What is Mastering?
Mastering is the step between final mixdown and the pressing of a cd.

Simply put, the objective of mastering is to make each track sound as good as it possibly can, while insuring a coherency (in level and frequency response) from song to song. Mastering is sonic surgery performed in order to create an album that will sound as good in the living room as on a car sound system, and thereby insure that it is competitive within the music industry. Mastering is a highly specialized craft, an art form. And for thirty years, SNB has specialized exclusively in the mastering of all musical styles.

The SNB mastering studio boast a world class monitoring system, as well as the largest configuration of the Weiss 102 Harmonium Mundi digital mastering console (96khz-32bits), in order to make the most of your mixes. However, the most high end equipment is worthless without the ears of a true mastering technician, who's impartiality and experience are at your service to best evaluate the needs of your project. At SNB, the mastering engineer's talent for listening begins with the ability to carefully listen to the needs and concerns of the client, taking into consideration the particular history and aesthetics of each musical genre as well as the specific requests of each customer.

A bit of history...
In 1973, Sabin N. Brunet leaves his post as mastering engineer for London Records in order to launch his own mastering studio: Disques SNB.

During the vinyl era " mastering " included two steps. Firsly, assembly and editing of the tracks, equalization, compression and de-essing etc. Then followed the cutting of the lacquer , which would be used to create a metal stamper to press the vinyl. Today, this second stage is carried out at the pressing plant: The cutting of the Glass Master. Nevertheless it has become industry practice to use the term Mastering to refer to the final editing, level and frequency adjustments which take place prior to the cutting of the glass master.

Quickly recognised as an industry leader for the quality of its mastering services, SNB is granted the contracts to cut the lacquers for North America for the prestigious Deutshe Grammophone and Phillips Classical labels.

1977... Alain Deroque succeeds Sabin Brunet as mastering engineer and takes SNB to the next level, cutting the vinyl masters for such noted artists as Michel Pagliaro, Peter Gabriel (Games Without Frontiers), Robert Charlebois, Heaven 17, Céline Dion, Gentle Giant, Frank Zappa, Jacques Brel, Soft Cell, Charles Aznavour, Pierre Flynn, etc.

1987...With the arrival of the CD and digital technology, SNB acquires the high end Swiss-made Weiss Engineering digital mastering console (series 102 Harmonium Mundi ), in order to offer its clients a CD mastering service equal to its reputation acquired in vinyl mastering. To this day SNB can boast of possessing the world's largest configuration of the Weiss Engineering mastering console, and well as a world class monitoring system.

1987-89... Two technologies co-exist. Mastering houses must provide both a lacquer master for vinyl runs as well as a " CD Prep " for the CD Glass Master cutting .

1988... After 10 years as a mastering engineer at Masterdisk in New York, Bill Kipper joins SNB. Bill brings with him that certain American touch, helping to keep SNB ahead of the pack. April Wine, Marjo, Billy Bang, Diana Krall, Daniel Bélanger, Cirque du Soleil etc., everyone wanted to work with Bill.

1996...After recognizing that cutting a Glass Master at accelerated speeds compromises the quality of digital audio, SNB introduces EXtra Resolution (XR) technology. EXtra Resolution guarentees that the Glass Master is cut in real-time, producing a CD of unsurpassed clarity and fidelity, retaining all the sonic qualities achieved in the mastering session.

1997… Through sheer passion (and perhaps some follie) Alain DeRoque and Renée Marc-Aurèle, along with the help of Pierre Voyer and Marc Briau, undertake a complete overhaul of the SNB studio, creating a monitoring environment that will become the reference for an entire industry.

SNB acquires a high end Pro Tools workstation in order to facilitate clients wishing to master directly from their workstations or computers. Since 1997 SNB also offers a fast turn-around CD-R service in order to answer the expanding needs of the record industry, such as radio singles and CD-ROMS.

1999...For some years Sabin Brunet and Alain DeRoque had been searching for a method for mastering directly from a mix session, with access to all mix tracks. With the advent of high-end digital workstation this dream is now reality, and SNB inaugurates its DDMM service (Direct-Digital-Mix-Mastering), incorporating mix fine-tunning (either from the complete mix session or working from mix sub-groups - or stems), into the mastering process. This new approach has allowed SNB to go beyond the limitations of traditional 2-track mastering, opening up a whole world of possibilities, further bridging the gap between big studio productions and the home recording environment.
2006… Snb Mastering changes name to become « Snb Reference Mastering. » A new room is under construction at « Reference Studio. » in the country of St-Calixte. In order to receive the new mastering, « Reference Studio » is enlarging it’s estate to convert it into a spacious silent new room designed specifically for acoustical purposes. A great launching will take place in spring of 2008 where our fine clientèle and all medias will be invited.
« Reference Studio » and « Snb Reference Mastering » will push further the limits of musical reproduction.
How?
By joining under the same roof a recording studio increased by a real professional mastering!!!

So since 1973…
President: Sabin-Nelson Brunet
Secretariat: 1973 Wildor Brunet, 1974 to 1977 Mimi Laroche, 1977 to 1883 Danielle Blain, 1984 Josée Gagné
Manager and customer service: 1984 to 2002 Micheline Charbonneau.
Manager and customer service: 2002 to 2004 Alain DeRoque
Technical manager: 1977 to 2000 Marc Briau Maintenance and technological inventions: 1973 to this day Pierre Voyer.
The technicians from 1973 to 2006: Sabin Brunet, Bill Kipper, Alain DeRoque, Émile Lépine, Jean-François Chicoine, Stéphan Simard, Renée Marc-Aurèle, Sylvain Taillefer and Ryan Morey.

Today…
President: Guy St-Onge
Manager and customer service: Alain DeRoque
Technical manager and maintenance: Pierre Voyer
Accountancy: Monique St-Onge
Our technicians:
House tech.: Marc-Olivier Bouchard.
Freelance: Marc Paquin.
And without committing oneself: Renée Marc-Aurèle who is sailing towards new skys with the launching of her second album. « Break a leg Renée! »

Always at the avant-garde since 35 years « Snb Reference Mastering » is proud to continue the tradition remaining the leader of the audio mastering field in Canada. To push further the limits of musical reproduction « Snb Reference Mastering » will constantly be looking forward to the development of new technology in order to remain a first class choice for music mastering in the 21st century.