My name is Jarkko Mattheiszen. I have worked in the field of audio and music for 17 years. While the spectrum of my work has been wide, from live shows to studio time and from classical orchestras to TV commercials, mastering music is where I feel I can contribute in the most effective and meaningful way. I’m at my strongest in the darker margin, namely all forms of metal, rock, doom, sludge, stoner, punk, drone, ambient, folk – you get the idea. I’m also a concert photographer and a performing musician so don’t worry, I know what you’re dealing with!
Mastering is the final stage between mixing your music and releasing it. From a technical standpoint mastering means ensuring the album is compatible with whichever formats it will be released on and ready to be delivered, and from an artistic standpoint it means emphasizing everything that sounds good, smoothing out any rough edges and giving your music the final sheen or magic dust to squeeze every last milliliter of emotion out of it.
Worry not, this is easy and rather painless. First, send me an email and tell me a bit about your release for an accurate quote and an estimate on how long it will take – the average turnaround is one to two weeks. Then, make sure your mixes are finished and you have the stereo files ready in any lossless format such as WAV or AIFF in at least 44.100kHz/16bit sample rate and bit depth. At this point I have emailed you detailed instructions on how to deliver the files and the required information to go with it, so go ahead and send the good stuff! Once I feel I have done all that it is in my power to prepare your music for the rest of the world, I’ll send you an audition master. Listen to it carefully and with good time, and let me know what you think and if you’d like to change anything. If any tweaks are necessary, I’ll provide you with a new version. We’ll do a maximum of three rounds of revisions total, usually zero or one is all it takes until everyone is happy. Once all is good and well, I’ll send you the final files ready to be released!
The price of all mastering projects is on a fixed per song/length basis and any extras are charged on top.
Single: 50€ per song
EP: 45€ per song
Album: 40€ per song
Vinyl master: +10€ per song
Cassette master: +10€ per song
Stem master (max. 5 stereo tracks): +20€ per song
DDP image: +10€ per release
If you feel your release doesn’t quite fit these frames, please be in touch!
My preferred method of contact is via e-mail, although you’re welcome to call me if you feel you feel like it’s easier that way. Do keep in mind that I live in Finland, so it’s GMT+2 up here!
E-mail: jarkko@taintedstudio.com
Phone: +358440199666
Do you offer mixing?
Yes, I do – that’s actually how I got started in the business back in the 00s. Get in touch and we’ll discuss further.
Is there anything you refuse to work on?
I’ll gladly work on almost any music, with the exception of NSBM, white power stuff, RAC or AI generated music.
Do you do attended mastering sessions?
Sorry, no. For me, mastering is very much a solitary practice that takes my complete and uncompromised attention.
Does a vinyl or cassette release require a separate master?
In most cases, yes. The physical process of pressing/duplicating these formats has their own technical requirements.
Do you deliver CD masters?
As a general rule of thumb, no. It can be done if absolutely necessary, but I strongly advise against it. For CD releases DDP is a much more trustworthy media of delivery. Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it if you haven’t received a DDP image before!
Is this an AI mastering service?
No. When working with me, you can rest assured your music is being handled by a real human being with a degree in audio engineering and years of experience.