About
Andy Backhouse is the very proud founder of Sigil Of Brass - a professional online mastering service for all kinds of audio mastering. Andy has quite a peculiar hobby, he has a few pass-times, but the one that mostly drags his passion is audio and the perfection of such. He can master you Podcast, DJ Mix, Song, Field Recording or go for a full album - get in contact with him at [email protected]
Andy achieved two No.1 hits with his band, Guerrilla Dub System, and he mastered the tracks himself in his professional online mastering studio, Sigil Of Brass. He is also a prodigious Sound Artist and Field Recorder & also presents an Arts radio show.
With his online mastering service, Andy is a sole trader. Andy promises you a quick turn-around and a personal service; there is no "One-Size Fits All" through the use of presets here, at Sigil of Brass.
Engineer
Professional Online Mastering Service:: Andy began his interest in sound as a musician in local groups using samplers, synthesisers and recording and mixing live bands. In the early 2010`s he was involved as Band Leader in a retro-futuristic improv outfit called The Tidswell Noise Collective. However, things calmed down a bit despite firm approval by the local press. He founded the experimental record label, Focused Silence, off the back of the Tidswells. Presenting The Parish News led him to appreciate the warmth of Modeled Analogue Compression, and he took this a step further when producing the show Sound of Wonder. Andy went on to study Studio Audio Mastering at Post-Graduate Level. As he started setting up his audio mastering service – Sigil Of Brass – he became a member of the Audio Engineering Society.
Social Media
Mastering Service
UK
Our online mastering service allows you to make use of our world-class facilities in a great acoustic environment right from your desktop.
You get the same experienced ears and professional signal path as our direct-booking clients. We have a history of all kinds of audio engineering: Podcasts, DJ Mixes, Singles, Albums & Field Recordings. Feel free to upload some audio using the button below – plus, there are plenty of similar ones like it dotted around the site.
Mastering Service Gear
- Harrison Mixbus 32C
- Izotope Ozone Suite
- Izotope RX Advanced
- Livid DS1 Controller
- Sound-Proof Room
- LC2N Levelator
- DDP Software
- Great Ears
File Format
Stereo WAV or AIFF is preferred. No MP3s
Fades
Do not fade out the file yourself - if you don't mind.
Resolution
24 bits/s is preferred.
Start & End
If you can, leave some air at the beginning and end of the track
Sample Rate
44.1 kHz or higher preferred.
Use the sample rate of your original session, no gain to up-sample to 96kHz if you’ve recorded at a lower rate. Do not normalize.
Levels
Don't brickwall your track, please. Please don't slam the levels.
Stems
If you recorded a song using several channels then feel free to send the bounced down channels as well as your version of the complete track. This could be a channel for the Vocals, a channel for guitar and a channel for synthesiser (for example).
Digital Stems
If you are a computer-based musician and you are submitting Stems - bounce down your stems to the four main components (synths, drums, bass, vocals). This makes the final mixdown more homogenous. Please include your own mixdown of the complete track too. You will need to do this before mixing.
Plugins On The Master Bus
If you are using plug-ins on the master bus provide options with and without it. Limiting or clipping the master bus should always be avoided
A Reference
Reference tracks for the session are welcome. If you are emailing the session, we would like to know the files and we can take it from there - after all, this is about starting a conversation.
Big shout out to Sigil Of Brass who remastered this mix for us; especially enhancing the dynamics to suit French Horn lead.
Matt da CongaHuge thanks to Andy Backhouse for adding some genius remastering magic to a very splendid mix that's about to become my new 20 minute French Horn set. It's a hard brief to get the acoustic mix right for such a weirdly harmonic instrument, but Andy (and Matt) have smashed it and my horn chimes and sings to it. Thanks so much! You're both amazing 🙂
Helen AlexanderAndy has been Mastering my radio shows (over 100 shows over one format or another) and he was quick to pick up on how I wanted my sound. He was very good at mastering my eclectic sounds to get what I wanted.
DJ ScoobyI had 5 tracks mastered by the Studio. And now they definitely sound much more detailed and comfortable for perception from different sound sources and in various environments. This good mastering service also makes me confident that I did a good job too while recording, processing and mixing because I feel when listening to the final product that my vision, balance of my textures are understood by mastering engineer and are ready to be conveyed to audience in a better way as complete and solid idea. And this is exactly what I got from Andy.
Yury ZaitsevAndy did a great job on the Mastering of my instrumental track, which was used on a short film documentary Soundtrack with BRUISEFILM London.
Dominic ArberExamples Of
My Work
A mastering service provides an essential part of finishing any audio. We at Sigil Of Brass have a proven track record in applying professional mastering to all genres of Music, Field Recordings, DJ Mixes and Radio Shows. The mixdown stage of your recording is just as important as the mastering. Ensuring everything sits tight with no harmonic distortion, accurate volume levels and full mid/side treatment that can make or break your track. Using the best EQ and Compression combined with skilled mixing techniques; Andy, your engineer brings out the best in your mix. Ensuring a rich deep, dynamic sound that will compliment the mastering process.
Examples From This Online Mastering Service:: below this text, you will find audio in an unmastered and a mastered state. I am in the process of building them up so I can show you the different types of music/sounds that I can work with professionally. The files are both MP3, so they are not of the highest fidelity - although higher definition audio is available upon request.
On the left-hand side of this page you can hear the unmastered version of the track, and on the right-hand side of the page, you can listen to the mastered version. We can cater for all kinds of DJ Mix & Audio here at Sigil Of Brass.
Before Mastering
Horny Helen Mix
Mastered
Horny Helen Mix
Before Mastering
Episode #4
Mastered
Episode #4
Before Mastering
JrF Contact Mic On Metal
Mastered
JrF Contact Mic On Metal
Prices
Online Mastering Service UK
For Tracks
For Music Tracks- The Mastering Of A Track (Song) Of Any Genre
- Let's Start A Conversation
- I Will Work With You Until You Are Happy With The Mix
- Unlimited Revisions
- All Delivered & Returned Digitally
DJ Mixes
The Mastering Of A DJ Mixes- The Mastering Of DJ Mixes Per Hour's Length
- Let's Start A Conversation
- I Will Work With You Until You Are Happy With The Mix
- Unlimited Revisions
- All Delivered & Returned Digitally
ONLINE MASTERING SERVICE
Have a project or an idea?
Please get in touch!
[email protected]@Hi_Andy_BCREAO Studio, Harrogate HG1 4BE
Sigil Of Brass
About::
Andy Backhouse is the very proud founder of Sigil Of Brass – a professional online mastering service for all kinds of audio. Andy has quite a peculiar hobby. He has a few pass-times, but the one that mostly drags his passion is audio and the perfection of such. He can master you Podcast, DJ Mix, Song, Field Recording or go for a full album – get in contact with him at [email protected].
Andy achieved two No.1 hits with his band, Guerrilla Dub System, and mastered the tracks himself in his professional online mastering studio, Sigil Of Brass. He is also a prodigious Sound Artist and Field Recorder, also presenting an Arts radio show.
With his online mastering service, Andy is a sole trader. Andy promises you a quick turn-around and a personal service; there is no “One-Size Fits All” through the use of presets here, at Sigil of Brass.
Engineer::
Professional Online Mastering Service:: Andy began his interest in sound as a musician in local groups using samplers, synthesisers and recording and mixing live bands. In the early 2010`s he was involved as Band Leader in a retro-futuristic improv outfit called The Tidswell Noise Collective. However, things calmed down a bit despite firm approval by the local press. He founded the experimental record label, Focused Silence, off the back of the Tidswells. Presenting The Parish News led him to appreciate the warmth of Modeled Analogue Compression, and he took this a step further when producing the show Sound of Wonder. Andy went on to study Studio Audio Mastering at Post-Graduate Level. As he started setting up his audio mastering service – Sigil Of Brass – he became a member of the Audio Engineering Society.
Have a project or an idea?
Please get in touch! Your best bet is to upload some audio on this site using your Desktop or Laptop. There is the capability to that on the Desktop version of this site.
Examples::
Examples From This Online Mastering Service:: below this text, you will find audio in an unmastered and a mastered state. I am in the process of building them up so I can show you the different types of music/sounds that I can work with professionally. The files are both MP3, so they are not of the highest fidelity – although higher definition audio is available upon request.
Examples of Mastered DJ Mixes :: below this text you will find DJ mixes in the unmastered and a mastered state. I am in the process of building them up so I can show you the different types of music that I can master. The files are both MP3, so they are not of the highest fidelity.
On the left you can hear the unmastered version of the DJ Mix – on the right hand side you can hear the mastered version of the DJ mix. We can cater for all kinds of DJ Mix here at Mastering.WTF.
Before Mastering
Horny Helen Mix
Mastered
Horny Helen Mix
Before Mastering
Episode #4
Mastered
Episode #4
File Format
Stereo WAV or AIFF is preferred. No MP3s
Sample Rate
44.1 kHz or higher
Use the sample rate of your original session, no gain to up-sample to 96kHz if you’ve recorded at a lower rate. Do not normalize.
Start & End
Leave some air at the begining and end of the track
Fades
Do not fade out the file yourself – If you want the end to fade message me.
Headroom
Try and get -6db Headroom on your mix.
Levels
Don’t brickwall your track please. Don’t slam the levels.
Big shout out to Sigil Of Brass who remastered this mix for us; especially enhancing the dynamics to suit French Horn lead.
Matt da CongaHuge thanks to Andy Backhouse for adding some genius remastering magic to a very splendid mix that’s about to become my new 20 minute French Horn set. It’s a hard brief to get the acoustic mix right for such a weirdly harmonic instrument, but Andy (and Matt) have smashed it and my horn chimes and sings to it. Thanks so much! You’re both amazing 🙂
Helen AlexanderAndy has been Mastering my radio shows (over 100 shows over one format or another) and he was quick to pick up on how I wanted my sound. He was very good at mastering my eclectic sounds to get what I wanted.
DJ ScoobyI had 5 tracks mastered by the Studio. And now they definitely sound much more detailed and comfortable for perception from different sound sources and in various environments. This good mastering service also makes me confident that I did a good job too while recording, processing and mixing because I feel when listening to the final product that my vision, balance of my textures are understood by mastering engineer and are ready to be conveyed to audience in a better way as complete and solid idea. And this is exactly what I got from Andy.
Yury ZaitsevPrices
For Tracks
For Music Tracks- The Mastering Of A Track (Song) Of Any Genre
- Let's Start A Conversation
- I Will Work With You Until You Are Happy With The Mix
- Unlimited Revisions
- All Delivered & Returned Digitally
DJ Mixes
The Mastering Of A DJ Mixes- The Mastering Of DJ Mixes Per Hour's Length
- Let's Start A Conversation
- I Will Work With You Until You Are Happy With The Mix
- Unlimited Revisions
- All Delivered & Returned Digitally