Need advice on CD production

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Picqwik

New member
My family and friends asked me for a CD of my music (guitar instrumentals) and I've taken several months to put something together. I've used a Tascam 8-track recorder and using backing tracks (some purchased, some I created myself) I've put together what I feel, is a decent collection of recorded music.

Because the songs were recorded over a long period of time, and because I'm really a beginner at this, many of the mastered tracks have different lead-in times and volume levels. When I put them all together onto a CD disc produced from my Tascam, the mix and sound quality is fine but the gaps between the songs varies and the volume levels of the different songs aren't even, Most tend to be too low!

My question is, what sort of service would I look for, that could take my recorded album (on a memory stick) and put it on a CD for me, at the same time balancing the different volumes and to even out the spacing between the songs. Also, I'd like to have a proper paper sleeve printed from my artwork and a small run of the finished CDs.

I've scoured the internet but can't find such a service. Plenty of companies doing CD duplication, but I can't find anyone who assists with production.

Any advice or suggestions ...
 
Picqwik said:
My question is, what sort of service would I look for, that could take my recorded album (on a memory stick) and put it on a CD for me, at the same time balancing the different volumes and to even out the spacing between the songs. Also, I'd like to have a proper paper sleeve printed from my artwork and a small run of the finished CDs.

I've scoured the internet but can't find such a service. Plenty of companies doing CD duplication, but I can't find anyone who assists with production.

Any advice or suggestions ...
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The service you were looking for is called "Mastering"

Interesting that you posted your question in the Mastering section of this site. Did you not look for "CD Mastering Services" when you scoured the Internet?

I'd take Jimmy up on his offer. Hard to beat that deal.
 
Thanks, Maestro, you've answered my question. (even if your answer was a bit snarky...). If I had known what was obvious to all you experts, I wouldn't have had to ask the question, would I! Try to understand that us newbies may be lacking in knowledge of the subject, but that doesn't necessarily mean we're stupid.

And thanks for the offer, Jimmy, but I wouldn't burden you with it.
 
I didn't see Maestro's comments as being snarky, just typical internet banter.

Jimmy's offer is pretty nice, you should reconsider. You can hire a company like Massive Mastering who is a true professional. If you don't go with MM and decide to search the internet for another service, please tread with caution, lots of imposters and kids-in-bedrooms pretending to be mastering engineers. MM is the real deal.

Another option is to try it yourself. With something like wavelab elements, you can place your songs on a timeline, adjust volume and eq for each song, set spacing, add ISRC codes, and burn to a CD. Then with that CD, you can go to a site like Kunaki.com to get it replicated or duplicated (I can never remember which is which) complete with artwork for not a lot of money. They are CD-r's, but you almost can't tell the difference.

Lastly, who uses CD's anymore? Make a collection of MP3's and give them to your family and friends.
 
Chili said:
Jimmy's offer is pretty nice, you should reconsider. You can hire a company like Massive Mastering who is a true professional. If you don't go with MM and decide to search the internet for another service, please tread with caution, lots of imposters and kids-in-bedrooms pretending to be mastering engineers. MM is the real deal.
Click to expand...
For the record, I was just pokin' at Jimmy. Very nice of him to offer and no doubt, probably closer to what the OP is looking for.

Not that I don't dig the occasional simple-fixers... :thumbs up:

And thanks for the kind words. :listeningmusic:
 
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