Expert digital and vinyl mastering services for UK garage, 2-step, bassline, and electronic music. Based in Bedfordshire with over 30 years of experience in music production and audio mastering. Competitive prices starting from £25 with quick turnaround times.
Big Drum Records has been providing professional audio mastering services since 1995, specialising in UK garage, 2-step, bassline, and electronic music production. Our experienced mastering engineers understand the unique sonic characteristics required for underground dance music, ensuring your tracks translate perfectly across all playback systems.
Whether you're preparing tracks for digital distribution on Spotify, Apple Music, and Beatport, or planning a vinyl release, our mastering services deliver the professional polish your music deserves. We work with independent artists, producers, and record labels across the UK and internationally, offering competitive pricing without compromising on quality.
Our state-of-the-art mastering studio in Bedfordshire is equipped with industry-standard analog and digital processing equipment. We use a combination of classic outboard gear and cutting-edge plugins to achieve the perfect balance of warmth, clarity, and punch that UK garage music demands.
Professional digital mastering optimized for all streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, Beatport, and Bandcamp. We ensure your tracks sound their best across all digital formats.
Specialised vinyl mastering that accounts for the unique characteristics of the format. We prepare your tracks for cutting with proper RIAA equalization and groove optimization.
Our digital mastering process begins with a detailed analysis of your mix. We assess the frequency balance, dynamic range, and stereo imaging to identify areas for enhancement. Using precision EQ, we sculpt the tonal balance to ensure your track sounds consistent across all playback systems, from club sound systems to smartphone speakers.
We apply carefully calibrated compression and limiting to maximize loudness while preserving the dynamic character of your music. For UK garage and 2-step productions, we pay special attention to the sub-bass frequencies, ensuring they're tight, controlled, and powerful without causing distortion on streaming platforms.
All digital masters are delivered as high-resolution WAV files (24-bit/48kHz) suitable for all streaming platforms, along with MP3 files for immediate distribution. We also provide loudness-normalized versions optimized for Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and other streaming services that use loudness normalization.
Vinyl mastering requires specialised knowledge of the physical limitations and sonic characteristics of the format. Our engineers have extensive experience preparing tracks for vinyl cutting, understanding how groove width, depth, and spacing affect playback quality and pressing durability.
We apply the RIAA equalization curve and make format-specific adjustments to bass frequencies, ensuring they won't cause the stylus to jump or create distortion during playback. High frequencies are carefully de-essed and controlled to prevent sibilance, while maintaining the crisp, detailed sound that UK garage productions require.
For vinyl releases, we provide consultation on side length optimization, helping you determine the best track sequencing for maximum audio quality. We deliver high-resolution masters (24-bit/96kHz) ready for cutting, along with detailed specifications for your pressing plant.
Fast and efficient service with most projects completed within 2-3 business days. Rush service available for urgent releases.
Since 1995, we've been mastering UK garage tracks. Our engineers understand the genre and know how to make your music hit hard.
Professional quality at affordable rates. We offer package deals for EPs and albums, plus discounts for Big Drum Records artists.
Audio mastering is the final step in music production, where a mastering engineer applies processing to your mixed track to optimize it for distribution. This includes adjusting the overall tonal balance with EQ, controlling dynamics with compression and limiting, maximizing loudness, and ensuring the track translates well across all playback systems. Mastering also prepares your music for specific formats like streaming platforms or vinyl records.
Our standard turnaround time is 2-3 business days for most projects. For single tracks, we can often deliver within 24-48 hours. EPs and albums typically take 3-5 business days depending on the number of tracks. We also offer rush service for urgent releases with 24-hour turnaround available for an additional fee. Contact us to discuss your timeline requirements.
We recommend sending your final mix as a high-resolution WAV or AIFF file at the same sample rate and bit depth you recorded at (minimum 24-bit/44.1kHz, preferably 24-bit/48kHz or higher). Export your mix with no limiting or mastering plugins on the master bus, and leave approximately 3-6dB of headroom to give us space to work. Avoid MP3 or other compressed formats as they reduce audio quality.
Yes, we include unlimited revisions with all our mastering services until you're completely satisfied with the result. After receiving your first master, you can request adjustments to the tonal balance, loudness, or any other aspect of the master. We want you to be 100% happy with the final product before we consider the project complete.
Mixing is the process of balancing and processing individual tracks (drums, bass, vocals, synths, etc.) to create a cohesive stereo mix. Mastering is the final polish applied to the completed mix, optimizing it for distribution and ensuring it sounds professional across all playback systems. While mixing focuses on the relationship between individual elements, mastering treats the entire mix as a single piece of audio.
Yes, we can create both vinyl and digital masters from the same mix. However, vinyl mastering requires specific technical adjustments that differ from digital mastering, such as RIAA equalization, bass management, and de-essing. We recommend ordering both services together if you're planning a vinyl release with digital distribution, as we can optimize each format while maintaining sonic consistency between them.
Absolutely. We offer package pricing for EPs (3-6 tracks) and full albums (7+ tracks) with discounted rates compared to single track mastering. When mastering multiple tracks, we ensure consistent sonic character across all songs while respecting the unique qualities of each track. We also handle track sequencing, spacing, and can provide DDP files or individual masters depending on your distribution requirements.
While we work with all genres of electronic music, our specialty is UK garage, 2-step, bassline, grime, and related underground dance music styles. With over 30 years of experience in the UK garage scene since 1995, we understand the sonic characteristics these genres require - punchy drums, powerful sub-bass, crisp hi-hats, and the perfect balance for club sound systems. We've mastered countless releases for UK garage artists and labels worldwide.
Big Drum Records is based in Bedfordshire, UK. While our mastering studio is located in Bedfordshire, we work with artists and labels throughout the UK and internationally. All projects are handled remotely via file transfer, so you can access our professional mastering services regardless of your location. We serve clients in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, and cities across the UK, as well as international artists worldwide.
Get in touch today for a free consultation and quote. We'll discuss your project requirements and help you choose the right mastering service for your needs.
