Mastering Company Recommendations

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Bulletboy5150

New member
I am currently working on a cd for my band. I recorded it all into logic and am currently mixing the tracks. I want to have the final product professionally mastered but when looking on the internet found many different companies and options that I dont know where to begin! Does anyone have any recommendations for a specific company that maybe the best or have the best value for product?

Also what preparations need to be made in the mixing process preparing it for mastering? I know no limiters or compressors in the final output, but what about the final db level of the output track? i have read it should be much quieter around -12dbs or so. Is this correct?
 
I know this one guy...

Although he rarely ever promotes himself on the forums because it seems so distasteful to do so...

But anyway... On another subject -

Your final level can be almost anything "naturally" (as in, no limiting, no excessive buss compression) peaking somewhere below full-scale. 3dB of headroom is wonderful. 6 is fine also, as is 12, as is 24 (but at that point, it's more or less unnecessary - But not really harmful either).
 
Hmm... it almost sounds like your speaking of yourself.. haha

So when you say 3db headroom you mean never going above -3db on the final output levels?
 
Bulletboy5150 said:
Hmm... it almost sounds like your speaking of yourself.. haha
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:o
So when you say 3db headroom you mean never going above -3db on the final output levels?
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Yup - Basically *SOME* headroom is "enough" headroom in most digital summing applications.

Obviously (and I hope it goes without saying) you wouldn't want to be tracking anywhere near that hot -- But when you're summing already-recorded signals, you're not worrying about the analog gain stage anymore.
 
Bulletboy5150 said:
I am currently working on a cd for my band. I recorded it all into logic and am currently mixing the tracks. I want to have the final product professionally mastered but when looking on the internet found many different companies and options that I dont know where to begin! Does anyone have any recommendations for a specific company that maybe the best or have the best value for product?

Also what preparations need to be made in the mixing process preparing it for mastering? I know no limiters or compressors in the final output, but what about the final db level of the output track? i have read it should be much quieter around -12dbs or so. Is this correct?
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Many mastering engineers will do a sample for you these days, so that you will know exactly what you will be getting for their services.

Communication with the mastering engineer is key. Let them know what you are looking for, as any guidance can be key in obtaining a result you are 100% happy with.

A couple things to keep in mind when preparing your files for mastering are to mix and bounce the project at the sample rate and bit depth it was recorded at. There is no need to do any conversion as the ME can do this.

Keep you mix levels conservative. Peak levels anywhere below 0 dbfs are ok. The more headroom you leave the better. Watch that you are not over loading any plug-ins as well.

Most importantly, Get the mix sounding the best you can, to the best of your ability. Make sure you are happy with the final mixes.

While mastering can sometimes greatly improve the sonic quality of a mix and album, it should not be relied on to magically make a mediocre mix or album sound great.
 
what you do is you find all your favorite cds (recent ones) and find the people who's names are on them, then look up those people and find their rates, find a reasonable one, contact them, send them your stuff, pay them, and prepare to be dissapointed.
 
FALKEN said:
what you do is you find all your favorite cds (recent ones) and find the people who's names are on them, then look up those people and find their rates, find a reasonable one, contact them, send them your stuff, pay them, and prepare to be dissapointed.
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I love this post! :D
 
Dogbreath said:
:p

Kinda like the 3 or 4 that posted here? ;)
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Yep!

There are a great number of excellent engineers at a variety of price ranges each one giving you a different result. Being able to attend the session is usually an advantage so if there are places local to you look there first.

Other than that a main differentiator is the type of service that they provide. While price is a consideration don't let that be the main reason why you choose one over another. Listen to demos (if the engineer will supply them) and communicate with them about your thoughts on the demo. Start to develp a relationship with a prospective engineer. At that point you know what you're dealing with.
 
Massive Master said:
I know this one guy...

Although he rarely ever promotes himself on the forums because it seems so distasteful to do so...
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You know, I always try to get to these threads first so you don't have to, but you beat me to the punch this time. Actually, everyone did. :o
 
kcearl said:
man just use a preset on Ozone...mastering is a thing of the past.
:D
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Well, I use Ozone when people want a quick, cheap mastering solution, but I don't use their presets, nor would I ever consider myself a mastering engineer.

If you're really careful, you can get pretty good results with Ozone, but nowhere near as good as the real mastering guys I listed above.
 
can also recommend Jim DeMain @ Yes Master Nashville

they also will work on a sliding scale and if you provide them with plenty of lead time (so they can work your project efficiently into other projects) I've found them to be pretty cost effective

And while it is not all that significant (in terms of quality of their work) I've found the rooms to be aesthetically satisfying just to stand in (being 700 miles away I don't typically have that option, but just saying)

Thing that is key, as has been said is advance communication, what are your expectations, what can they honestly accomplish and what are they going to charge to reach those goals this is still a small enough niche that any reputable mastering facility is going to be concerned with client satisfaction . . . but facilities with ability to address clients individually can not babysit you for free . . . 'pro' to have any meaning has to imply an equation

in any case I would regard DeMain as someone to put on a short list to contact to see if they are compatible with goals and budget
 
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