Dangerous Music DM06 Master

From Custom "In-House" Tools of Major Studios to a Rack-Ready Dangerous Solution

For years, mastering studios and top engineers relied on custom solutions designed to speed up work, ensure reliable routing, and maintain full control over stereo. With the Dangerous Master, Dangerous Music condenses the essence of these "in-house" setups into a unit designed to become the heart of a modern mastering system, without compromise on ergonomics or precision.

Designed by Chris Muth, creator of equipment used by numerous mastering engineers and studios in New York, the Dangerous Master embodies the brand's DNA: a device made by engineers for engineers, hand-assembled with premium components, and optimized for real studio situations where every decision must be fast, repeatable, and audible.

A Controller Designed for Mastering, Post-Production, and Hybrid Studios

The Dangerous Master primarily targets mastering engineers working with high-end external processors who want a clear, structured, and precisely controllable chain. It is also perfectly suited for mixing studios that master in-house, as well as hybrid environments alternating between analog processing and DAW workflows.

Its role is simple and crucial: it becomes the junction point between your processing (EQ, compression, de-essing) and your monitoring, providing tools for level control, comparison, and stereo image management that are often missing when chaining devices "in series" without a true mastering console.

Key Features: Routing, M/S, Level Offset, and Stereo Image Control

Listening Offset: Compare Without Being Fooled by Level

The input listening offset helps you stay focused on what matters: what your processing adds to the program. In practice, you can evaluate your master bus and processed signal without being disturbed by a before/after level difference, a common bias in mastering. The result: more reliable decisions on EQ, compression, and de-essing, and faster back-and-forth.

Matrix S&M: Fine and Musical M/S (Sum & Difference) Control

The Matrix S&M is an analog sum and difference processor designed to offer advanced control of stereo signals. This approach allows working on the center and side components with precision that opens real options for "repair" and optimization in mastering.

Specifically, mastering engineers will appreciate the ability to rework difficult passages by adjusting certain perceived balances (for example, vocals) without altering the overall mix intent, to correct a stereo image that is too wide or too narrow, or to de-ess aggressive elements (such as cymbal attacks) while keeping the center of the mix unchanged. It is a control tool, not an effect: it aims for precision and consistency in the master.

Insertion Loops, Listening, and Blending: An External Chain Finally "Console-Ready"

The Dangerous Master provides insertion loops and listening functions designed to neatly organize an analog mastering chain. It facilitates linking your various processors while offering precise level control, useful listening options, blending functions, and stereo image width control. Paired with a monitoring controller from the brand and your favorite processing gear, it enables more efficient transformation of a mix into a finished master.

Technical specifications