My mastering room is a lovely place to spend my days with beautiful views across the sea with Harris of the Outer Hebrides sitting proudly on the horizon; a very different atmosphere from the often windowless studio situations us musical people are used to.

My mastering system is based around the Sadie-6 hard-disk editor, but most of my processing is achieved using a variety of outboard  equipment; using valve, analogue and digital hardware.  I generally use a mixture of analogue and digital processing, but can work completely in the digital domain if required. My D to A and A to D converters are DCS 902 and Prism ADA-8; I use these to convert signals from any other pieces of equipment I use.  For instance, if I am working from a DAT or CDR source and want to use some valves or analogue processing, the audio will leave these units in the AES digital format, converted to analogue and back up to 24 bit digital via my converters. I have a Tascam 24 bit DAT machine, and  a lovely Studer A820 tape machine for 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch analogue tape masters, with Dolby A or SR processing if required.  If you only have vinyl or a cassette to work from there is a Technics SL.1210 MK2 turntable and an Aiwa cassette machine standing by. All the digital devices are linked to a Mutec I-Clock for an accurate central clock source.

For sound processing I have a Manley valve compressor/limiter, a Prism MEA-2 analogue equaliser, Waves Linear Multiband, L2 Ultramaximiser, L3 Multimaximiser, L3-16 Multimaximiser and the TC Electronic M6000 digital processor.  The M6000 has four digital engines set up for digital multi band compression and limiting, digital equalisation, reverbs and effects as required.

For sound restoration I use the superb Cedar Cambridge 6 system for sorting out those clicks and crackles, and for cleaning up anything from vinyl. To compliment this I also use Cedar Retouch within Sadie for sorting out problems like drop-outs and other extraneous noises that normal de-clicking software cannot deal with.

The ATC.100 active monitors provide very accurate un-coloured listening conditions in my home setting. My computer screens are two 42 inch Plasma displays set behind the monitors so they don't obstruct the audio image or sound. The location on Skye is very peaceful, with beautiful views across the hills, and out to sea, with wonderful views of the Outer Hebrides.