Warmer will emphasize the low end of your track and tame the treble. Neutral won't apply any additional shaping. Bright/Brighter will emphasize the high end of your track and tame the bass. These EQ adjustments have been designed to provide simple, effective, and intuitive adjustments to your mastered track. Their range has been carefully designed to maximize control and audio quality.

Because mastering is so subjective in nature these options give some control back to the artist. We have engineered things such that you can toggle between these settings and hear the differences before proceeding to download your files. This ensures a more streamlined A/B comparison.

What audio formats do you accept?

Currently, we accept most types of audio files as long as they are mono or stereo and sampled at 44.1 or 48 kHz. We recommend that you upload WAV files, which allows us to master your music at the highest quality because there is no additional decoding step before mastering. There are many types of WAV files, and we try to support most including 16, 24, and 32 bits. The maximum file size we support at this time is 1 GB for Premium Mastering Pass holders. FREE users can upload tracks up to 250 MB in size. If your file takes longer than 60 minutes to upload the server will timeout. If you need to convert your audio file before uploading we suggest you use Online Audio Converter.

What audio formats do I get?

MP3 files are provided to FREE users. High resolution MP3, FLAC and HD WAV files are provided to artists who have purchased a Premium Mastering Pass.

MP3 is a popular compressed format you've probably very familiar with, which is supported by many playback devices and online services. These file formats are perfect for sharing and distributing due to their smaller file sizes. We generate MP3 at 192 kbps for FREE users, and 320 kbps for users who have purchased our Premium Mastering Pass.

FLAC is a lossless compressed format of the highest quality, perfect for audiophiles with high end systems. These are large files, typically only slightly smaller than WAV files, but they are 100% true to the source material. We generate FLAC files at 24 bits.

WAV is a completely uncompressed format that we use for mastering. If you want to generate other file formats for distribution, this is the file you want because they contain the raw audio samples without any compression. For the same reason, this is the only file format we accept for mastering. We generate HD WAV files at 24 bits.

If you wish to convert your track to other file formats you can use an online service like Online Audio Converter.

What's the difference between your service and other instant online mastering services?

Just as different mastering engineers can be expected to master the same track differently, instant online mastering services will each sound different. We have our own signature sound based on the way that we have developed and tuned our mastering engine. If you want to get a better sense for what that sound is, you can upload 2 tracks for FREE every month without needing to sign up for an account. Beyond this, there are at least a few other differences that we are proud to deliver:

We offer unlimited mastering including access to your mastered tracks in Hi-Res and HD WAV formats at one of the most competitive price points in the industry.

Rather than relying on any 3rd party audio processing hardware or software, we have developed our mastering engine from scratch with support for up to 32 bit/48 kHz stereo audio. Developed with audio enhancement in mind, this has allowed us to approach mastering without any limitations. We build our own tools and mastering chain in-house including both a pre-mastering track analysis stage and an incredibly fast real-time signal processing engine. We've started at the track level and built upwards for a truly unique mastering experience that you're going to love.

Finally, MajorDecibel is independently owned and operated by the developer behind the service. This means that we're listening, and constantly evolving to deliver an all-star service to musicians and artists around the world. You will not be spammed with advertising emails, and we won't insist that you send out a tweet every time you use our service.

How do you keep your prices so low?

Our competitive pricing is achieved through a combination of factors including the efficient design and deployment of our mastering engine, the re-investment of nearly 100% our available resources into mastering engine improvements, exceptionally low overhead, and a relentless desire to exceed our customers' expectations. We do minimal advertising, relying instead on organic growth through word of mouth from satisfied customers. We have no external obligations to any third parties to meet funding or sales targets. Like many of our users, we are a completely independent operation built on top of years of experimentation and a deep personal passion for audio and music technology. This means that conventional business methods take a back seat. The minimalism of our website is a reflection of our priorities. We are proud to do things differently, allowing us to deliver a powerful service to artists around the world at an affordable price.

Can I sell my mastered tracks?

Absolutely. You retain full commercial rights to your mastered tracks. You don't even need to credit us.

Can I use your service to master the music of multiple artists/bands?

Yes you can. If you wish to use the service to master the music of multiple artists/bands, please purchase the Studio/Label Premium Mastering Pass.

Are my tracks stored?

Uploaded tracks are removed from our server within 48 hours.

Do you collaborate with artists?

We love to get feedback from artists and we try to incorporate it when possible. We also feature select music on our social feeds at our discretion and with the permission of the artist. Send us an email if you are interested in sharing your music on our feeds or just with us.

Who is behind MajorDecibel?

MajorDecibel is unique in that every aspect of our service has been meticulously developed and continues to be maintained by one person with years of experience in developing custom audio processing solutions. This service grew out of passion for music and continues to operate, quite literally, underground. Maintaining a very high-quality, affordably priced mastering service for independent artists is our vision. Your satisfaction is our number one priority, and we will do everything that we can to make your experience an incredible one.

Not finding what you're looking for? Reach out to us directly.
Email support@majordecibel.com

Master Your Audio & Music Online Instantly

An Independent Service For Independent Artists