I need an egineer!

M

Muffin

New member
Luck struck me a few months ago when I posted a rough mix of my band on our myspace. An audio engineer from a nearby city caught wind of it and offered to mix and master the track for us. We're in the process of recording a 5 song EP and further discussed and concluded that he would mix and master our CD for us.
The guy does great work and is well known in my area and his prices are the best I've seen($30 per song mixed and mastered). We've finally got a track finished and ready for him to work his magic but he won't reply to my emails. He's no shady dealer and I don't want to assume that he's deliberately avoiding me(he may being going through something that I don't know about) but nevertheless, we need our songs finished.

I COULD do the mixing, although I don't think my mixing skills are quite to par just yet. Is there anyone here who can deliver the goods at a similar rate? Note: We play Hardcore/Electronica music if that changes anything.
 
Muffin said:
The guy does great work and is well known in my area and his prices are the best I've seen($30 per song mixed and mastered)
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Anyone who actually works in the business have anything to say on the $30 a song thing?

Sort of off topic to Muffin's question (and good luck with it all Muffin) but surely no-one can really run a business on that basis... or can they?

I would have thought to mix and master something properly, given the time, investment in equipment etc. would be at least three times this amount per track and is it done on a per track basis anyway?

My plumber charges $100 an hour...
 
Armistice said:
Anyone who actually works in the business have anything to say on the $30 a song thing?

Sort of off topic to Muffin's question (and good luck with it all Muffin) but surely no-one can really run a business on that basis... or can they?

I would have thought to mix and master something properly, given the time, investment in equipment etc. would be at least three times this amount per track and is it done on a per track basis anyway?

My plumber charges $100 an hour...
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Exactly. I don't do this for a living, but it's a damn expensive hobby! And considering what I charge my clients (in my real, paying job) if I were to compare that to the effort and time I put into mixing a tune, I wouldn't do it for less than a couple/few hundred a song--maybe much more (which is because I wouldn't do it by the song; it'd be by the hour).
 
thats why so many good studios are closing the doors
noobs cant tell the difference and they save $
half the time they are just recording for themselves anyway
 
Well luckily for me, he actually replied today(of course right after I start this thread).

I too don't understand how he can charge so little and still put out a good product. I'm sure a lot of pro's such as yourselves wouldn't even consider using the services of someone who's rates are so low. I am a noob to a lot of this stuff but that's why I love this site, I've come a long way since joining.

I may not have as good an ear to judge mixes fairly as most of you, but to be fair these recordings are primarily for our Myspace where I don't think paying $200 per song would really make a substantial difference in the listening experience of the viewer, versus a $30 mix.
 
If I were him I would charge more because noobie tracking is usually poor quality. (I am assuming you tracked it.) This is not a slam toward you, Muffin. I just mean that those who don't know how to mix usually don't know how to track well either. That mixing job may turn out to be more of a struggle than a stroll in the park.

I hope he does a good job. Best of luck with all of it.
 
Well I guess if he is giving you $100 to $200. dollars per of a finished product and only Charging you $30. per song that is a deal.
For your viewers/fan base/friends deserve the best quality possible even if it does only get dumped down myspace etc. quality.






:cool:
 
Yeah, sorry to subvert your thread Muffin... glad it's worked out.

I just can't see the economics in it for the $30 a track guy... but as long as you're happy, go for it.

Cheers
 
Armistice said:
Yeah, sorry to subvert your thread Muffin... glad it's worked out.

I just can't see the economics in it for the $30 a track guy... but as long as you're happy, go for it.

Cheers
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It's not your fault Armistice .... it's your damn plumbers fault! :laughings: :laughings:






:cool:
 
Armistice said:
Yeah, sorry to subvert your thread Muffin... glad it's worked out.

I just can't see the economics in it for the $30 a track guy... but as long as you're happy, go for it.

Cheers
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Oh no worries, it's great to get other opinions, even on other matters.

To the others: Like I said before I could do the mixing(and I do plan to in the future) but this guy has a lot of experience, especially in the my genre. I don't take any offense to the fact that I'm still considered a noobie, but I am very proud of the latest tracking that I've done. I've learned a lot and look forward to pressing forward in this.
Once I've got the final product back I'll post it up in the MP3 clinic for all your ears to hear.
 
Muffin said:
...but to be fair these recordings are primarily for our Myspace where I don't think paying $200 per song would really make a substantial difference in the listening experience of the viewer, versus a $30 mix.
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You'll never really know unless you can hear side-by-side versions of the $200/hr mix from a bonafied pro studio VS his $30/hour mixes.
You’re just assuming there won’t be much difference…..

A good pro might be able to throw together a nice mix in an hour or two...but at that pace they are usually just going with one, basic mixing idea (whatever their gut tells them based on what they first hear). There is no time to experiment with alternate mixes...not to mention, it takes time to load all the tracks for all the songs into their DAW and get everything ready (that also takes up their time).
So let’s say 3 hours total for a song...that's $10/hour. :rolleyes:
I don't know of too many pros (and even many smaller project studio operators) who will want to even power up their studio gear for that little $$$....
...but hey, if you feel this guy is really good and you've heard some of his work from some of his other clients...then who cares if he's only charging $30/song.
 
the average studio (not home studios) around here charges $40 per hour tracking $55 per track mixing, $55 per track mastering
 
I saw in the local street press that one of Australia's leading mastering studios is offering mastering (only) "from $300 a track..."

Which is sort of more where I thought it would be.

Miroslav's point about what you get for that - ie. a quick "gut feel" mix is also well made. No time to actually consider other options, so I guess you'd want to have everything tracked as well as you can and cut the guy loose to see what you get back..
 
Armistice said:
I saw in the local street press that one of Australia's leading mastering studios is offering mastering (only) "from $300 a track..."
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I think even Abbey Roads online service starts at around half that per track....that must be some studio ;)


good luck with it Muffin, bottom line is if your happy with the end result it doesnt matter how little it costs :)
 
kcearl said:
I think even Abbey Roads online service starts at around half that per track....that must be some studio ;)


good luck with it Muffin, bottom line is if your happy with the end result it doesnt matter how little it costs :)
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Then you just gotta hear what I did with a $3. microphone and my computer. :eek:
I'm sort of happy but it makes me cry a lot.






:cool:
 
kcearl said:
I think even Abbey Roads online service starts at around half that per track....that must be some studio ;)
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I started to wonder if I've remembered correctly after I posted that actually as I didn't have the mag with me any more - I read it last week and remembered this thread... so I looked up the studio's website and yep.... alzheimer's is definitely setting in...

http://www.studios301.com/sydney/sydmasmain.htm

My bad - it was $100... more in line with what you're saying kc...

Sorry! :o
 
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