Rocking Horse  /  Mastering

Mastering by Neil Combstock

Mastering

Mastered by a named engineer with London studio and vinyl mastering house experience, in the room or sent in from anywhere.

Your master is done by Neil Combstock, not by a preset. Neil released on Ninja Tune as one half of Zero dB, worked in London studios including Metropolis, Fluid Ounce and Music City, and mastered for vinyl and CD at Alchemy Mastering and Masterpiece.

Since then he has mixed and mastered 185 jobs for the ë, BABANI, BAD, ZANANA and mutewax labels at bōucan road studios in Mauritius, from restored 1970s sega singles reissued on vinyl, to club records, alongside the punk, jazz and orchestral work recorded here in Durham.

Mastering is the final stage, the last chance to check, balance, correct and lift a record before release. For digital, masters are prepared for streaming and download stores. For CD, a red-book master with ISRC codes and UPC/EAN barcodes. For vinyl, a pre-master prepared with the cut in mind.

More about Neil

Neil Combstock mastering at Rocking Horse

From Neil’s ledger

Mastered
here.

39 releases for the ë, BABANI, BAD, ZANANA and mutewax labels, each one matched to its catalogue number in Neil’s own job list of 185 masters. cards with a page on eeee.mu open it; the red line under each cover is the actual waveform of the master. The rest of the list is singles, live sets, adverts and unreleased work.

BABANI · 16

ë · 9

Lapgan x megiapa, Liminal State Of Mind, coverLapgan x megiapaLiminal State Of Mindë · EX002
Lapgan x megiapa, Spheres, coverLapgan x megiapaSpheresë · EX003
Lucky Monkey x Damien Elisa, ZENI, coverLucky Monkey x Damien ElisaZENIë · EX006
HADIID, Diniari / Senja, coverHADIIDDiniari / Senjaë · EY004
Jader Toya, Amartya / Pompei, coverJader ToyaAmartya / Pompeië · EY005
DJ Doraemon, Chapeau Azul, coverDJ DoraemonChapeau Azulë · EY006
Palka, Isha, coverPalkaIshaë · EZ004
Unkle Berry, The Narrative Of Sound, coverUnkle BerryThe Narrative Of Soundë · EZ005
LUCKY MONKEY, Zeni, coverLUCKY MONKEYZenië · EZ007

BAD · 10

JOKER KARTEL, HIGH COPY, coverJOKER KARTELHIGH COPYBAD · BAD002
JOKER KARTEL, JAZZ NET, coverJOKER KARTELJAZZ NETBAD · BAD004
Mat King, sikeii GRO PATRON (feat. Ced Ric), coverMat Kingsikeii GRO PATRON (feat. Ced Ric)BAD · BAD011
MOJO JOJO, PRA20, coverMOJO JOJOPRA20BAD · BAD021
OWEN GASPARD x DJ WAYN, BASS FER BOUDOUM, coverOWEN GASPARD x DJ WAYNBASS FER BOUDOUMBAD · BAD026
BIGG FRANKII x YANKY, MARIZANN, coverBIGG FRANKII x YANKYMARIZANNBAD · BAD028
ZXGGY, BETIZ, coverZXGGYBETIZBAD · BAD029
YANKY, ACOZE NOUS 1 ZANFANT DANS GHETTO, coverYANKYACOZE NOUS 1 ZANFANT DANS GHETTOBAD · BAD030
BIGG FRANKII, TIÖMBÖ, coverBIGG FRANKIITIÖMBÖBAD · BAD033
JOKER KARTEL, ALERTE ROUGE, coverJOKER KARTELALERTE ROUGEBAD · BAD034

ZANANA · 3

Ravan', Lo Pli Gayar, coverRavan'Lo Pli GayarZANANA · ZNN006
Ras Natty Baby, Free Gaza : Libérer La Palestine, coverRas Natty BabyFree Gaza : Libérer La PalestineZANANA · ZNN013
Rafiki & Fusional Mind, Baboon, coverRafiki & Fusional MindBaboonZANANA · ZNNR009

mutewax · 1

mike parker, mutecell, claudio prc, mw005, covermike parker, mutecell, claudio prcmw005mutewax · MW005

before rocking horse

on the
record.

Neil’s credits on Discogs run to 166 entries: engineering, mixing and mastering for UK house, downtempo and metal labels from 1999 on, and his own records as Zero dB and Frank De Jojo.

neil combstock on discogs

ATFC
The Voice (1999), In And Out Of My Life (1999), Bad Habit (2000)
Lenny Fontana
Chocolate Sensation (2000)
Lightning Seeds
Life’s Too Short (1999)
All Saints
Black Coffee (2000)
Suba
Samba Do Gringo Paulista (2001)
Robert Luis
Phonic:Hoop (2002)
Zero dB
Bongos, Bleeps & Basslines (2006), Heavyweight Gringos (2008), One Offs, Remixes And B Sides (2010)
Thronehammer
Usurper Of The Oaken Throne (2019), Incantation Rites (2021), Kingslayer (2023)
Danyel Waro
Bwarouz, 2023 reissue
Cress
Unity (2020)

“I’ve been recorded by Martin Rushent, Vic Maile and Dave Allen. All great. But Neil is one hundred percent up there with those guys.”

Arthur Billingsly999 · The Lurkers

More from clients

Sending tracks in

From
anywhere.

01 · Send
Email a link to your mixes as WAV files. Not sure how to export them? Ask Neil first.
02 · Brief
Say where it is going: streaming, CD or vinyl. Send a reference track if you have one.
03 · Master
Neil masters it and sends it back to check on your own speakers.
04 · Revise
Tell him what you hear. He adjusts until it is right.

Mastering

What it costs.

Recorded at Rocking Horsepart of the recording deal, in a later session at £20/hrincluded
Recorded elsewherecharged by the hour, not per track. Some masters take ten minutes, some take hoursfrom £25/hr

Any mastering queries, call Neil on 07758 509744, the studio on 0191 386 0595, or email [email protected].