Elevate Your Sound with Wales's Premier Mastering Studio
Bringing clarity, depth, and professional polish to your music with precision, passion, and decades of expertise
About Hafod Mastering
Wales, United Kingdom
Hafod is Wales's first and finest professional mastering studio, nestled in the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan just outside Cardiff.
Our engineers bring decades of combined experience to every project, mastering across all genres from indie rock to classical, electronic to folk, and everything in between.
With a carefully curated selection of world-class analogue and digital equipment, we deliver the perfect balance of warmth, clarity, and impact that will make your music stand out.
While we happily accept work online, we highly recommend booking an attended session if you're within range. Experience our peaceful rural surroundings while we collaborate to bring out the best in your music.
At Hafod, we're not just service providers – we're passionate music lovers dedicated to helping Welsh and international artists achieve their sonic vision.
Our Services
Professional mastering tailored to your needs
At Hafod Mastering, we offer a range of services designed to give your music the professional edge it deserves. Each service is delivered with the same attention to detail and commitment to quality that defines the Hafod sound.
Standard Mastering
Our core service provides professional mastering for singles, EPs, and albums. We carefully enhance your mix with our world-class analog and digital tools to achieve the perfect balance of warmth, clarity, and impact.
- Detailed listening and analysis
- Custom processing chain for your specific genre and style
- Precise level matching across multiple tracks
- Delivery in your choice of formats (WAV, AIFF, MP3, etc.)
- One round of revisions included
Attended Mastering Sessions
Experience the mastering process firsthand in our purpose-built studio. Work directly with our engineers to achieve your sonic vision in real-time, making decisions together in an optimal listening environment.
- Direct collaboration with our mastering engineers
- Immediate feedback and adjustments
- Experience your music in a professional mastering environment
- Same-day delivery of final masters
- Complimentary refreshments and Welsh hospitality
Vinyl Mastering
Specialized mastering for vinyl release, taking into account the unique requirements and limitations of the format to ensure your record sounds its absolute best when pressed to wax.
- Format-specific adjustments for optimal vinyl playback
- Side balancing for consistent level across the record
- Attention to running times and level requirements
- Delivery of vinyl pre-master and digital masters
- Consultation on vinyl production if needed
Stem Mastering
A hybrid approach between mixing and mastering that gives us more control over individual elements of your track while maintaining the balance and character of your mix.
- Processing of 4-8 stems (e.g., drums, bass, vocals, etc.)
- Greater control over individual elements
- Ideal for complex productions or when mix adjustments are needed
- Delivery in your choice of formats
- Two rounds of revisions included
Our Process
How we transform your music
Initial Consultation
We begin with a conversation about your project, your goals, and your sonic references. This helps us understand your vision and how best to achieve it.
File Submission
You'll send us your final mixes, along with any notes or references. We recommend high-resolution files (24-bit WAV or AIFF) for the best results.
Critical Listening
Our engineers carefully analyze your tracks in our purpose-built studio, identifying strengths to enhance and areas that need attention.
Mastering
Using our blend of premium analog and digital tools, we apply precise processing to bring out the best in your music while maintaining its essential character.
Review
We'll send you the mastered tracks for approval. This is your opportunity to provide feedback and request any adjustments.
Revisions & Delivery
After any necessary revisions, we'll deliver your final masters in all the formats you need for distribution, streaming, and physical release.
Throughout this process, we maintain open communication and work collaboratively to ensure your music reaches its full potential.
Start Your ProjectOur Expert Team
Meet the ears behind Hafod Mastering
Donal Whelan
CEO & Founder
Donal "The Ears" Whelan established Hafod Mastering in 2004 with a vision to create Wales's premier audio mastering destination.
With over 25 years of experience in audio engineering, he has dedicated the last fifteen to building Hafod into a cornerstone of the Welsh musical landscape.
His meticulous attention to detail and commitment to sonic excellence have made him a trusted name among artists and producers throughout the UK and beyond.
Gethin John
Chief Mastering Engineer
Mastering at Hafod since 2009, Gethin is our chief engineer whose technical expertise is matched only by his infectious enthusiasm for great sound.
His impressive portfolio includes Emmy-winning TV soundtracks, Bollywood hits, and award-winning albums for UK indie artists, demonstrating his versatility across genres and formats.
Gethin's approach combines technical precision with a musician's ear, ensuring your project receives both the polish and character it deserves.
Levi Owen
Mastering Engineer
Levi has been mastering with us for 6 years, bringing a contemporary perspective while upholding the exacting standards of The Hafod Way.
With hundreds of successful masters under his belt, he has built a reputation for consistently delivering great-sounding results that artists love.
As a Billboard-charting hip-hop producer signed to Embassy Music Group, Levi brings a unique dual perspective as both engineer and artist to every project he touches.
The Hafod Sound
Everything in our showcase playlist has been mastered right here at Hafod. Our expertise spans across genres, from indie rock to classical, electronic to folk, and everything in between.
We believe that great mastering should enhance your music without changing its character – bringing clarity, depth, and professional polish while preserving your artistic vision.
Listen to our before/after examples to hear the Hafod difference, and imagine what we could do for your next project.
Hear the Difference
Our World-Class Studio
Where technology meets expertise
Our purpose-built mastering studio is at the heart of everything we do, and we've spared no expense in creating the perfect listening environment.
Hafod was built on the premise of putting fantastic speakers in a fantastic room, backed by fastidious attention to detail with the electrics, electronics, and acoustics.
This carefully calibrated space allows us to hear exactly what's going on with your music, what needs enhancing, and importantly, when to stop. The result is masters that translate perfectly across all listening environments.
Our carefully selected equipment combines the warmth of vintage analog with the precision of modern digital tools:
- Manley Slam! Mastering Limiter
- PrismSound Maselec MEA-2 EQ
- Dangerous BAX EQ
- Manley Massive Passive Mastering EQ
- Summit DCL-200 compressor
- Ampex ATR102 Tape Machine
- Brook 35V Unbalanced Buffer Amp
- Digital Audio Denmark ADDA2
- Apogee PSX 100-SE
- A smörgåsbord of plugins
- MeterPlugs Perception by Ian Shepherd
- Weiss Saracon Sample Rate Converter
- Sonoris DDP Creator
- IMF Electronics RSPM Mk.IV Speakers
- Balanced Audio Systems Model F Dual Monaural Power Amplifier
- BAS T.X. Type 2 Balanced AC Power Module
- Crookwood and ADT Monitoring and Metering
- Brook 35V Balanced Buffer Amp
- Acoustics by Murray Harris and Jochen Veith
- Westwick Installations balanced mains power system
- 6 custom designed LF resonators
- Star point earthing with earth stake
Our Clients
A selection of projects we're proud to have mastered
The Welsh indie scene
We take immense pride in being an integral part of the Welsh music community, helping local artists and labels create work that stands alongside international releases.
These albums represent just a selection of our work with Welsh indie labels, including several Welsh Music Prize nominees. We've mastered releases for Sain, Libertino, Clwb, Ikaching, Turnstyle, and virtually every label in Wales.
If you're an independent Welsh artist looking to elevate your recordings with professional mastering, we'd love to be part of your creative journey. Get in touch to discuss your project.
The Bollywood connection
Songs are a key part of the film in the Indian film industry and we have clients and friends in all the major production centres of India.
We master soundtracks and single releases for top composers and performers including A R Rahman, Ajay Atul, Amit Trivedi, Vishal Shekhar, Shankhar Essan Loy and many more.
We deliver masters in all formats needed for single release, digital streaming release and music to picture for trailers and incredible videos for studios like Yash Raj and labels like T-Series.
Super Furry Animals remasters
Since 2014 we have worked on a series of remasters for the furries.
First undertaking high quality digital transfers from the original master tapes. Then remastering 20th anniversary editions of their classic albums and collections of bonus tracks.
Finally delivering the albums in all their glory plus collections of never heard before material for special edition releases on BMG to mark the 20th anniversary of the original releases on CD and Vinyl.
Music for natural history and animation
We have a longstanding relationship with the Emmy award winning and brilliant composer Brollyman.
Every cue of his that hits the screen has been through our studio first including music for:
- Nature's Misfits with Bill Bailey for the BBC
- Critters TV for RTE
- My First for CBeebies
- Molly and Lou for online platforms
What Our Clients Say
The Hafod experience in their words
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about mastering at Hafod
Mastering is the final creative step in music production before release. It's the process of optimizing and enhancing your mixed tracks to ensure they sound their best across all playback systems and formats. Professional mastering adds polish, clarity, and competitive loudness while maintaining the artistic integrity of your music.
For best results, provide high-resolution files (24-bit WAV or AIFF) with no limiting or compression on the master bus. Leave at least 3-6dB of headroom, and include a reference track if you have a specific sound in mind. If you're submitting an album or EP, ensure consistent levels across all tracks.
Typically, we complete single tracks within 2-3 working days, and albums within 5-7 working days. Rush services are available for urgent projects at an additional fee. Attended sessions are scheduled based on studio availability.
Mixing involves balancing individual elements (instruments, vocals) within a song. Mastering is the final step that optimizes the overall sound of the completed mix, ensuring consistency across an album and preparing it for distribution.
Yes, our standard service includes one round of revisions. Additional revision rounds can be arranged at a nominal fee. We're committed to ensuring you're completely satisfied with the final result.
We typically deliver masters in high-resolution WAV (24-bit/44.1kHz or 48kHz) and distribution-ready 16-bit/44.1kHz WAV. We can also provide MP3s, DDP images for CD production, or any other format you require.
Start Your Project
Let's create something amazing together
We're always excited to hear about new projects. Whether you have questions about our services, want to book a session, or just need some advice, we're here to help.
Hafod Mastering
Vale of Glamorgan
Cardiff, Wales, UK
Contact us for detailed location information