Converting Existing Masters for Vinyl

If you are planning to release a record on vinyl that’s already been mastered for digital use, you’ll find that using those masters will probably result in a flat-sounding cut that doesn’t punch as much as it could, or even worse could even cause skips in the needle. This is because masters for digital CD/download/streaming) are finished differently than masters for vinyl.

If you really love the sound of your existing masters there’s no need to panic! We are the foremost specialists in transforming existing masters into vinyl-optimised versions that sound pretty-much identical to the listener, but have all the technical optimisations to get you the best cut possible. We use our own unique techniques developed over almost 20 years to magically tease out the natural dynamics from overly-pushed, super-loud masters to give you the best cut.

We have done many thousands of these mastering conversions for the biggest pressing plants (Key Production, Breed Media, Cram Duplication) for many years. We are THE experts in this field and use proprietary techniques developed in-house. Clients are often commenting how good their vinyl sounds, and how they also receive comments saying the same!

Example:

Here you see some existing masters in blue at the top which have been slammed for digital use by another mastering engineer, and would lead to a flat, lifeless cut if used to press vinyl. The red masters below have come from the original blue source material but are AFTER we have transformed them using our proprietary process. You will see the dynamic range magically restored, which would lead to a much bouncier cut that feels more “alive” and vibrant. There are also various technical adjustments which would prevent possible issues like needle skips and harshness around upper-mid frequencies.

“We’ve been working with Fat As Funk for over 10 years and Loz is my go-to guy for pre-vinyl mastering. His expertise is always on point, and he knows how to get any masters sounding great on vinyl. It’s always a smooth ride with clear communication and quick turnaround.” – Graham Worsfold, Key Production (a top vinyl pressing plant)

“We have used Loz and Fat As Funk mastering as our ‘In House’ mastering engineer for some years now and we have absolutely no intention of changing that any time soon.
Loz’s versatility and attention to detail when mastering across all genres and for all physical media and digital media outputs is second to none in the business. Fat As Funk is a genuine 5 star service.” – Adam M – Director: Cram Duplication & Vinyl (a top vinyl pressing plant)

“We have been using Loz/Fat as Funk Mastering through Breed Media for years and always receive a friendly, timely and quality service/results from him for vinyl mastering, as well as level checking and DDP conversions for CD work. We have trusted him with projects ranging from household name artists to customers putting out their first release and would gladly recommend his services whenever we can.” – Ben Ward, Breed Media (a top vinyl pressing plant)

“Always a pleasure to work with Loz. Turns jobs around quickly for me when time is of the essence! And what he does is always amazing – Top job!” – Liz Brown, Key Production (a top vinyl pressing plant)

“When we were preparing our first album, two of the biggest pressing plants recommended Loz to sort out our digital and vinyl masters. We were so impressed with his work that we asked him to mix and master our second album. Communicating our ideas for each song was so easy and enjoyable, and we are delighted with the results. Loz’s calm, zen-like approach, combined with his expertise and knowledge, makes him a pleasure to work with. Highly recommended!” – Olly, Bobsled Team

“Loz, it turns out you were the best to my ears, including people in multi-million dollar mastering facilities.”  – Augustine Leudar

If you are considering a vinyl press of your existing release, this is an essential service to get the best sound on vinyl. Better than just leaving it to chance at the cutting stage – why risk it? This is your legacy.

At just £35 per track it is a no-brainer to keep the sound of your existing masters you love, but get them optimised for vinyl pressing. It would suck to spend all that money on a vinyl run only to have a nagging feeling “could they have sounded better?”.

(From a client with his own vinyl cutting lathe) “I did a test cut of your demo master alongside a demo master from another mastering engineer and I can confirm your master was really good, translated to vinyl well and was far better than the other engineer. I liked the way that you didn’t slam the mix too hard and the integrity of my mixdown was still there but you just made it come alive more and made it sound nice & punchy and also louder without destroying the dynamics.”  – Ben, I & I Musik

Note: If we are doing all your mastering from scratch, you don’t need this service and will get better value just ordering the “Add Vinyl Version” product instead, alongside your regular “stereo mastering“, or our “Deluxe Vinyl & Digital Release Packages“.