Who we are
Founded in 1995 by world-renowned mastering engineer Jeff Lipton, Peerless Mastering has completed thousands of projects for clients ranging from unsigned independent artists to major-label stars. Our expertise in all genres of music has brought a remarkably diverse and talented selection of artists to our studios. Our state-of-the-art facilities and commitment to achieving the precise sound our clients are looking for ensures that they leave happy and return to Peerless for all their mastering needs.
Jeff Lipton is a multiple Grammy-nominated mastering engineer and founder of Peerless Mastering. Known for his unrivaled dedication to achieving the best possible sound for every project he works on, Jeff has become one of the most highly respected mastering engineers in the business, amassing an impressive discography covering an extensive variety of genres.
Jeff works individually with each of his clients until they are satisfied with the results. Whether mastering archival recordings of Bob Dylan, singles for Bon Iver, the latest Magnetic Fields record, a Boston-based punk act ,or an international hip hop artist, Jeff approaches each project with the same enthusiasm and attention to detail. Each client’s vision is important to him, and his job isn’t done until that sound fills the room.
At the very beginning, Peerless was just Jeff, working out of his apartment with a handful of clients, and a bucket load of vision for great-sounding records. He focused on honing his skills and building solid relationships with artists through his commitment to understanding their sonic goals. This dedication paid off in an ever-expanding roster of clients, as satisfied customers kept coming back and new artists were drawn in by the excellent word-of-mouth. Peerless expanded accordingly, as Jeff acquired increasingly sophisticated equipment and eventually built the incredible facility that is today's Peerless Mastering.
Jeff's clients include: Barsuk, Epitaph, Instinct, Jagjaguwar, Load, Merge, Nonesuch, Numero Group, Restless, Rykodisc, Sire, Sony, Southern, Sub Pop, and Thrill Jockey.
Amongst many others, he has mastered projects for artists: Agnostic Front, Arcade Fire, Battles, Big Star, Big D and the Kid's Table, Andrew Bird, Bon Iver, Burning Spear,City and Colour, Click 5, Dead Milkmen , Divinyls, Dropkick Murphys, Easy Star All Stars, Future Bible Heroes, John Brown's Body, Karate, Ladytron, LCD Soundsystem, Love Language, Lightning Bolt, The Magnetic Fields, Constantine Maroulis, Erin McKeown, Meat Puppets, Stephin Merritt, The Pernice Brothers, Radiodread, Josh Ritter, Roky Erickson,Sebadoh, Soul Asylum, Spoon, The Submarines, Superchunk, Throwing Muses, and Jeff Tweedy/Wilco.
Jeff Lipton
Maria Rice, our highly accomplished senior Mastering Engineer, has mastered projects spanning a wide range of genres and specializes in audio restoration. For more than 13 years, she has been a full time engineer at Peerless Mastering, working with clientele ranging from indie-famous darlings Bon Iver, Andrew Bird, Superchunk, Magnetic Fields, and Stephen Malkmus to modern legends like the late Larry Coryell. She has restored many of the widely- acclaimed Numero Group albums, which has earned her three GRAMMY Award nominations in the category of Best Historical Album:
Various Artists Ork Records: New York, New York (59th GRAMMY Awards)
Various Artists Bobo Yeye: Belle Epoque In Upper Volta (60th GRAMMY Awards)
Jackie Shane Any Other Way (61st GRAMMY Awards)
Her remastering work also includes the 2018 reissue of Blondie’s Heart of Glass, remastered from the original tapes; and the 2018 reissue of Washed Out’s High Times, originally released on cassette and known as “one of cornerstones of the then-nascent genre chillwave.” (exclaim!) She also received an RIAA certified platinum award for mastering the single “Notion” by The Rare Occasions.
For her tremendous contributions to the studio, Maria was promoted to Partner in 2020. Peerless founder Jeff Lipton states:
“In the time Maria has been at Peerless, we’ve grown from a small niche facility to a world class mastering studio. Much of the credit for our success has been because of Maria's exacting attention to detail and highly sensitive and discerning listening skills. She is a top rate engineer who insists that every project we work on sound its absolute best. Her commitment to perfection and tireless attention to each client’s vision ideally reflect the Peerless philosophy of exemplary sound quality and customer service."
An active member of the Recording Academy since 2011, she was elected to the New York Board of Governors in 2020, and again in 2022. Her areas of focus include legislative advocacy for independent creators as well as serving the next generation of producers and engineers through the GRAMMY U Mentorship Program.
Maria is a member of the Audio Engineer Society (AES) Boston Chapter and has served as co-chair for Archivist Track at the AES Fall Show. As a panelist or presenter, she has contributed to industry events including the Women’s Audio Mission Conference, the Boston Music Expo, the Together Electronic Music Festival, the Potluck Audio Conference, and the Welcome to 1979 Recording Summit. She has been interviewed by recording artist SASAMI for Sungenre, podcaster Matt Boudreau for Working Class Audio, Women in Vinyl, and has been featured in Tape Op Magazine.
Outside of the studio, Maria’s interests include intersecting creative media with emerging technology and using sound as a healing medium. A lifelong musician, she enjoys her synth collection and studied classical piano at New England Conservatory with Mana Tokuno.
Maria Rice
Costanza Tinti, Cos, our newest engineer, is a highly accomplished music professional who graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Music in Music Production & Engineering from Berklee College of Music. With a solid foundation in classical music from Italy's prestigious Conservatory of Music Girolamo Frescobaldi, Cos has also honed her skills in violin and piano. Cos started at Peerless as an intern. It was immediately apparent to Jeff and Maria that she was a gifted and creative engineer who learned new skills exceptionally fast. While interning, she assisted us on many client projects and helped us during the setup of our full Dolby ATMOS 7.1.4 room. Concurrently, she was interning at Mad Oak Studios in Boston, MA, where she assisted lead engineer Benny Grotto during recording sessions, thus rounding out her skillset. Cos is currently working as project lead on an extensive archival project for Peerless's biggest client. In her position, she works closely with Maria Rice, further enhancing her industry knowledge and capabilities. Cos's blend of technical expertise and musical sensibility makes her an invaluable asset to our team.
Costanza Tinti
Joel "Mike" Mariani is an assistant mastering engineer and media transfer technician. He has worked at Peerless since 2011, assisting Maria and Jeff with various projects. He is an invaluable member of our team. He started his career in the music industry while studying production at Northern Vermont University. Joel also has experience working as a production assistant for James Taylor and Carol King during their tours. He is a multiclassed nerd and enjoys dabbling in various interests such as music, podcasting, twitch streaming, D&D, cooking, and baking.
Joel “Mike” Mariani
Set up a free consultation with Jeff now.