Historical Testimonials

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Following is a selection of past testimonials, from the days "long ago" before this forum existed Please feel free to browse and enjoy!

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"I would like to say that after spending a small fortune at mastering studios in the area, I was contemplating doing it myself. One day scrolling the internet I ran across an ad about online mastering and at first I thought that it wouldn't work. But I decided to give it a try with my dance single. I must say that I am very pleased, not only with the sound quality and punch my songs have now, but that it was also affordable. I will be coming back to XARC Mastering! My new release "I Wanna Sex You" mastered at XARC Mastering is already a #3 breakout on the billboard dance club play chart and we hope to be having a chart position within a few weeks!"

Michael B. Sutton is a producer, Artist Songwriter and label head of Little Dizzy Records in Sherman Oaks, CA USA. He has over two decades of seasoned experience in the music industry, including seven years as a staff producer and writer for Motown Records. Over the years, Mr. Sutton has composed and produced music for Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, Diana Ross, Dionne Warwick, Anita Pointer and Pat Boone to name a few. http://www.michaelbsutton.com

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"XARC Mastering has literally become a daily part of my life. I am very pleased with the results - and so are the clients. I know I can depend on XARC, when delivering masters to the most successful artists and record companies in Estonia."

Johannes Lõhmus is currently working at Downtown Studios as the chief engineer. He has gained experience collaborating with different artists such as Tanel Padar, Maarja, Ines, Dave Benton, Koit Toome, Soul Militia, Nexus, Raivo Tafenau and Vanilla Ninja. His main competences are arranging, mixing and mastering. As a bonus, Johannes has perfect pitch.

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"I first came accross XARC Mastering through GarageRadio.com, and was sceptical to say the least. There are so many so called 'Online deal' companies aimed at the Independant artists to help them further their career and offer them affordable services like CD duplication, Merchandise etc. Many of these in my experience are a joke, however XARC Mastering, who are based out of Germany do not fit into this catagory at all. For one, their whole approach to the artrist in Incredible, they are extremely focused on helping the artist. I have been a musician in an Irish Based Alternative Rock outfit, 'PARADOX' for the last seven years, and have experienced our fair share of Studio/Mastering facilities, from Ireland to Los Angeles and I have yet to find a company like XARC, that provide a far better service, at a fantastic rate, and with incredible results.

Lorenz Vauck is the guy who dealt with us, and is a master at his craft, to say the least. He is tuned in, produces far better results that you would expect and in a fraction of the time of many other companies we have dealt with. I would Highly recommend him and XARC to any other musician like ourselves, trying to get the best out of their music at an affordable price, and hey...If you're still sceptical about it, you'll get a Demo of your tracks before payment for free...You can't beat that. He has permanent customers in PARADOX and we would like to thank him and all at XARC Mastering from the bottom of our hearts...YOU ROCK DUDES..."

Mike McCarthy, Management of Paradox, Ireland, http://www.paradoxrock.com

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"Having used traditional mastering houses here in Norway, with all the time and effort it takes to book a slot in the good room, not to mention the high expense of mastering, I felt it was time for a change from the norm. I discovered XARC Mastering on the web and after giving it some thought, sent a track to them to be mastered. I am so glad that I did, XARC Mastering proved to me that not only do they know their business, but that they know it very well, and they made such a difference to our track that we will definately be back for more, they really brought out the best in the track... great stuff, and the whole precess was so smooth it was like drinking honey... I would (and will) recommend XARC Mastering to anyone considering any mastering at all... nice one XARC..."

Alvin Christie, Producer, Norway, http://www.swingswangswung.com

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"WoW!!!! It sounds incredible! You have my business for life. I love the thick Analog sound you gave my songs. And now, it´s ready for the Clubs. Now i understand what Mastering can do for a song. You took it to the next level. Mastering is a science and you found the cure to heal songs that have a sonic deficiency problem. I don't know if I should call you Doctor or the Mad Scientist. Hats off to you."

Ian Williams, Feva CEO, USA

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"Using XARC Mastering has proved to be a golden decision for me, and a fantastic opportunity that has taken my music into the next level. My Music was just wanting to be heard, but recording it was pinned to a low budget and no professional equipment, producers, or engineers, and so how ever it was recorded was how it sounded, kind of 'raw' in it's original form and state. Still later on, the high costs of having the cd mastered professionally was unspeakable, until we heard about the very affordable services of XARC Mastering and the ease at which mastering by XARC Mastering could be performed online.

We contacted XARC Mastering and they really did some serious magic with our raw cd, and they also made it very easy to start and finalize the whole mastering process from start, to payment, and to the finished product.

They took our 'Signature' song "South Jersey Ride" and transformed it from a raw low quality recording to an "In-the-Studio-recorded" Sound, I can't believe the before and after sound quality differences. For young new bands out there that are on a strict low budget, you need to contact XARC Mastering they can definately help you achieve that 'professional' sound...

When I needed some tech assistance concerning things I did not understand or know, XARC Mastering was very friendly, patient, and extremely helpful and supportive. They actually guided 'me' and got me through the entire process and today the cd sounds 100 percent better, and it sounds as if all the songs were actually recorded in a pro-studio... All I can say further is: "Thank God for XARC Mastering" - no words can describe how valuable and terrific their services are, and I can not Thank them enough... Thank You XARC Mastering, Thank You..."

Chris Fortunato from StreetWarrior, USA, http://www.streetwarriorband.com

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"One of the biggest challenges in getting a series of songs, recorded during several months and on different equipment, to sound like a coherent album is the mastering. But, to me, it's always been a black art. I have read about mastering, i've bought mastering plug-ins and i have played around with EQ for hours - but I have never been quite satisfied... If you want it done right, your best chances are by bringing in the professionals! But; to me is has always seemed risky to engage "ordinary" brick-and-mortar mastering houses; the prices can be somewhat high for a limited budget and, worst of all, you do not know what results to expect.

XARC Mastering has proven to be a perfect solution; A professional service, with great and speedy response, including a free sample and afterwards a complete demo master, made the whole process painless!

XARC Mastering has been a VERY nice experience with excellent results!"

Morten Wagner, Kongfoo, Denmark, http://www.teknopera.com

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"Lorenz, the head of XARC Mastering, is not only a cool guy, but he knows what clients need! I'm such a client of Lorenz, and I got it ALL: answers, support (day and night if necessary!), good rates, hints & tricks for mixing and... a feeling of friendship. I've never met Lorenz, but I felt that he REALLY want to support my project!

Before I've heard my songs mastered by Lorenz, I was convinced that it wouldn't be necessary to do that job in an external mastering studio. I did it myself in my own recording studio, and I was happy. That was BEFORE Lorenz sent me a QUICKMASTER of one of my songs (for FREE, just to show me the possibilities!). After that first impression, it was clear that there's a lot of room for improvement. So I authorized XARC Mastering to do that job.

Hours later (!), Lorenz sent me a pre-listening MP3, so that we had a good basis to discuss the sound adjustments. Two days later, after a few emails to specify my wishes, Lorenz informed me that my songs would be ready to download from XARC's download page. It's very comfortable, and I could hear my mastered songs before payment.

To make a long story short, Lorenz realized all my needs and wishes, and everytime I felt, that HE really wanted that MY songs sound fine.
What can an artist want more?!"

Dan Keller, Sultan Of String, Switzerland, http://www.sultanofstring.com


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"XARC Mastering is now my first choice for mastering.

I've been involved with four CDs as a musician and a producer. My experiences with mastering houses has been terrible. I've always ended up settling for something I really didn't like. And now, several years later, I'm disappointed because I paid good money and had to settle for something I knew could have been done better.

My new project is very special because I did the entire thing myself. Six months of recording and mixing and re-recording and re-mixing. I spoke with several mastering engineers, some of them had an excellent pedigree. But none of them would take the time to answer all of my questions with words I could understand. A lot of them seemed too busy to even deal with my simple little project.

Lorenz answered every question - and the answer was always right the first time! I knew I had some tracking issues - Lorenz handled them perfectly or else told me exactly how to fix them. The finished project speaks for itself. I couldn't be more satisfied.

The mastering process is cloaked in mystery. It requires special talent and experience. A musician has to have trust in his mastering engineer. But in the end, it is a service provided to a paying client. I'm convinced you won't find a better combination of talent, skill AND customer service. Hats off to XARC Mastering!


Additional I have to tell you something. I took the mastered CD to my friend's studio. I once tracked an entire album there - he does very good tracking and mixing. We played the CD through his system and I was really, really surprised - it sounded even better! I'm totally impressed with your skill - I know that the tracks I sent you were far from perfect - but I gave them a critical listen through an excellent system and my mind was completely blown. (The engineer was very impressed, too! I gave him the link to your site.)

But there is a bad part of this lesson - I now have to buy some better speakers!!!"

Milan Christi, MC Gitarz, Germany

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"For me, there are two main reasons for professional mastering. One is optimized room acoustics, the other one is the need for fresh ears. I completly lost my sonic orientation during months of working. It's a little bit like you`ve forgotten who you are and you have to go to a therapist That's why I really need someone in a impartial position and with an open mind to the material. Not to forget superior gear and solid knowledge about it.

To keep the story short, I sent Lorenz the mixes from my upcoming CD, and I got back exactly what I'm expecting from a professional mastering studio: 11 different tracks melting together to one piece of music, increasing the musical message with warm, rich and detailed sound. Now I remember how my music should sound...

An excellent result, nice price and a very fast and friendly service. XARC Mastering is absolutly recommended!"

Markus Zeiner, Kelvin Raah, Austria, http://www.kraah.com

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"Mastering audio is a serious step in any professional recording. It is a delicate process that requires different attention, approach and equipment than mixing. Most importantly it is a step best left up to a well trained objective ear and someone who has never heard the music/audio before.

Lorenz at XARC Mastering has proven himself to me to be this great objective ear and also knows how to uncover and enhance the elusive harmonics that make recordings great. His choices of EQ for our projects were right on and very tasteful. Not too much of any one thing. And he also accomplished sinking the boxy or muddy tones out.

Another aspect that I am very impressed with is the incredible turn around time and ease of using an online internet means to deliver and retrieve pre-mastered source material (the best lossless way!). Very responsive answers to emails and fair rates are just two of the reasons why I will continue to call on XARC Mastering for mastering.

Thanks Lorenz!"

Jason Benassi, Guitarist/Programmer and Mix Engineer of Magnetic North, USA, http://www.magnetizedmusic.com

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"I have been in and out of studios and musical productions as a performer, writer and producer a lot of times over the years. However, this project due to budget, budget, and lack of budget and the key personnel I was cast into a role of Engineer. Not my gift. To make matters more difficult I was operating a modest and unfamiliar DAW system to capture the performances. Although it was a quite a challenge and learning experience there were many production troubles and weaknesses. Masking, mud, white noise, over compression, sound field, A/D conversion, etc. In all probability, the primary weakness was the guy Engineering. Although it is a complete no, no, to adopt a you can "fix it in the mix" (or mastering) attitude. I found myself with these thoughts as I struggled to complete the project.

We did the best that could be done under the various circumstances. In the end the project lacked power, depth, warmth, pressure, definition, a wide stereo field and such elements after mixing and remixing.

Then entered, XARC Mastering, and the artistry of a true "Engineer" Lorenz Vauck. It was a real answer to my prayer!

Mastering Engineer, Lorenz Vauck sculpted the final mix track sound we had obtained. He inherited many production troubles and time after time conquered the troubles with great skill and efficiency. Lorenz was not only "masterful" in his mastering he was attentive, informative, upfront and fair. The man behind XARC Mastering is truly a gifted artist in his field. I highly recommend his services! He put a white-hot sound reinforcement spotlight on the dim, dull, weak tracks.

Lorenz, my dear friend, THANK YOU sooooo very much for truly making our project evolve into something good and potent!! At a very economical price that was truly priceless!!

Oh---how I look forward to utilizing real tracking and mixing engineers in the next project. BUT more than that I look forward to working together and under the skillful guidance of Lorenz Vauck at XARC Mastering again in the near future!

Your awesome my friend, Bless you"

Billy Rogers, USA, http://www.aboutmyfathersbusiness.com

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"As a hobby musician I have been trying to achieve that polished finish to my music for many years. But while scouring the Internet for something totally unrelated I came across XARC Mastering.
They offered just what I needed at a very reasonable price. A means of adding that final polish that you only hear in commercial music. Even better a free trial this I could not resist this and it put any worries I had to rest.

I have been using XARC Mastering now for about six months on several of my tunes I found the service to be consistently Fast, Friendly and of a high quality.

Friendly and helpful
Over the months I have developed a good working relationship and friendship with Lorenz who has helped me with any technical problems that I have had and given advice on how to get the best from my music.

A fast service every time.
Emails are answered in five minutes or less and the music I have uploaded to be mastered it is completed and ready in a day or less. One occasion I up loaded two of my tunes late on Friday expecting Lorenz to do the on the Monday I received an email on the Saturday morning to say both demos are ready to download (Dedication working weekends as well).

Only the best will do.
The styles of music I write can vary, But each of the tunes that I send to be mastered come back sounding amazing. Each of the sounds are well defined, separated and clear. The drums are punchy and the string spacious even thought the original music is far from perfect.
Lorenz also likes to opt for the quality squeezing every last bit out of the music over loudness. I don’t blame him as I prefer the quality, but you can still have it loud if you want.

Value for money
Is it worth the money most definitely yes, you spend a long time writing the music It would be a shame not to finish it off especially at these great prices.

But don’t just take my word for it try it your self with the free demo. what do you have to loose nothing.

Overall I am very pleased with what XARC Mastering have done for my music. So friends and people of the world will be getting a much better product from me because of the efforts of the staff at XARC Mastering and I will be using XARC Mastering for all my future projects.

Thanks to all at XARC Mastering."

Andrew Pye, Mr. Pye, UK, http://www.mrpye.com

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"I was greatly impressed by the difference and improvement on my tune. Lorenz did a great job, and he was patient and was able to get my song sounding good enough for the dancefloor. When you are in the studio working on a song, listening over and over again to get it just right, you still need a person to sort out the final mixdown, get it ready to put it on vinyl or CD. There was a huge difference between my mixdown and the final master, it was amazing. The original track that I recorded sounded very different if I listened to it from different positions in my studio. When I heard the master, not only did it sound great with better dynamics, it was "flatter" EQ wise and not colored. It sounded like how a song should on any sound system. Since my song was VERY bass heavy, and knowing from past experience, I was afraid it would be too distorted and muddled when played out in a club. The bass was toned down but still prominent, the drums were punchy. The other good thing was that Lorenz
made it much louder and clearer. I Iook forward to working again with Lorenz and XARC Mastering in the future. They do a fantastic job. Thanks!"

David Sananman, Daizo, USA, http://www.recombine.com

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"Nothing could be easier or more straight forward than mastering with XARC. The service was professional, friendly and prompt. After making a couple of changes suggested by XARC to the initial pre-mix, the song was mastered and returned in no time at all. The bass was 'tidier' and there is a clarity and presence that has come from nowhere, great work!. I'm impressed with the extra room there now seems to be in the mix which makes listening easier. There's no chance of them 'over cooking' the mix as XARC have a mature outlook on the science of sound. Thank you for you effort, this is a great service to musicians that your providing."

Michael Tingle, UK, http://www.michaeltingle.co.uk/

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"XARC Mastering has proved it´s skill and talent by taken my music in. I had never even heard of an online mastering service and actually discovered through several site links starting on a Isratrance.com forum while looking for Reason refills. They are stellar and the price is very affordable. As far as I am concerned, they are a god send to the underground. Not to mention, Lorenz is very patience and knowledgeable. If you use their service, you won't regret it. Just check out the before/after example of my track."

Anthony Brown, Catatonic Despair, USA

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"I´ve had the tracks of my first E.P. mastered in Palma, my hometown, and another one of my next single in Barcelona, both of them sounded very good. Then one day i saw this advert while surfing the net about this people mastering via the internet and best of all they give you the choice of hearing the results before paying and all that at a very affordable price.
So i thought: why not give them a try with a track i had just finished. I uploaded the song and for my surprise i had it back and mastered before 48 hours with an excellent result. It actually sounded great. It was similar, if not better, to the work done by the other studios i´ve worked with, but much faster.

All i can say is that XARC Mastering gives you a great service at a great price, i recommend them to everyone who wants to get a superb final result of their mixes. For sure i´ll keep working with them."

David Martínez, David Martzz, Spain, http://www.stomp-productions.com

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"The mastering process is extremely important and very scary. When you spent months mixing your music, you want to find a mastering engineer that can come in with a fresh pair of ears and at the same time also understand what kind of sound you have tried to create in your mixes. I discovered XARC Mastering by chance on the internet. Initially I was a bit sceptical about the low prices, but decided to give it a try. Needless to say I was flabbergasted and totally blown away by the results! Lorenz got it right from the get-go! I think it’s the first time we have accepted the masters straight away.

The mixes had kept their warmth and detail but was now much louder and more powerful. There was more air in the music and all the clicks, pops and hiss from bad recordings and old vinyl samples were completely gone! It just sounded ace! I believe this is the beginning of a long term relationship."

Jens Petter Nilsen, Xploding Plastix, Norway, http://www.xplodingplastix.com

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"XARC Mastering is fantastic! After sending them my track, I was amazed at the speed of service they offered me. My track was fully mastered the same day!

It sounded so much better, warmer, more prominent and everything sounding crisp and clear I was VERY impressed! Take a listen to the clips and hear for yourself!

Lorenz is a very friendly guy and if you have any questions you want answering, he is more than happy to help.

I will definitely be sending my future work to these guys!

Thank You!"

Dale Hurst, Hyper Mission, UK

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"My band (WR3) is going to release a CD (6 songs) to be distributed by a record company and also to serve as concert promotion. We already made some CD's in the past, but never let them master by a company before. We just raised the volume and that was it. As we're going to compete with other bands now, we decided to use XARC Mastering to master the CD and make us sound more like other major bands.

I had doubts first, because I thought all they could do was raise the volume to the max. Not true, I received a test mp3 of all our songs and the sound was not only louder but also more balanced and detailed. You could hear every detail of every instrument, even when played at low volume! At this point I thought the music was maybe a bit too detailed, we play punkrock and our former CD's were more 'messy' sounding. So I took the recording to the rest of the band and they were totaly amazed at the quality! We played the CD on monitors, hi-fi's, computer speakers, in the car... it sounded very powerful on all those systems, just what we wanted! So, thanks Lorenz for your professional work, our next CD will be mastered by you too!

BTW, Lorenz is very quick to reply to e-mails and is very honest about what is possible and what is not."

Peter Schelfhout, WR3, Belgium, http://go.to/wr3

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"XARC Mastering gives access to a top notch, courteous and unbelievably quick pro mastering service to anyone in the world with a internet connection. An internet based service is ideal for us, and it’s great to have another pair of impartial ears provide the final QA before going to manufacture - We don’t mess about, and neither do XARC - we’ll definitely be using Lorenz again – soon!"

Adam Whittaker, Head Records Ltd, UK

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"I never knew that my song could sound as great as you have mastered it. I loved my song before, but now I love it even more. Your services are fast-paced as well as high quality. I hope no one else is going to pass up an opportunity that I almost missed upon, to get a hold of such a great service as XARC Mastering, that provides a revolutionary approach to mastering media: over the net! Brilliant! I give you 10 out of 10 stars. I hope to work with you in the near future (very near)."

Maksim Krykhtin, USA

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"Yes, absolutely the result achieved from mastering our CD exceeded expectations. No doubt we could have found other places to do the same; but we will never know because now we couldn't imagine ever going anywhere else than XARC Mastering. This whole experience was a demonstration in how the internet and customer service is suppose to work. It does not require the band to have computer expertise, only access to the internet. XARC Mastering was easy, quick, friendly and priced appropriately. In the end our only regret is that we couldn't thanks Lorenz in person. Maybe someday..."

Nancy Edwards, Manager of Deja Blues, USA, http://www.dejablues.net

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"We are working for many television programs and the sound for us must be always the best. When we discovered XARC Mastering, we were so impressed about the sound, punchy and detailed, and pleased about the short time that Lorenz always answered all our questions. XARC Mastering gives you all you need for the "finish touch" of your product. And it sounds great! Thank you Lorenz."

Danilo Vaona and Federico Vaona, Musical directors, composers and arrangers, Spain, http://www.danilovaona.com, http://www.federicovaona.com

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"I am very pleased with the service from XARC Mastering. They were very responsive to my questions; they set up an account for me quickly and without problems. The file transfer process is easy. I had my song mastered in no time. And the sound is excellent! The levels on my song now are similar to those on commercial CDs but without distortion and loss of dynamics. The bass articulation is improved and the high-end is smoother. XARC Mastering provides excellent service for a very reasonable price. The results are outstanding. For me, this is the way to go!"

James Althoff, USA

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"I discovered XARC Mastering by a friend who worked with them already. I was thinking that the idea of an online mastering studio was excellent so i decided to contact XARC Mastering, to master my last dancefloor track ''PJG''. The result came in 1 day and was really nice. XARC Mastering transformed my crappy sound in a powerful club track. I was impressed. For 49 Euro, it is the best thing i find in the music mastering process since i composed."

Vincent Jarroux, MOX, France, http://www.djmox.net

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"I have tried XARC Mastering. I sent them one song (100% renoise output, no VSTi's used) and they sent me back a master within a couple days. I tried it in compo against several commercial CD's (as well as some "standard enhancement presets" found in products like Ozone from Izotope) on a $4000 Hi-Fi system and the result was very impressive. On top of that they offered all kinds of suggestions concerning my mix in order to get the final product just perfect. Basically they removed any doubts I had about the value of getting tracks professionally mastered. I am now getting an EP done with them."

Greg Mc Laughlin, Foreign Presence, Canada, http://www.electronicscene.com/foreignpresence

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"I make electronic music as a hobby, and a gradually acquiring a collection of plug-ins. I quickly learned that mastering plug-ins are expensive, and not all that simple to use. When I was mastering a track the other day, I decided to try XARC's services. The difference between Lorenz's master and my own was at least as large as between my master and an unmastered version. I was especially pleased that the XARC master had at the same time very clear highs without any distortion, a much clearer mid than I was able to produce, and a nicely articulated bass. I will definitely use their services again."

Victor Eijkhout, USA, http://www.eijkhout.net/logic

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"The experience with XARC Mastering was amazing. Being a home studio owner, I'm a person that has many questions and likes to understand how things work. Lorenz was excellent about getting back to my emails within minutes.

The turn around time for the demo I was expecting was about a week. The actual turn around time was less than 24 hours. The finished song had beautiful EQ, sounded a bit more powerful and was much more portable than the original.

I'll be recommending their services to all of my future clients who are serious about their recordings. Thank you for all the great work Lorenz, hopefully I'll have a chance to work with you again sometime soon."

Brian Amos, Engineer for Winters Halo, USA, http://www.wintershalo.com

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"WOOOOWWWW, I am utterly impressed!!!!! First thing first. This is the first time a let made a CD master of my track. Of course I wanted a master, but I also wanted to know how I should deliver the mix before mastering. The things I have learned is already worth the money! What I asked for, I did get, and even more then I was hoping for. I must say that Lorenz got a lot of patience. I do not know if I´d have that kind of patience. When Lorenz says punchy, you get punchy and I mean PUNCHY! I have listen the master in a big room and it sounded FANTASTIC."

Henk De Jong, Morris, The Netherlands, http://www.nu2.nu

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"XARC Mastering is amazing! They really know how to do just what you would except. I really felt our music was in good hands. It´s like sending your kid away to college, you just find it hard to part with your music and trust it to someone else´s ears and hands. But i can tell you that the only place i will send my music to now, is XARC Mastering."

Demetre Janness, Fuse, USA