Alex @ A Cut Above London

Mastering, with love.

starstarstarstarstar
272 Reviews (262 Verified)
Alex @ A Cut Above London on SoundBetter

Maximise your music's potential - I love helping artists achieve their vision. All genres welcome.

Mastering at A Cut Above London. Resident Mastering Engineer at Studio73 in Hackney, East London. Producer signed to RAM Records as Melysma.

FREE mix advice prior to track masters for a professional finish. UNLIMITED revisions. Generous volume discounts available.

I will master your music to commercial standards ready for radio, digital release and playback in all listening environments for an accessible price. Many of the tracks I've worked on have got repeat air time on BBC Radio 1, Capital FM, Rinse FM, Reprezent Radio and other stations worldwide.

$60 - 1 track master
$90 - stem master (6 bus stems, + $5 per extra stem)

Please get in touch for volume discounts and a friendly chat about your projects!

Send me a note through the contact button above.

272 Reviews - 92 Repeat Clients

Endorse Alex @ A Cut Above London
  1. Review by Lillia
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Lillia
    check_circleVerified

    Very helpful to work with especially being the first time using sound better. Did an awesome Job!! Very happy with the results.

  2. Review by Antony
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Antony
    check_circleVerified

    Great to work with Alex. Nice quality and delivered on time!

  3. Review by Brian D.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Very good experience with Alex. Communication was easy and he was very patient with me. 5 stars !

  4. Review by Jonny B.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Great job, thank you!

  5. Review by Jonny B.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Awesome job, and super fast!
    Amazing - thank you!😀😀

  6. Review by Vincent S.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Always a great job, always much patience! Thank you Alex

  7. Review by Laura R.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Loved working with Alex, he really made my track come to life. Definitely recommend!

  8. Review by André Dallas
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Top quality, defo recommend! Quick turn around, great communication and exactly the sound I was after

  9. Review by Seina
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Seina
    check_circleVerified

    Nobody does it like Alex! Just genius mastering! :)

  10. Review by Sam J.
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Sam J.
    check_circleVerified

    Very generous with the amount of revisions and very quick to respond

  11. Review by Andrzej R.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Alex is advartising his gig "Mastering with love" and that is so tru. I received the track mastered so professionally, clean, silky sound, loud and with no sign of distortion. It was a top notch with first version, without any additional revisions. I wish I discovered Alex's mastering service earlier. Thanks again and see you on the next gig.

  12. Review by Julien D.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Second time I work with Alex and again, it's a smooth, straight forward process, with nice communication and quality delivered. Recommended!

  13. Review by Ami
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Ami
    check_circleVerified

    Great work and communication!

  14. Review by Gal I.
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Gal I.
    check_circleVerified

    Great mastering done quickly with friendly service :)

  15. Review by Jason T.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Alex did an amazing job! He was very tactful. He was very patient with me, and helpful as well. Very good work for the price!

  16. Review by Arman A.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Pleasure to work with, no problems at all and extremely fast (Mastered my EP within a couple hours of receiving the files). 100% would work with again

  17. Review by Fhernando
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Alex is an outstanding mastering engineer who adds a magical touch to every production. Highly recommended for his exceptional skills and dedication to perfection.

  18. Review by Paolo P.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    A fantastic job as always. Great work, friendly, great advice, and really knowledgeable. 10/10 experience guaranteed with Alex.

  19. Review by Vincent S.
    starstarstarstarstar
    check_circleVerified

    Patient and super good as always!

  20. Review by Ady W.
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Ady W.
    check_circleVerified

    Brilliant!. Pity this site isn't as efficient.

Interview with Alex @ A Cut Above London

  1. Q: Is there anyone on SoundBetter you know and would recommend to your clients?

  2. A: I often work in close conjunction with Maya at Root 73 on social music projects in our local communities - he is a very talented mixing engineer, you can find him by searching 'Root 73 Studio'. If you're after a live feel, acoustic, singer-songwriter, soul sound he is your guy! I've also worked on multiple large projects with another very skilled mixing engineer, Juan M from Mexico (you can find him by searching that). If you're after a big, bright, 'pop' glossy sound he is your man!

  3. Q: What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

  4. A: The most common question I am asked is would you like the final mix with the limiter/compressor on the output or without it? My answer is always remove any master compressors or limiters and ensure there are at least 6 db of headroom. Sometimes the mixing engineer has very specifically mixed into a limiter and I am able to work with tracks like this, however no processing on the master out is the ideal situation.

  5. Q: What's your 'promise' to your clients?

  6. A: To work relentlessly until they're happy and their music sounds amazing!

  7. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  8. A: Mastering will turn a bad mix into a good mix! This is why I will often give mix appraisals first to improve the mix and therefore the overall sound of the project.

  9. Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

  10. A: I have mastered music for a video on SB.TV, this has been my highest profile work so far.

  11. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  12. A: 80% of the plugins I use are digital emulations of analogue hardware. It is very important to know the character of different units as there will always be an instance where a specific unit comes in handy. As I am independent and do not work in a big studio I am currently saving to upgrade my studio and own the hardware versions of all the plugins I use!

  13. Q: What do you like most about your job?

  14. A: Every job is different, working with musicians, sessions are always very enjoyable and never boring.

  15. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

  16. A: Some common questions: Are there any problems that you encountered with the mix? Is there anything in particular you would like adjusted? Do you have a target loudness for your song? However if a mix is great, and the direction is obvious, I don't really need to ask questions.

  17. Q: How would you describe your style?

  18. A: I would say a well rounded low end and general track weight/warmth is an important part of my style.

  19. Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

  20. A: In the UK scene I would love to work with artists such as Giggs, BBK and IMDDB. In the US scene I would love to work with artists like Joey Badass, Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B.

  21. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  22. A: I always aim to bring: a coherent sense of space, tonal balance, clarity/separation of individual elements, an appropriate amount of warmth, and of course loudness/fatness. However, I can bring whatever the client requires and I can very often tell what they require without them describing it in detail (according to the genre they are working with).

  23. Q: What's your typical work process?

  24. A: First things first, if anything needs ironing out on the client's end for better results, I'll offer my advice. This ranges from removing clicks in audio stems with fades to a full detailed mix appraisal. Eqing and tonal control comes first and is the most important thing about mastering. It is very common for me to receive music that has been made entirely 'in the box' - the most noticeable thing in these songs is a perceived harshness; most noticeable on snares and vocals. Its my job to tame these frequencies and aim for a 'smoother' high end. Other common problems in mixes I receive are unbalanced bass or 'mud' in the vocals around the 200-400hz range. After I am happy with the eq curve of the song, I may adjust the stereo image using extremely subtle plate reverbs and mid/side eq. I tend not to use stereo imaging plugins as they produce unwanted phase artefacts. After this I may introduce some extra colour to the song with some tube or tape saturation or using certain compressors purely for their colour. Modern music is generally very compressed in the mix, and does not require gain reduction via compression on the mix buss. There are some very rare cases where I may use multi band compression to solve problems in the low end/low mids/ultra highs, but about 90 % of these cases can be solved with careful eqing. Finally there is limiting to control the peaks of the material and increase the loudness/fatness to the clients' desired level.

  25. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  26. A: I currently work in 2 well isolated studios. The first is equipped with 2 Dynaudio BM5As, a KRK 10S Subwoofer and an Apogee Ensemble. The second has Yamaha HS10s, Avantone Mix Cubes, a Warm Audio 1176 and a UAD Apollo. Having this mix of speakers allows me to ensure clients' music sounds great in all listening environments. I use high-end plugins from UAD, FabFilter, Sony Oxford/Sonnox, EMI/Chandler Abbey Road, Waves, Nomad Factory, Izotope and Brainworx.

  27. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

  28. A: I've been mastering for 3 years. I trained with the community studio ROOT 73 in London. I also produce drum and bass as Melysma and have releases on Dispatch Recordings and Program (RAM).

  29. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  30. A: Streaky at Metropolis Mastering, Brian 'Big Bass' Gardner, Colin Leonard at Sing Mastering.

  31. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  32. A: Using my ears!

  33. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  34. A: Very often a small (1-2db) but broad dip at 2k can really tame digital harshness on vocals and drums.

  35. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  36. A: Track masters for hip hop, trap, grime, R'n'B, and singer/songwriter music.

  37. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

  38. A: The Warm Audio 1176, my MicroKorg, MacBook, Dynaudios and KRK Sub.

  39. Q: What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

  40. A: Don't hire someone who is brisk and unpleasant. If they don't seem respectful, chances are they won't treat your work with respect. So make sure you get along!

  41. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  42. A: I work with a wide range of genres but predominantly with vocal artists. This includes singer/songwriter music, hip-hop, trap, R&B, soul, grime and pop. I do occasionally work with indie rock bands which I also enjoy immensely.

loading
play_arrowpause
skip_previous
skip_next
Ko Ay - ...

I was the Mastering Engineer in this production


  1. play_arrow
    pause
    Ko Ay - ...
  2. play_arrow
    pause
    Project 2X - ...
  3. play_arrow
    pause
    Focus - Asher Kosher & Eerf Evil
  4. play_arrow
    pause
    Never Too Old - Anja Eve
Terms Of Service

Revisions are unlimited up to point of completion and payment (including revisions to the mix on the clients end), thereafter they are charged at a rate of $10 per revision. Typical turn around 2 days

GenresSounds Like
  • Migos
  • Jorja Smith
  • Kojo Funds
Gear Highlights
  • Dynaudio BM5s
  • UAD Apollo - (Distressor
  • Fatso
  • Studer
  • Ampex
  • Neve/API/SSl Consoles
  • Shadow Hills Compressor)
  • Yamaha HS10s
  • Apogee Ensemble
  • Warm Audio 1176
  • Manley Compressor
More Photos
More Samples
SoundBetter Deal

$10 free credit for you and your friend when you refer them.