Dedicated mastering studio in the Netherlands, working for a wide range of artists from indie to worldwide top acts like Dream Theater. Also specialized in remastering and audio restoration from analog formats.
My name is Peter van ’t Riet. I’ve been mastering full-time since 1990 and founded my own studio in 2003. Working from a finely tuned, purpose-built room equipped with carefully selected, high-end tools, I offer dedicated mastering for artists who want their music to sound its absolute best before release.
With a lifelong passion for music, a background in electronics, and years behind the drums, I bring both technical precision and a musician’s intuition to every project — speaking the same language as my clients, on both sides of the studio glass.
I'd love to hear about your project. Click the 'Contact' button above to get in touch.
Interview with FineTune Mastering
Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?
A: My first mastering for Canadian progrock band Saga. They had a new album ready and moved to a new record company who saw room for improvement on the mastering. The company is a client of mine so they asked me to remaster the first single. When I mentioned I was fan of the band and they liked my work, I got to do the whole album, followed by more the next years.
Q: What are you working on at the moment?
A: A remix of a classic song called 'Linda Linda' by Dutch band from the 60's-70's: the Tee-Set.
Q: Analog or digital and why?
A: Both ;-) As long as digital is still being modeled after unique analog sounding gear, there must be a reason. The closest way I can describe the difference in favor of analog is 3D or depth and headroom.
Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?
A: Make your production sit nicely between your references in sound. A general consistency between tracks and playback consistency across different systems.
Q: What do you like most about your job?
A: Getting to hear new music every time and find ways to optimize their impact.
Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?
A: Q: How should I deliver? A: 24 bit wav files of your best mix without limiting, a proper track list for each desired format and any wishes regarding track spacing, crossfades etc.
Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?
A: That the magic is in the gear.
Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?
A: What format(s) do you need, how many tracks or playing time, do you have specific wishes like crossfades, do you have ISRCodes (for CD only), please provide a proper track list with final track titles and album title.
Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A: Artistically: make your own sound to your best ability, don't rely on mastering to change the atmosphere. In other words, be realistic. Technically: Check your mix through a limiter when comparing to (known, well mastered) references and then deliver the mix without it.
Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?
A: My PSI monitors (or ATC's), a ProTools system, Fairman compressor, Knif Soma eq and well I need a converter, so that would be my Lynx Hilo.
Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?
A: Since 1990. Been lucky to have gotten the chance to learn the craft in-house as a full time mastering engineer from the start at Digipro, also in Soest, the Netherlands. Guided by my mentor, learning to train my ears and do my first client-attend sessions after 3 years. That same mastering house pioneered in audio restoration and I got to learn that too in an early stage using the top system Sonic Solutions. Around 2003 the studio started to break up and I took the chance to continue the work in my own studio FineTune.
Q: How would you describe your style?
A: Warm and dynamic (as in: not crushing the life out of it for loudness sake)
Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?
A: The band Yes, because I love their music and seem to 'understand' the genre. Another one would be: Big Big Train.
Q: Can you share one music production tip?
A: Adjust or at least check individual track details while listening to the full mix. And on low volume. Ok, that's two ;-)
Q: What type of music do you usually work on?
A: Pop/rock.
Q: What's your strongest skill?
A: Attention to detail.
Q: What do you bring to a song?
A: Authority, liveliness and playback consistency on different systems.
Q: What's your typical work process?
A: First I have contact (via mail) with the client about their needs / wishes. Then I check the delivered material for technical quality, sometimes giving feedback to improve things more efficiently at the mix stage. Even seasoned producers often still appreciate this. Then I listen quietly while envisioning an ideal sound I think the production at hand is asking for. I think of ways to get there with the tools I have and start to test what works best.
Q: Tell us about your studio setup.
A: My setup is based around ProTools with Izotope RX Advanced restoration tools and a hybrid of digital (Weiss) and boutique analog mastering outboard gear. For playback of old master tapes I have various tape machines (Studer and Revox) and a few hq turn tables. Monitoring by PSI Audio.
Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?
A: One of my favorite bands is Rush and I also love ambient music like Tangerine Dream.
Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.
A: Mastering new albums for all release formats including dedicated masters for vinyl.
- Knif Soma tube eq
- Fairman tube compressor
- PSI studio monitoring
- Studer A807 and A812 tape machines.
