Mastering Engineer in Los AngelesMasters that hold up on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube
Mastering is the last step before your music reaches listeners. It is also the step that determines whether your track sounds competitive on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, YouTube, and physical formats. At MIX Recording Studio in Los Angeles, our mastering engineers focus on one thing: making sure your final master hits the right loudness, tonal balance, and format specs for every platform you plan to release on.
Loudness standards and platform targets
Streaming platforms normalize audio to specific loudness targets, and a master that ignores these targets loses dynamic range for no benefit. Our engineers deliver masters calibrated to each platform's spec: Spotify normalizes to -14 LUFS, Apple Music to -16 LUFS, YouTube to -14 LUFS, and Tidal to -14 LUFS.
We measure integrated loudness, true peak ceiling (typically -1.0 dBTP), and short-term LUFS across the track, so the master arrives at the platform already sitting where it should.
Mastering tools and signal chain
Our primary mastering suite is iZotope Ozone 9, which handles multiband dynamics, harmonic excitation, stereo imaging, and final limiting in a single chain calibrated per session. Surgical EQ work runs through FabFilter Pro-Q 3, where we address resonances and tonal problems with linear-phase precision at specific frequencies rather than broad strokes.
The Empirical Labs EL8X Distressor handles parallel compression where a track needs weight without losing transient detail.
What you get
Stem mastering
For projects that need more control than a stereo bounce allows, you send grouped stems, typically vocals, drums, bass, instruments, and effects, and our engineer processes each group independently before combining them into the final master. That allows frequency conflicts, vocal presence, and low end to be addressed without affecting the rest of the mix.
Every delivery format
Every session includes WAV 24-bit/44.1kHz for streaming, WAV 16-bit/44.1kHz for CD, and a 320kbps MP3 for preview and submission. 48kHz for video sync, DDP for CD replication, and Apple Digital Masters encoded AAC are delivered in the same session at no extra charge.
Revisions built in
Revisions are part of the process rather than an upsell. You hear the master, you say what is not sitting right, and it goes back through the chain.
Dolby Atmos mastering
MIX is one of the few independent studios in Los Angeles offering Dolby Atmos mastering. A 7.1.4 monitoring configuration verifies spatial placement, object panning, and bed levels before delivery, meeting the requirements for Apple Music Spatial Audio, Amazon Music, and Tidal.
In the room, or online
In-studio mastering means you hear decisions as they are made, on the monitoring the master is being judged on, and you can stop the session and change direction. For artists outside Los Angeles, online mastering runs the same chain without the room.
Upload your files at online.mixrecordingstudio.com and receive your master within 48 hours. Our mixing services are available as a complement if your project needs both stages handled in the same facility.
Mastering rates
- Online mastering, per song$70
- Stem mastering, per song$139
- Dolby Atmos mastering, per song$399
- Atmos plus stereo bundle, per song$599
- In-studio, MIX PRO standard rate$60/hr
- In-studio, 4 hours or more Monday to Thursday$55/hr
- Overnight 9 hour block, Monday to Wednesday$162
- Overnight 9 hour block, Thursday to Sunday$198
In-studio mastering is booked at standard room rates, so what changes the price is session length and day rather than the service. Overnight blocks run midnight to 9am. MIX PRO runs with an engineer on every session, so your engineer's rate is added to these room rates. Full pricing for every room and session type is on the pricing page.
Where we are
MIX Recording Studio is at 539 S Rampart Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90057, in the Westlake neighborhood. We are minutes from Koreatown, Downtown LA, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and Hollywood. The building has on-site parking for clients, and we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call (323) 218-7475 to discuss your project or book directly online.