What is mastering?

Mastering is the final critical stage of the creative process. The last opportunity to refine and prepare your music before release and to ensure it sounds exactly as you want.

What is mastering?

Mastering is the final critical stage of the creative process. The last opportunity to refine and prepare your music before release and to ensure it sounds exactly as you want.

dB Mastering will guide you though the mastering process and ensure your music is not just ready for release but sounds amazing. Cutting corners when it comes to mastering can result in all the blood sweat and tears that have gone into the writing, recording and mixing is for nothing. 

Mastering Australia

Bringing objectivity and professional understanding of how to optimise your music for the widest range of playback systems, whether your music will be played in a club, on your home stereo, in the car, the studio, on earbuds, on radio, or audiophile playback equipment, we know that you want your music to be impactful and sound amazing.

“Making music loud is easy… but making your music sound big, without introducing harshness is the art of mastering” – Kathy Naunton

Music production has seen a lot of changes over the past 30 years but what hasn’t changed is the need for critical listening, an objective ear, and the skills and artistry of an experienced mastering engineer to oversee and nurture your music through the final stage before release. dB Mastering has the tools and skills to make your music fly.
Mastering Engineer

“Clients will often reach out after a bad experience from a cheap “set and forget” service but by then they have already wasted time and money. 

I endeavour to get it right the first time by working with you, collaboratively until we’re both happy”– Kathy Naunton

Please feel free to contact us to discuss the details of your project.
We love questions!
“Kathy Naunton from dB Mastering is not only an exquisite person, but has the best mastering ears in Sydney. Having worked with us on our last 3 releases, Kathy has brought new life to already great-sounding recordings, and mastered for us the highest selling Australian jazz release of 2012, the ‘Best Jazz Album’ Aria-nominated album from 2011, and the ‘Best Jazz Album’ ARIA winner from 2013. The beautiful warmth and intricate nuance she brings to her work is matched only by her great depth of innate understanding of what any given recording needs from her expert sonic ‘polishing’. Not to mention how incredibly easy she is to work with. As long as Kathy’s still mastering, we won’t be going anywhere else in a hurry.”
Nick Begbie, The Idea Of North
“No matter how well you play, what great mikes you use, or who records your work – the result will always depend very heavily on how it’s mastered. That’s why I trust my music to dB Mastering, Kathy treats the sound with the same care and attention to detail as the musicians themselves.”
James Morrison (“In Good Company” – James Morrison and Don Burrows – ARIA nominated album 2016)
“Kathy Naunton is always my first port of call when it comes to mastering my releases. Not only does she have an amazing ear with sound, but what I dig about Kathy is that she genuinely loves what she does for a living. That love and attention to detail that she provides is so very important in producing a quality end product. It’s always a pleasure hanging out and working on a project with Kathy.”
Emma Pask (“Cosita Divina” – ARIA nominated album 2016)
“Mastering is a mysterious process, and not one I pretend to understand well, but as a producer who is often entrusted with the precious goods at the end of hundreds of hours of work, it is very reassuring to be in the safe hands of an expert with very good ears and a room full of good equipment. I have had the pleasure of working with Kathy many times on different projects for more than ten years now, and I’ve always been overwhelmed with the quality of the masters she delivers. She has a great way of dealing with people, and a great touch for sweetening your records before they are handed over to the audience.”
Anton Monsted, Executive Music Supervisor “Australia”
“I trust Kathy Naunton’s ear more than anyone else in the industry,
I always get the exact sound that I want plus more, I wouldn’t go anywhere else for mastering. And I love you!”
Sean Carey, Producer (ex Thirsty Merc)
“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
“Having worked with dB Mastering since it’s inception with the Volition label, I find a high level of skill and expertise that I can rely on – I return and always get the goods.
What I look for and get from Kathy at dB Mastering, 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
“While we have swapped and changed studios and producers, Kathy has been our single constant pillar in the recording process.  We have used dB Mastering since the inception of our band and intend to continue doing so. Kathy’s quality of work and professionalism are second to none. The translation of the song from studio to mastered version is always night & day. She enables us to clearly hear everything that is going on in the mix, ultimately giving a warm, fully rounded, radio quality song.”
The Iron Horses