Professional vinyl mastering of audio material

Preliminary technical assignment: professional vinyl mastering of audio material for initial selection of specialists and determining the desired budget for a long-term project 

Project goal:

Prepare professional vinyl mastering of musical material for the subsequent production of a 12-inch record (33⅓ RPM). The mastering must meet technical requirements for cutting lacquer discs or direct galvanic production.

🎧 Material information:

- Number of tracks: 8 tracks / 4 per side;

- Total duration: 36 minutes (Side A: 18:05, Side B: 17:55);

- Genres: rock / indie-pop / hip-hop / electronic;

Output file format: 24bit / 96kHz WAV (without limiter on the master bus)

🎯 Specialist tasks:

1. Analyze tracks considering:

- physical limitations of vinyl (stereo base, low frequencies, groove velocity),

- side length and potential loudness,

- avoiding overloads, sibilants, "needle jump".

2. Apply professional vinyl mastering considering:

- preservation of dynamics and sound character,

- mono summing of low frequencies (up to ~150 Hz),

- removal of digital artifacts or excessive sharp high-frequency spectrum,

- phase control and compatibility with vinyl cutting.

3. Provide:

- final tracks for cutting in WAV 24bit / 96kHz format (Side A and Side 😎,

- cutting notes or documentation (if needed for the cutter),

- reference master with limiter for pre-listening (optional),

- [optional] visualization of analysis with Perfect Groove (PG — currently available for free on the software manufacturer's website) / Cedar / Sequoia / other software.

📌 Additional requirements:

- Flexibility regarding revisions — preferably 1-2 edits if needed.

- Completion time: up to 7 days after receiving tracks

📎 What we provide:

- Stereo tracks after digital mastering (without limiters)

- Sound references (other artists' records, Spotify links or .WAV files)

- Information for Side A / Side B (track order)

- Catalog number / release name (if available)

💬 Reference examples:

- links to Spotify or YouTube, or release titles from Discogs — not mandatory but preferred

💵 Budget and payment method:

- Approximate budget: please specify your desired amount for this type of project

- Payment: after final version

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📤 How to submit a preliminary application:

Please include in your application:

- Experience with vinyl (years, number of releases)

- Examples of previous projects (Discogs / Bandcamp / links)

- Which software/hardware you use for vinyl mastering

- Whether you can test the master in Perfect Groove / Cedar / Sequoia

✅ Goal:

Obtain an audio master ready for vinyl cutting, preserving sound character, high quality, and meeting the physical and format requirements of an analog medium.

PS: if you are a professional mastering engineer but some points seem unclear or too demanding, still write — we will agree 😉