ultramastering.com???

kennycarvajal · #1 05-05-2006

Have any of you here had any experience with ultramastering.com?

Site, gear and price was my attraction but I'm currently unhappy with their lack of communication. It took 5 days to get a response regarding my first question which was asking for a tentative completion date.

I finally got a response last Friday stating that the master has been shipped. I immediately asked when it was shipped so I know roughly when to expect it but it's been a week today and still no package, no response. This is a package coming from Michigan to Chicago.

Currently scared of requesting for possible corrections since their communication with me has been quite frustrating.

Kenny

MadAudio · #2 05-05-2006

"We will analyze your stereo mix and correct the frequency content and levels by visualizing the energy distributed in the stereo image."

Do they master by eye?

Dogbreath · #3 05-05-2006

"Ultramastering"....sounds like Behringer has a hand in it...

Never heard of em tho....

TheDewd · #4 05-05-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAudio

"We will analyze your stereo mix and correct the frequency content and levels by visualizing the energy distributed in the stereo image."

Do they master by eye?

Nothing's wrong using eyes combined with ears dude.

giraffe · #5 05-05-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by MadAudio

"We will analyze your stereo mix and correct the frequency content and levels by visualizing the energy distributed in the stereo image."

Do they master by eye?

totally, i small har-bal.

BigRay · #6 05-05-2006

Har Bal is actually very nice. Invaluable tool.

But that site is bogus.

send to a real ME.

teddy

SouthSIDE Glen · #7 05-05-2006

All I know about them is they should immediately fire whoever writes their web copy. More made-up words, badly-constructed sentences, and outright nonsense text on one page than I've seen on any website written by anyone who wasn't a drunk living an a van down by the river. Certanily enough to throw a reasonable doubt in my mind. From one page:

"Psychoacoustic Analyzation". This one literally made me laugh out loud. What the hell is "analyzation"? Is that "analysis"? Then of course this is the one where they describe that nonsense about mastering by sight. This one paragraph alone would be enough to turn me away from giving them my money.

This is immediately followed by a description of "Equalization" as "a balance of clarity and depth through extensive monitoring." Huh??? Since when do clarity and depth have to be "balanced", what do either of them have directly to do with equalization, and how does extensive monitoring have anything to do with EQ?

The paragrph on compression makes some small bit of sense in it's focus on "power presence and punch", but the rest of the paragraph construction would have every English and composition teacher I ever had from 1st grade on up dragging their nails across the chalkboard.

Bass management: How does shaping the bass on a master have anything to do with pushing "the low-end capabilities of your speakers?" It doesn't.

"Maximization/Limiting": Oh, there's one of those made up "-ization" words again. He must have gotten that one from the same dictionary as "analyzation". What DOES this guy use to build his web pages? Every tool I can think of outside of "Notebook" wuld have stopped these words at the spell checker a couple of different times.

I'm not being picky here, I can understand the occasional typo. But this page is all smoke and mirrors content loaded with made-up words and grammer-school diction. And this guy wants to sell me as an engineer? Case not sold.

G.

P.S. When's the last time that somebody claimed to have a mastering suite with all that gear and didn't include a single picture of the suite anywhere on their website?

They have to prove to me that it's not because they are somebody using Har Bal.

mshilarious · #8 05-05-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

P.S. When's the last time that somebody claimed to have a mastering suite with all that gear and didn't include a single picture of the suite anywhere on their website?

They do have a picture of their "media room" on their home page, for what that's worth.

SouthSIDE Glen · #9 05-05-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshilarious

They do have a picture of their "media room" on their home page, for what that's worth.

That little thumbnail with no explanation and a buck will get you a quarter of a cup of coffee at Starbucks

.

G.

kennycarvajal · #10 05-05-2006

I guess I fell for all of it, $60 later. Still no package, still no e-mail. My main thing is the time I lost since other things are scheduled related to this project.

I should've inquired first before I went with it. Funny now how they immediately (almost instantly) responded to let me know that the payment is required before mastering is started. In the past it's been half or a percentage before the project is started, then the rest once the corrections are made/completed and before the final master was sent.

I definitely feel robbed. Great!

I suppose use me as a reminder to enquire first and to avoid this online mastering company. I most certainly fell for it. A $60 lesson.

I will be filing a claim through Paypal if I don't get any packages by mid next week. I would most definitely find it hard to believe for a package from Michigan to take 2 weeks to get to Chicago.

Thanks for all your input and responses.

Regards,
Kenny

mshilarious · #11 05-05-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

That little thumbnail with no explanation and a buck will get you a quarter of a cup of coffee at Starbucks

.

G.

It's a deal!

SouthSIDE Glen · #12 05-05-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennycarvajal

Funny now how they immediately (almost instantly) responded to let me know that the payment is required before mastering is started. In the past it's been half or a percentage before the project is started, then the rest once the corrections are made/completed and before the final master was sent.

I definitely feel robbed. Great!

Well, hang on Kenny, you may still get a product, and for only $60 you may actually get a servicable job, even if the customer service sucks.

However, the fact that they paid a few bucks extra for private domain registration through Network Solutions so they cannot be traced throgh a domain name search does not bode well, I'm afraid. At the best, that's another red flag; at the worst, it's a sharp poke in the ribs.

G.

TheDewd · #13 05-05-2006

I would much rather master my stuff myself than sending it out to these guys.
The sound samples are less than impressive and I can master as good as they do in my my own bedroom. When you think mastering, you think Sterling, Gateway, Mastersound, etc....you don't think $120 an album geez.

kennycarvajal · #14 05-05-2006

I agree Dewd. Just didn't have quite the budget for the big guns. You get what you pay for I guess.

Damn.

I really hope you're right Glen. Just for the simple fact that at least I don't get ripped off.

Kenny

punkin · #15 05-05-2006

I tried to go to their website but it seems to be dead. I was thinking of sending an email asking about "rumors" of slow delivery and responsiveness....asking them for references -n- such.

mshilarious · #16 05-05-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

However, the fact that they paid a few bucks extra for private domain registration through Network Solutions so they cannot be traced throgh a domain name search does not bode well, I'm afraid. At the best, that's another red flag; at the worst, it's a sharp poke in the ribs.

G.

Hehehehehe I had checked that too

kennycarvajal · #17 05-05-2006

Site's up. Maybe they saw the red flags that you guys posted and were making the corrections.

Thanks again everyone.

Kenny

SouthSIDE Glen · #18 05-05-2006

Ultramastering is using a website builder service out of the UK called Moonfruit. The Ultramastering website was last updated May 4th (yesterday.) And it didn't exist as recently as two weeks ago. In fact, as of April 16th of this year, here was their different, and not even close to finished website:

http://ultramastering.mfbiz.com/

Now the question I have is, are there any web surfer sleuths or MEs that can comment on the origin of the pics on that older stillborn site? Are they taken from other studios that you know of?

G.

kennycarvajal · #19 05-05-2006

You're a genius Glen. I think I first contacted these guys on the 18th of April.

Man, I'm absolutely furious.

Judging by these facts, should I consider this a loss? Would you be able to e-mail me the info where you got these from for when I have to file a claim through Paypal? Can you check if there's any correlation between ultramastering.com and masterbymail.com? I kinda had a weird feeling when I first saw these sites for some reason.

Since the site wasn't launched till the 16th of April, I take it those testimonials were from imaginary clients. Damn it!!!

Kenny

Massive Master · #20 05-05-2006

There's a long thread about this at another forum... More red flags than you can shake a red stick at.

Mastering credits that aren't real - That was a nice one...

At least one phony audio sample (a mono "original" track suddenly has a lush stereo image).

Not to mention tens and tens of thousands in gear - Including a Sonic Solutions system - and $119 for a whole album?!?

Interesting photo on the page also about the new room that doesn't have Genelec OR Dunlavy speakers in it (as claimed on the "gear list").

kennycarvajal · #21 05-06-2006

Gosh. At this point I hope our project doesn't illegaly end up on the internet.

Kenny

SouthSIDE Glen · #22 05-06-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennycarvajal

Judging by these facts, should I consider this a loss? Would you be able to e-mail me the info where you got these from for when I have to file a claim through Paypal? Can you check if there's any correlation between ultramastering.com and masterbymail.com? I kinda had a weird feeling when I first saw these sites for some reason.

Since the site wasn't launched till the 16th of April, I take it those testimonials were from imaginary clients. Damn it!!!

Kenny

Finding out what I did was elementary, my dear Kenny

. I looked in my browser history and found that "ultramastering.com" was actually aliased to "ultramastering.moonfruit.com". So I just went straight to moonfruit.com to see who they were and saw that they were a website builder service and software provider. That they price their software in pounds instead of dollars indicates that they are probably located across the pond.

One of the things that moonfruit has on their website is a searchable directory of their clients. I just did a search on "ultramastering" and moonfruit came back with two web addresses for that company; the Apr 16th incomplete one I posted and the even newer one you posted.

The legal search trail stops there. As mentioned earlier, they have used a domain name registration service that provides the web analog of getting an unlisted number; a WHOIS only resolves to Network Solutions (The domain registrar service) and not to the actual owner of the domain name.

I was thinking about MasterByMail myself when you said that you package was coming from Michigan, which so happens to be where MBM was located as well. Here's some more interesting circumstantial - perhaps even just coincidental - information regarding that.

Both MBM and UM are using Network Solutions as their registrar.

MBM used to have a public registration as that's how we managed to track him down to his suburban house last September.

About a month after our look at MBM, on November 9th, 2005, he changed the MBM WHOIS regristration to the same private unlisted service that Ultramastering uses.

Ultramastering.com was registered as a domain name on January 17th, 2006, and is registered until Jan 17th, 2007.

The ultramastering website appears about three weeks ago.

The masterbymail.com domain is set to expire in three weeks (uness it is renewed.)

G.

Massive Master · #23 05-06-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

The masterbymail.com domain is set to expire in three weeks (uness it is renewed.)

I don't think we'll be that lucky...

mshilarious · #24 05-06-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by SouthSIDE Glen

Both MBM and UM are using Network Solutions as their registrar.

MBM used to have a public registration as that's how we managed to track him down to his suburban house last September.

About a month after our look at MBM, on November 9th, 2005, he changed the MBM WHOIS regristration to the same private unlisted service that Ultramastering uses.

You are a genius, Glen, but the use of Network Solutions isn't rare. They were the original domain name registrar and still the largest. They are based in my hometown!!! Shout out to all my homie Hornets out there!!!

I use 'em too, and once you sign up they pester you with emails for the private registration until you shut off the email notices

I keep my registration in my name, because I am a cheap bastard

The rest of that detective stuff . . . oh boy, nice work!!! Remind me not to piss you off

SouthSIDE Glen · #25 05-06-2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by mshilarious

the use of Network Solutions isn't rare. They were the original domain name registrar and still the largest.

Oh, I know that. In the 90's and early 2Ks, NS was practically the World Bank, Trilateral Commission, Masons, and G8 of the Internet

. But because of ther still not-so-competitive pricing and the large influx of ma and pa registrars these days, NS isn't quite the registration monolith they used to be...even if they still have a political stranglehold on almost the entire Net

(BTW, compare the board of directors for Network Solutions with those of companies like Bechtel, Raytheon and Haliburton. The incidence of Directors with top national security clearances at NS is very similar...or at least it was the last time I checked

)

I was looking more that the overall weight of coincidence, especially in the timiing and timeline of everything between the two. It could easily be just coincidence, I made that caveat right off. I don't know, maybe Motown is just a hotbed of mastering wannabes who misleadingly call their DAWs with HarBal equipment from Swan Song and Manley.

G.