Testimonials - Audio Mastering in Sydney

"Our clients speak for themselves"

"KATHY NAUNTON made the music come alive . . . crisper, more clarity, noticeable increase in sound stage and dynamics. As artists we were overwhelmed by Kathy's professionalism, hospitality and efficiency. Now that we run our own recording studio we can comfortably refer our clients to dB Mastering knowing that they will receive quality service at the final stage of the process. Highly recommended!"

James Englund & Steve Iuliano, Crash Symphony Studios

“I have had the pleasure of working with Kathy Naunton and dB Mastering since 1992, both as electronic music producer and now independent record company manager. During that time Kathy/dB Mastering has never once failed to meet my expectations, and more often than not completely exceeds them. Kathy is extremely professional, talented, courteous, and a joy to be around. That aside, she also gets the warmest bottom end of any mastering engineer I have ever worked with! Whenever I need audio mastered, dB Mastering is always my first port of call.”

Stuart McCarthy, General Manager, Undercover Music

“It was a pleasure mastering with Kathy – she has great ears, a fantastic attitude and a very professional work ethic. I was really happy with the results of her mastering and would not hesitate to recommend her.”

Hilton Rosenthal, Rhythm Safari

"When mastering I choose dB mastering as I find Kathy Naunton has the most musical ears I know. She can make my home mixes sound a million bucks. I have mastered my solo albums at dBM and particularly loved the sound KATHY NAUNTON pulled with the Dissociatives album. It sounds fresh and not shredded to death, whilst still being loud as fuck."

Paul Mac

“Kathy at dB Mastering has been in control of mastering my last half dozen albums.

I wouldn’t go anywhere else. It didn't phase Kathy that each of these albums was a completely different genre... from the classical 'Jeff Duff Orchestra' to my funk band 'The Prophets', my glam rock band 'The Alien Sex Gods' my Big Band or whatever else I throw her way; Kathy is the king or should I say queen of mastering. The equipment & facilities are constantly upgraded & world class...

dBM. . . the only choice in Australia - NO CONTEST!'

Jeff Duff

'....there's something very earthbound about dB Mastering. Kathy Naunton has an exceptionally fine, experienced set of ears and an empathetic touch that considered our record as whole as well as individual parts. Her skill polished the dynamics in our album in the best possible way - with warmth, clarity and respect for the original mixes. I would personally recommend dB Mastering to anyone, however large or small the recording project.'

Christian Paul Sargeant, Drummer/Producer, 'The Tonights' / The Sun & Air Recording Co.

“I have been using dB Mastering for the last 12 years for all the different types of music that I produce. From contemporary pop to big band Jazz oriented music and everything in between such as legit Fado music and intimate trio and quartet style Jazz. Kathy fitted this mould perfectly. She is a delight to work with and has an innate understanding of just what I am trying to achieve in my finished product.. When working with someone in close quarters for sometimes up to 8 or 10 hours you need someone such as Kathy to keep the mood of the session up and not get stressed. Again Kathy fits the mould perfectly. I have no hesitation in recommending dB Mastering to all my clients and to others who just need sound advice on this critical area of music production.”

Paul J Baker, Shandar Media Productions Pty Ltd.

"I found Kathy Naunton's ear for what was going on in my mixes phenomenal. She recently mastered my record Songs from the Belfry and not only impressed me with her focus and capacity for listening but thrilled me with her much appreciated intention to ensure I was thoroughly and hugely happy with the result. Thanks again.”

Robyne Dunn

“When it came to the mastering process of the new FORT album, we had trouble getting exactly what we wanted (using other Mastering Suites) until dB Mastering/Kathy Naunton came onboard. Kathy gave the album a true representation of what we were going for. I think I can safely say she bloody nailed it! This was the first time we had used dB Mastering’s services...and don't think it will be the last”.

George Christie – GUITARIST/SONGWRITER FOR FORT

"Ears aren't just good for working out what to tweak sonically, they're also good for listening to clients, and Kathy Naunton uses her enviable set for both. She's not just a great mastering engineer - polishing even our most 'problematic' tracks into gems and ensuring our albums get radio play and score things like Triple J feature album - Kathy's also a highly affable person who makes 10 hours in the studio seem like a fun way to spend a day!"

Paris Pompor - GROOVESCOOTER Records / da dada

‘I never go past the shine and wonderful master-after touches that Kathy puts into all my music deliveries...... whether it be music for production music libraries, scores to television series or features. I always book into dB mastering for all my final tweaking -- and it makes such a difference. And best of all, Kathy is a pleasure to work with, and I have a solid 15 year history with them to prove it’ !

Art Phillips - Composer and President of The Australian Guild of Screen Composers

“I have used Kathy at dB Mastering for my last two projects and I have been very impressed with the result.

Kathy has great gear in a comfortable setting and is delightful to work with and most of all I trust her ears implicitly.”

Susannah Stone - Recording Artist, Nashville TN.

"Having worked with dB Mastering since it's inception with the Volition label, i still find a high level of skill and expertise

that i can rely on - i return and always get the goods. In 2006 i mastered 3 albums with dB - Pty Ltd, illuminati-inc and Melanie George.

What I look for and get from Kathy at dB, is a quality finish for a quality album and over 15 years of consistency counts for a lot in my books.

On a personal level, it also pleases me greatly that the idea of establishing a superior mastering facility in Australia with her late great dB partner, Robert Racic, when the first Volition releases were coming through, is a reality that lives on. Respect! "

Andrew Penhallow / Resolution Music

"On the hunt for sensitive ears and heart, sistermadly had been advised of Kath Naunton from dB Mastering. The pleasure was all ours upon first meeting Kath, and from that initial meeting a respectful and professional relationship grew. Our project was far from straight forward and would have tested the most patient and experienced of subjects. I commend and highly recommend dB Mastering."

Nicci Heffernan - sistermadly 2007

“I have known Kathy Naunton for many years and have the greatest respect for her both as a person and a professional audio engineer, mastering engineer and editor. As Managing Director of Zomba Production Music Australia from 1992 until 2003 I was responsible for producing around 150 CD’s for the Company, all of which were edited, mastered and compiled by Kathy at db Mastering.

Kathy’s attention to detail is second to none and her knowledge of all aspects of audio is superb. She constantly keeps abreast of new technology and musical trends. As a client who produced a wide variety of genres of music for Zomba’s world wide companies, I found Kathy capable of finishing off our productions to our very high standards and a testament to this is the many comments we received over the years from overseas distributors saying how good the mastering was.

Finally, I would like to add a finishing gloss to Kathy’s talents. It was, and will always be, a pleasure to walk into the studio with Kathy knowing that she listens to what you want, makes sensible comments and suggestions that will help you achieve your desired finished product. All this with a warm smiling personality and a pretty good cuppa……what more could a client want? World class!

Stuart Livingston, Sonic OZault Pty Ltd

“Recording, editing and mastering the Complete Brahms for Clarinet (ABC Classics) with Kathy Naunton was an experience in professionalism and of supreme quality. We were trying to create a sound that resembled the feeling of playing within the ensemble. I was stunned with the finished product - it is just as I experience, as I perform. The recorded sounds seem to generate from within the actual clarinet quintet. As if in an actual live performance, the clarinet is surrounded by all the nuances of the strings. On another project, Kathy had to match many different live and studio recording tracks and marry them into one unified CD tone. Kathy asked what were some of my favourite recordings and, amazingly, was able to reproduce exactly the sound that I had enjoyed so much from other samples and my verbal descriptions. She was able to reproduce my ‘live’ sound – such a rare gift in mastering. During the period that we worked on these projects, Kath astounded me with a high awareness of production techniques and finesse. She exacted edits with a classical musicians awareness of tempo, volume, intonation and even the subtleties of interpretation never escaped her”.

Deborah de Graaff

“Sydney Symphony's live CD releases are mastered by dB Mastering. We have found in Kathy Naunton a dedicated and professional musical mind, who gives our audio product its final lift in sound, and assures an excellent CD master every time.”

Raff Wilson, Artistic Administration Manager - Sydney Symphony

“Recording, mixing and mastering our album with Kathy Naunton was even better than we thought it would be. Kathy did a completely professional job and her musical expertise made all the difference to the finest of details in production and later in the mixing and mastering. Will do it all over again with the next project.”

Tracey & Phillip Campbell, Al Fresco Records