A new Dublin based software company Craic has announced its first product 'Bainancac' which it is calling a revolutionary de-mastering product.

Craic says the new software application uses AI technology to detect flaws in mastering and then restores the audio to pre-mastering quality; it claims it will be 'a godsend for professional mastering engineers.' 

Features of the software include;

• Making sure loudness settings are within reasonable and more importantly, legal limits.

• Restoring dynamic range to otherwise crushed material.

• Dealing with phase issues created by stereo wideners that often mean the audio collapses when mono-summed.

• Fixing issues such as eq applied that only dogs and whales can hear.

The team at Craic say the AI has analysed tens of thousands of tracks created using home mastering plugin presets and automated online mastering services to develop a comprehensive picture of the most common issues.

Craic founder Eoghan O'Donnell said "We've worked really hard and spent days sitting with some of the world's top mastering engineers to identify the issues that make them say "what the fuck am I meant to do with this?" He said, "One of the problems is many professional mastering engineers are handed audio that's close to impossible to fix, it's like giving a vet a cat squashed by a truck and asking them to bring it back to life."

He said, "One great feature in the new software takes the original poorly mastered audio, de-masters it and then applies loudness to show the original track which is louder but with the quality restored." He continued; "Most bad masters are tracks with lots of effects applied, but the person making the changes doesn't realise that it's the volume change that makes it sound better." 

The software also produces a report to show what had to be fixed, which O'Donnell says that if read "can be a learning experience."

The software features a simple interface; the only control is an analyse button. After a matter of minutes, the user can audition the new version before choosing to restore or ignore. Asked why there were not more options for the user O'Donnell replied; "It's giving people options which creates the problems in the first place, so why make things worse?"

Asked if he was against home mastering software, he said; "Not at all, for many people who are willing to learn the skills, it's a fantastic development in audio. However, it's not the tools but the person using them. Give a baseball bat to an idiot, and you'll find them in A&E."

Bainancac is planning to ship later this year.