engineers
Senior Mastering Engineer: Jeff Lipton
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 all of his clients until they are satisfied with the results. Whether mastering archival recordings of Bob Dylan, singles for Bon Iver,or 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. He is committed to achieving the artistic vision of every client to the fullest extent.

Jeff Lipton founded Peerless Mastering in 1995 with a clear ambition: to make great-sounding records. Working out of his apartment with a handful of clients, he focused on honing his skills
and building solid relationships with artists through his commitment to understanding and acheiving 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.

Committed to having the absolute highest quality technical and acoustic tools at his fingertips, Jeff built his world-class mastering facility from the ground up and stocked it with an array of exceptional-quality digital and analog processors. From the ATR tape machine to the Pacific Microsonics converters, the Manley and George Massenberg equalizers to the CEDAR Restoration tools, Peerless Mastering has every tool Jeff needs for stereo and 5.1 surround mastering.

Jeff's clients include: Barsuk, Epitaph, Instinct, Jagjaguwar, Load, Merge, Nonesuch, Numero Group, Restless, Rykodisc, Sire, Sony, Southern, Sub Pop, and Thrill Jockey.  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.
Chief Mastering Engineer: Maria Rice

Maria Rice, our highly accomplished Chief 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.”  (Quote reference)


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.  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. 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, 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.