I have used Cyclone for my last two mastering and manufacture jobs, and as it is a 350-mile round trip for me there must be a good reason why. After numerous mastering, printing and duplication nightmares from several other similar production houses who shall remain nameless, [clippie mastering, bubbles on the CD labels, off centre printing!], I eventually found a company to trust with my recordings and artwork. The service at Cyclone is always professional and helpful, with the final product being excellently mastered, printed and packaged.

I first worked with Cyclone for the mastering/duplication of Mercury Rain's debut album - 'Dark Waters'(2000). We returned to Cyclone for our second album 'St. Mathieu' (2004) which included a DVD bonus disc, and full 16 page boklet and have a full release in the UK and France. I was tempted away once on price alone for a short run of DVD-Rs to distribute a promotional video, but the finished product was vastly inferior and did not put the band in a very positive light. When we do our next album, it will be straight back to Cyclone! You invest a lot of time, effort and money when going the DIY route of producing your own music, and it is so important that the final stages of the product are handled professionally - the mastering, the duplication, the printing, everything has always been right first time with Cyclone.

This is why, when I started to promote the ProgPower festival in the UK, and we wanted a company to manufacture the free CD/DVD sampler we hand out on the door of the festival, I didn't bother approaching anyone else. I went straight to Cyclone and asked them to be involved as a sponser and produce the samper for us. This sampler has to be completed by the deadline well before the festival, and be right first time as well. Bands and labels pay to be on the sampler, and it is a key source of revenue and promotion for us as well. Also, being a compilation, the mastering is key to having a professional product, and Cyclone handled this perfectly for us.

Cyclone have always given us good advice and an honest opinion, which has both given us confidence in them, and helped us to make a better end product.