Podcast Mixing & Mastering

All podcasts are mixed and mastered by Paul Ashmore in Studio B, a purpose-built, state-of-the-art mixing and mastering studio featuring both an Avid S4 and an SSL Oracle console.

All orders will be turned around within the time frame selected when placing your order. Turnaround time is based on days the engineer works between Monday to Friday. If you have a specific day you need your master back for, please let us know when placing your order.

• 1 Working Day (returned next working day)
• 2-5 Working Days (returned within 2-5 working days)
• 5-7 Working Days (returned within 5-7 working days)

Podcast mastering is the process of preparing and finalizing the audio of a podcast episode to ensure optimal sound quality and consistency. The goal of mastering is to polish the audio and make it sound professional, clear, and balanced across different devices. While the concept of mastering is more commonly associated with music production, it has become increasingly relevant in the podcasting world as well.

• EQ: Adjusting the balance of frequencies to enhance clarity and remove any unwanted sounds. This can involve boosting or cutting certain frequencies to achieve a more balanced and natural sound.
• Compression: Applying dynamic range compression to control the volume levels of the audio. Compression helps to even out the loud and soft parts of the recording, making it more consistent and easier to listen to.
• Limiting: Setting a maximum output level to prevent audio distortion or clipping. Limiters are used to ensure that the audio doesn’t become too loud and cause discomfort or damage to listeners’ ears.
• Noise Reduction: Removing or reducing background noise, hums, hisses, or other unwanted sounds that may have been picked up during the recording process.
• Stereo Imaging: Adjusting the spatial characteristics of the audio, ensuring that it sounds good in both stereo and mono playback environments.
• Quality Control: Listening to the entire podcast episode to catch any remaining issues, such as pops, clicks, or other artefacts.

Podcast mixing is the process of combining and balancing the various audio elements within a podcast episode to create a cohesive and well-blended final product. This involves adjusting the volume levels, panning, and equalisation of individual audio tracks to achieve a balanced and pleasing sonic experience for the listener. Audio mixing is a crucial step in the post-production phase of podcast creation.

• Balancing Levels: Adjusting the volume levels of different tracks to ensure that all voices and other audio elements are audible and well-balanced. This includes making sure that the host’s voice, guest voices, and any background music or sound effects are at appropriate levels relative to each other.
• Panning: Determining the spatial placement of audio elements within the stereo field. Panning can create a sense of space and separation between voices or instruments. For example, placing a guest’s voice more to the right or left can contribute to a natural and dynamic sound.
• EQ: Adjusting the frequency balance of individual tracks to enhance clarity and prevent any frequencies from overpowering others. This is particularly important for ensuring that voices sound natural and that music or other audio elements complement each other.
• Compression: Applying dynamic range compression to control the volume variations within individual tracks. Compression helps to even out loud and soft parts, making the podcast more consistent and easier to listen to.
• Editing: Trimming and editing audio segments to remove any unnecessary pauses, mistakes, or other unwanted elements. This step is typically done before mixing but may also involve some fine-tuning during the mixing process.
• Quality Control: Listening to the mixed podcast episode in its entirety to catch any remaining issues and ensure a high-quality listening experience.

Podcast mastering offers several benefits that contribute to the overall quality and professionalism of your podcast episodes. Here are some key advantages:

1. Improved Sound Quality: Podcast mastering helps enhance the overall sound quality of your episodes. It involves processes like equalization, compression, and noise reduction, which can result in clearer and more polished audio.
2. Consistency Across Episodes: Mastering ensures a consistent audio experience across different podcast episodes. By normalizing volume levels and addressing variations in sound quality, listeners can enjoy a seamless experience as they move from one episode to the next.
3. Professionalism: A well-mastered podcast sounds more professional and is likely to be taken more seriously by listeners. This is important for building credibility and attracting a larger audience.
4. Enhanced Clarity: Mastering can improve the clarity of spoken words, making it easier for listeners to understand and engage with the content. This is particularly crucial for podcasts that convey information or feature interviews and discussions.
5. Reduced Listener Fatigue: Proper mastering involves techniques like compression to control volume fluctuations. This helps prevent listener fatigue, as it ensures that the audio levels are consistent and not too jarring or uncomfortable.
6. Optimized for Different Devices: Mastering can involve adjusting the audio for optimal playback on various devices, ensuring that your podcast sounds good whether it’s being listened to on headphones, speakers, or other audio systems.
7. Compliance with Industry Standards: Mastering can help ensure that your podcast meets industry standards for audio quality. This is especially important if you plan to submit your podcast to platforms or networks that have specific requirements for audio production.
8. Reduced Background Noise: Noise reduction techniques applied during mastering can help minimize background noise, improving the overall listening experience and eliminating distractions for your audience.
9. Polished Presentation: Mastering is a final step in the post-production process that adds a level of polish to your podcast. This attention to detail can make a positive impression on your audience.
10. Better Engagement: A well-mastered podcast is more likely to engage listeners. When the audio is clear, balanced, and enjoyable, it can contribute to a positive overall impression and encourage listeners to stay subscribed and recommend your podcast to others.

Orders / payment must be made before work on your song begins. This ensures our engineers, take the necessary time and care required to return you the very best master.

If work has not yet begun on your audio, you can simply get in touch with us and replace the file.

If work has already begun on your song and you need to replace the mix for a new one. Two outcomes will occur.

If the mix is technically the same song and same mix but there is a change resulting in the audio needing to be re-run. There is a small charge of £50 for a master re-run to cover the time the engineer must take to re-run your audio.

If the audio is completely different or a different piece of audio altogether, a new order for mastering will need to be placed. The reason for this is because mastering will need to be started from scratch and the previous master scrapped.

Before sending your audio always make sure it is correct and the file you are sending is the audio you intend to be mastered.

All mixing packages include 3 revisions. Mix revisions give you the peace of mind that the end result is going to be exactly as you want it. On the rare occasion you exceed 3 revisions, you can always purchase more via our revisions and re-runs page here.

Mastering includes 1 revision. Mastering revisions give you the peace of mind that the end result is going to be exactly as you want it. On the rare occasion you exceed 1 revision, you can always purchase more via our revisions and re-runs page.

If you need to change the mix in any way after mastering there is a master re-run fee of £50. This small charge covers the engineers time to recall the mastering chain and re-record the updated master.

Your audio can be uploaded safely and securely via the upload page here or in your account here. Bypass any compression / limiting you may have on your master bus before printing your audio ready for mastering.

• File Type: Wav
• Bitrate: 16/24/32bit
• Sample Rate: 44,1kHz – 96kHz
• Headroom: -3db / -6db

If a mp3 is the highest quality file you have and you are unable to obtain a high quality wav file, it is not ideal but we will be able to work with this.

Stereo masters are returned in the following formats, if you require any others, please let us know: 

• 96kHz 24bit wav
• 48kHz 24bit wav
• 44.kHz 24bit wav
• 44.1kHz 16bit wav
• 320kbs 16bit Mp3

Yes, if you would like to credit Audio Animals for the mastering of your podcast you can do so. This is not required but is greatly appreciated.