Address: Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Fiounder: Doug Sax, Sherwood Sax, and Lincoln Mayorga
Current Status: Defunct
The Mastering Lab was the first independent mastering studio in the world and one of the most important in the history of recorded music. Founded in 1967 by mastering engineer Doug Sax, his brother Sherwood Sax, and electronics designer Lincoln Mayorga, the studio became renowned for its pure valve-based signal chain and transparent, musical sound. Located in Hollywood, The Mastering Lab quickly established itself as the premier destination for artists and producers seeking absolute sonic integrity. From Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon to The Eagles’ Hotel California, the studio was responsible for many of the most perfectly mastered records of all time.
Notable Recordings from The Mastering Lab
In the mid-1960s, Doug Sax was dissatisfied with the mastering quality coming from record label-owned facilities, which he felt were driven more by production speed than by sound quality. In response, he built The Mastering Lab in Hollywood, opening in 1967 as the world’s first fully independent mastering house. Together with his brother Sherwood and electronics expert Lincoln Mayorga, Sax designed and built every piece of the studio’s equipment from scratch, including consoles, amplifiers, and equalisation systems.
The studio’s all-valve mastering chain and minimal circuitry created a uniquely natural and open sound that set new standards for mastering fidelity. Within its first few years, The Mastering Lab became a key player in Los Angeles’ music scene, handling releases for artists including The Doors, The Rolling Stones, Jackson Browne, and Linda Ronstadt.
In 1970, Sax and Mayorga also founded Sheffield Lab, a direct-to-disc audiophile label that further demonstrated their pursuit of uncompromised sound quality. The Mastering Lab went on to master some of the most sonically admired records ever released, including Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon and The Eagles’ Hotel California.
Even as digital technology emerged, Doug Sax remained committed to his analogue philosophy, adapting the studio’s equipment to suit new formats while preserving its sonic purity. The facility continued to operate until Sax’s passing in 2015, after which The Mastering Lab closed, leaving behind a legacy that continues to influence mastering engineers worldwide.
The result was a sound that was natural, balanced, and dynamic. Artists frequently described The Mastering Lab’s work as having “life” and “presence,” characteristics that became the hallmark of Doug Sax’s mastering style.