Mastering and Editing

Mastering Services

URM mastering services grew quite naturally out of our many years of classical editing and post-production hence our specialization in the mastering of any form of music which has a predominantly naturalistic and acoustic bias.

All music processing runs the risk of inadvertently changing the original sound, and for this reason we use only state of the art equipment with the purest signal paths possible, and have developed specialized techniques which are aimed at subtle enhancement and absolutely minimal sonic degradation.

Music mastered by us then has:

• a natural tonal balance
• greater clarity
• more warmth
• a better sense of space
• better resolution of low-level detail

Classical Editing

Our editing services are highly regarded within the classical music industry and are noted for their seamlessness and musicality. Classically trained music editors are alive to the nuances of micro-timings and micro-dynamics which can make so much difference - and URM has been highly praised for this very quality, not only by the musicians themselves, but also by classical reviewers. Misha Donat is well aware of how much fine-grained editing is now the norm in professional classical music CDs, which is why in a recent BBC Music Magazine review of a URM-edited CD he felt that he had to draw attention to the fact that the editing had not drawn his attention!

We can also provide editing techniques which enables us to deal with any problems within the natural dynamics of the music. (For more advanced editing options, including vocal comping, see below).

A recent client, the producer of a classical vocal recital, has described the result of our editing and mastering better than we ever could ourselves:

"you've done a splendid job opening up the solo voice ... it is sounding clearer and more focused but the piano and voice balance are still excellent -- everything is as clear as a bell. I am also impressed with the tidying-up you've done. I think you have tidied up most of [the piano] endings ... I am also very pleased with what you have done with [a particular single word]. The hairpin [steep dynamic change] in the sound now opens up but does not hit you between the eyes, at the highest level."

Classical Editing techniques in non-classical music

Unlimited fine editing and mastering is usually included in our classical recording packages, but as well as mastering entire CDs, we also provide for single song-by-song, quasi-classical, editing. The most common use of our editing services in non-classical music derives from our extensive experience in that field - for example, in vocal comping: the composition of a glitch-free vocal line from numerous takes. We can absolutely guarantee seamless editing, at any level of complexity - not merely word-replacement, but even entirely natural sub-syllabic edits!

Fine editing like this is not simply a matter of cutting and pasting - it requires musical talent from the editor too. Modern technology (e.g. SADiE, Sequoia) means that some editing is pretty straightforward, but as the human ear is very highly attuned to the human voice, listeners can feel discomfort when presented with edited material, even though they cannot hear the actual edits themselves. The reason for this is that even micro-seconds of change in the edit point can make all the difference between a musical or a natural edit and one that - though technically perfect - interrupts the music.

It is a myth that editing destroys the music. It certainly can do, but it's not heavy editing that does the damage, it is heavy-handed editing.

The result of URM Audio vocals editing sounds entirely natural - with no sonic degradation from any signal processing whatsoever - and in an acoustic setting a skilfully edited, un-processed, vocal line is generally found to sit more easily within the overall mix.
For "exposed" vocals, or for any subtle or fragile instrumental line, there really is no better option.

Other non-classical editing services include take editing (for example, in jazz: where the head and individual solos can be chosen from differnt takes and melded together); verse/chorus/refrain rearrangments; and incidental noise removal.

Please call us for a friendly (and helpful) chat to discuss your requirements.