FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
THE CRAFT
What is mastering and do I need it?
Mastering is the final step before your music goes out into the world. It's the process of balancing tone, volume, and spacing across your songs so they sound cohesive as a collection and translate consistently across every playback system, from studio monitors to phone speakers to earbuds. If you're releasing music professionally, yes, you need it.
What's the difference between mixing and mastering?
Mixing is about balancing the individual elements within a song, the vocals, instruments, effects, so everything works together. Mastering takes the finished mix and prepares it for the world, optimizing it for different formats and playback systems and ensuring it meets industry loudness standards. Think of mixing as cooking the meal and mastering as plating it for the table.
What is forensic audio and who needs it?
Forensic audio is the process of enhancing, analyzing, or authenticating audio recordings for legal, investigative, or evidentiary purposes. This might include cleaning up a recording to make speech more intelligible, verifying the authenticity of a recording, or analyzing audio for use in court. If you're a lawyer, law enforcement agency, or private investigator working with audio evidence, this is the service for you.
What's the difference between stereo and Dolby Atmos?
Stereo is the standard two-channel format, left and right, that most people are familiar with. Dolby Atmos is an immersive audio format that places sound in a three-dimensional space around the listener, including height channels. It's the format of choice for film, and increasingly for music on streaming platforms like Apple Music, Tidal and Amazon Music. If your project is destined for cinema, streaming in immersive audio, or any surround format, we can deliver it.
FILE DELIVERY
What format should I deliver my files in?
For music, we prefer high-resolution WAV or AIFF files, ideally at 24-bit and 44.1kHz or higher. Please leave some headroom in your mix, avoid limiting or heavy compression on the master bus before sending. For film, we'll discuss your session specifics during our initial conversation. When in doubt, just reach out and we'll walk you through it.
What format is right for my project?
It depends on where your project is going. Stereo is standard for most music releases. If you're releasing on platforms that support immersive audio, Dolby Atmos is worth considering. For film and video, the format depends on the delivery requirements of your distributor or broadcaster. We'll talk through all of this in our first conversation and make sure you end up with exactly what you need.
How will my finished files be delivered?
Music is typically delivered as DDP files with an embedded player, along with any additional formats you need such as WAV, MP3, or AAC. Film audio can be delivered as Quicktime or raw stereo audio for reference and discrete files for the final surround audio and any stems required. A Dolby Atmos Master file can also be delivered to distributors and authoring houses. Physical media delivery is also available. We'll confirm all delivery specs before we start so there are no surprises.
WORKING WITH TAPROOT
Do I need to be at the studio during the session?
Not at all. Most clients prefer to drop off their files and let us get to work. We'll upload a finished reference for your approval before anything is finalized. That said, you're always welcome to come by the studio and watch the process. Some clients find it useful, and we enjoy the company.
Do you work with first-time artists?
Absolutely. Whether it's your first release or your fifteenth, the process is the same. We'll take the time to understand what you're going for and make sure you feel good about every step. If you're not sure where to start, that's what the first conversation is for.
Can you work with clients outside of Oxford?
Yes. Most of our process works just as well remotely and the majority of our clients are located all around the world. Files can be reviewed remotely and in high definition via Listento or Source Nexus and then delivered digitally for music projects.. For film projects with larger file requirements, we'll figure out the best delivery method together. Remote reviewing for film can also be accomplished remotely via Source Nexus, to review audio along with synced video. We're happy to connect by phone or video call for the initial conversation and any check-ins along the way