Music Mastering before and after
Hear the Difference
Below is a selection of Indie rock & Metal tracks, each with a before-and-after player. Switch between the Mix (as it arrived) and the Master (as it left) to hear exactly what mastering changed. The player stays in place when you switch, so you’re comparing the same moment.
How to listen: for a fair comparison, turn on Match loudness. Mastering makes a track louder, and louder almost always sounds “better” at first. With loudness matched, you hear the real decisions: balance, clarity, low end and depth. Turn it off to hear the full release-level difference.
Accurate Headphones or a good monitoring setup will reveal the most.
Selected Work
Tears for Fears — “Shout” (Cover) - Mixed and Mastered by Trevor Nokes (TNM)
A dense arrangement where the challenge was keeping scale and punch without the mix turning to mush.
FreakBreed — Emerged "7th Sun" - Mixed by D Hunsaker (L-Town Productions) and Mastered by Trevor Nokes (TNM)
An Alternative Rock master. The track is very melodic on the intro then transitions into big leads. The band wanted to keep the energy and vocal presence while staying controlled.
FreakBreed — Emerged "Needle and Thread" - Mixed by D Hunsaker (L-Town Productions) and Mastered by Trevor Nokes (TNM)
This track is centered around a low "gravelly" vocal and a purposeful rhythm. The target was to gain seperation to give the feeling of more space.
Iron Maiden - "The Trooper" Cover by PLAP - Mixed & Mastered by Trevor Nokes (TNM)
As the track is very dense with alot going on, i wanted to ensure clarity was maintained whilst also preserving the 1980s metal feel. I took the mix as far as was comfortable then with fresh ears carried out the Master with only very slight EQ & Dynamic moves.
Client Reviews
"Trevor Nokes is the audio and mastering engineer I trust for my projects. This year alone, I collaborated with him to Mastering five Albums for me, and each experience has been outstanding.
His streamlined process and excellent communication make working together a breeze. With his sharp ear and top-of-the-line equipment, he has an extraordinary knack for fine-tuning my mixes and mastered them to perfection. If you're looking for someone who can elevate your sound, Trevor is the expert you need".
David Hunsaker - L-Town Productions
Ian 'Hag Haggis' Hargreeves - Musician, Singer, Songwriter & Photographer.
"Trevor did a wonderful job of mastering my music for release on streaming services. He listened carefully to what i required and then acheived much more. The Album passed quality control with no problems through the process of submitting them for release. Trevor was a pleasure to work with and very efficient. I would highly recomend for your pending releases".
Every project on this page went through the same Safe Hands Mastering Protocol as any other booking — no different treatment, no shortcuts. If you’d like to see what it could do for yours please click the link below.