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 B),
- 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 ;-)
