Desiring an educated opinion

[cropchecker]

What a great board: I have been reading and trying to become literate so I can understand and follow advice, but you'll have to bear with me.

Here's the deal: I spent the last six months recording an album with my band on a Tascam 424MKII four track: we did each song live in my Vallhalla Ballroom loft studio with these four tracks:

drums and bass run through a mixer and five mics covering them them direct out to Tascam track

vocals mic

lead guitar mic

acoustic guitar mic

did not expect much but we worked hard and begged borrowed and stole expensive microphones and by God now we have a bunch of songs that sound way way better than i ever thought we could get.

so my question: i know i cannot mix these just by popping them on computer myself and hitting Spindoctor record to a disc when i think the levels are right.

the sound now needs mixing and mastering, but i'm not an expert and i don't want to spend boo cou money on what is after all a four track live recording. on the other hand i know this can sound amazingly close to professional if mixed and mastered right. what would you do from here, where would you go, those of you who have been in my shoes before?

i emailed a couple on line places and got quotes back from 4 grand to 500 bucks to mix and master, what is reasonable, what is sane?

maybe i could do it myself if i had the equipment but i wonder if it would not be worth paying someone for their ears, objectivity, and experience?

thank you for any help/advice you may have for me. i would really appreciate it.

 

[HangDawg]

Hell, post the tracks somewhere for download. Someone here will probably do it for nothing. Maybe not all of them, but a tune or two. I might even be so inclined if they are tracked well and it's a good song.

 

[LRosario]

The last thing I'd do is post your blood work on the net.


However, you mentioned something interesting.

i wonder if it would not be worth paying someone for their ears, objectivity, and experience?

These guys get paid a lot of money for a reason, and it's exactly that. These guys are indispensible in what they do and the experience they bring. If anything, they've probably enhanced my carreer as an AE.

That said, see what you can do yourself. The next step is to mix your tracks as best you can. This is probably the next most important step after tracking.

If you can make it (or get some experienced) sound good after mixing, you really wouldn't need that extra dough to master.


Hope that helps

 

[mixandmaster]

I do a risk-free trial for my services...if you are still looking. Either email me at info@mixandmaster.com, check out the site at www.mixandmaster.com, or call from the number on the site. I charge $30 per song.

Thanks.