A. Hammer Mastering

Introduction: We have over 30 years of ears! At A. Hammer Mastering, we combine the engineering expertise of a seasoned mastering specialist with the artistic sense of a working musician, and the technology of a combined digital and analog mastering environment to give your album the best-possible transition from the studio to the pressing plant. We are proud to be able to offer the highest-quality mastering at a price point accessible to today's independent artists. We can enhance your good work to make it great! Gary Hobish brings over 30 years of experience as a professional recording engineer and producer to A. Hammer Mastering, beginning as an assistant engineer at legendary Bell Sound Studios in New York City. A fixture on the Bay Area music scene since moving to San Francisco in 1976, he has worked in many disciplines in recording and music, most notably as mastering engineer and tape historian at Berkeley's Fantasy Studios and Chief Engineer at San Francisco's CD Studios. Gary began his specialization in the field of mastering at Fantasy Studios in 1982, and has been credited on hundreds of albums covering all genres of recordings, from classic jazz to classic rock, alt-rock, rap and hard rock to folk, classical, spoken word, and even sound effects. His projects include such names as NRBQ, Dream Syndicate, Flipper, The Feelies, Dr. John, and Willie Nelson. In addition to mastering, Gary is a seasoned recording engineer, mixer and producer. He is also an accomplished musician. His command of composition, arranging and performance are all aesthetics brought to bear in his mixing and mastering. He understands the musical journey involved in bringing your concept to completion, and has the technical and musical savvy to help your project find its most expressive voice at a price you can afford. Our other available services include mixing, stem mixing and mastering, video editing, audio post, and voice overs. Some comments from our clients: "Gary Hobish was able to pull a sonic rabbit out of his magic hat, making my 25-year-old record sound the best it had since the days in 1983 when I was hearing it blasted out of the big studio speakers at the Automat in San Francisco. I've always maintained that the Medicine Show was the best record the Dream Syndicate ever made, and Gary certainly had the skills and vision to give some muscle to that claim. Thanks, Gary!" - Steve Wynn (Dream Syndicate) "Gary has ears of gold. Easily the most talented mastering engineer I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." - Kevin Seal (Griddle, Pandora) "Finding Gary was like finding that sound oasis I have been searching for all these years. The man is a chemist, and his sound formulas take the audio quality of the music he is working with to glistening heights." - David Katznelson (Birdman Records) "I can't say enough about how good a job Gary did for us. He's known for being an expert, veteran mastering engineer, but we had him do our mixing, too and he did a phenomenal job. It became obvious shortly after starting that we were both there for one thing; to bring my music to life. His dedication to this end is worth far more than his very modest fees. I urge all musicians who want their music to sound its very best to go to Gary." - Mycroft Eloi (The TomorrowMen) "Such a breath of fresh air! Gary mastered my newest album "Real World", and took it to a whole new level! Thank you, Gary!" - Blair Hansen "We were blown away. We had mixed it ourselves, and he was particularly helpful in giving us a picture of the process, and what things we could improve on in mixing our next record. More importantly, the work he did on the songs was outstanding. He immediately understood the type of sound we were going for, and was quickly able to identify the issues with our mixes within that frame. I can't recommend working with him enough." - Evacuee "Many famous musicians have had an album mastered from Gary, yet he is still available to the locals at such reasonable rates. He's adept at virtually any style of music. What really makes Gary stand out though is his intent to do the best he can on any project. I've never had to worry when I have hired him to master audio for my website, demos or CD. It's great when you know someone who is the best at what they do." - Dianne Nola "I would be crazy to go to someone else for my next project." - Marlina Teich "At Runt, we release between 24 and 36 CD re-issues (as well as several new music projects) each year. Nearly all of these are mastered by Gary Hobish. The master material for our re-issues varies greatly, from well-preserved major label big studio recordings from the 60s and 70s to several generation transfers of archival field hollers and folk music. Gary has the ability to bring the maximum possible sonic fidelity and clarity to each of our CD releases, regardless of source. Gary is a pro!" - Russ Tolman, Runt Distribution (DBK Works, Plain Recordings, Masked Weasel) "Many thanks for your remarkable work. Yours is the only work we can rely on for our mastering challenges. Your level of dedication makes it feel like you are a full part of our record company." - Roger Bennett (Reboot Stereophonic Records) "While these cuts have all been issued in other places on CD, they've never sounded this good. The remastering process worked wonders on this material." (Dr. John, "I Pulled the Cover Off You Two Lovers") - Thom Jurek, All Music Guide "Gary Hobish is the man! He turned our already good-sounding record into a great-sounding record!" - Ralph Carney (Carneyball Johnson, Ralph Carney's Serious Jass Project) "Gary has an incredible ear, is incredibly professional, and has a great depth of experience in orchestral indie rock genres. Plus, he has an edge of raw talent that few attain. Great mastering engineers are a very rare breed, and I would highly recommend any band, including those of the absolute highest caliber to contact Gary for mastering work." - The Family Crest "Thank you so much for your great mastering job! I'm delighted with the sound! You are terrific!" - Patty Waters "Superb remastering by Gary Hobish that's a major improvement over their previous incarnations." (Flamin' Groovies' "Bust Out at Full Speed: The Sire Years") - Mark Deming, All Music Guide "Having worked with Gary on the mastering of nearly a hundred different 1960s and 1970s re-issue CDs, I've found his ear and taste right on target each and every time. I highly recommend him for any project you want to release on CD." - Pat Thomas, Water Records "The proof is in the listening experience. Gary enhanced the sound of our recordings in a technical and artful way. He does stellar work." - Superfolk "What makes Gary really great to work with is his relaxed, yet very professional attitude. He makes you feel immediately comfortable with the knowledge of his craft, and makes it quite clear that he is genuinely interested and personally invested in getting you the best sound for your recording. We are really happy with the results, and look forward to working with him again." - The Tunnel "The remastering job is quite fine; this does not sound like the typical compressed, limited, candy-coated Warner Bros. pop album of 1970, but is rich and warm and crisp by turns." (John Simon's "John Simon") - Ken Kessler, Stereophile Magazine "Gary Hobish did a fabulous job making our home-recorded music sound professional. I also found out that he mastered Big Star's "#1 Record/Radio City" CD which is in my top five CDs of all time. A superb mastering engineer." - Mark Turrel, Evergreen Dazed "Oh, yeah, the sound kicks thanks to a fine mastering job by Gary Hobish!" (Eddie Gale's "Ghetto Music") - Thom Jurek, All Music Guide