Anyone pro here to master a metal EP?

J

Jouni

New member
Hello!!!


We're about to do an EP with a band I play bass in, death/black-metal. ..Originally it was to be an album, but the singer/songwriter wanted to try out for a record-deal with this.

We're soon to mix it, all is tracked. 3 songs shouldn't take forever, after that, before sending it to print, It'd be nice to have it mastered by someone who knows what they're doing!:D

I know here are some good pros, but the singer prolly wants an example.... ...So, If anyone interested could PM me, I'll upload a track, you might master like..half of it?... Let us know your price..
And afterwoods when found good, we'd make arrengments for the whole thing or something??..

If anyone's interested PM me.
 
I'm the master of metal.

I'll secretly replace everyone in your band with a Jimmy Buffet cover band.

Rock out with your cock out.

.
 
If you're not having a professional mix your recording - you might really wanna try and find an ME who will accept "separations". Your results will be worlds better that way - but like I said, that's only if you're not having someone really good mix your recordings.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=mastering+separations if you're not familiar with the concept...

(Hell, I'd even be willing to possibly take on some separations...I've always wanted to try it. It's a cool idea - let me know).
 
Mastering from stems isn't going to fix a bad mix. It might (MIGHT) help control the damage a little - But it's not a work-around.
 
Massive Master said:
Mastering from stems isn't going to fix a bad mix. It might (MIGHT) help control the damage a little - But it's not a work-around.
Click to expand...

you said it.

Nowdays so many "mastering engineers" I deal with think they're mixing. I understand that a lot of fixes can be done if they get their hands on the files, but usually the end result is the stem mixer, errrr, mastering engineer, just makes a louder shittier mix
 
This recording will be absolute sh*t, whoever mixes and masters it.:D

It's purpose is to demo our stuff, so we can possibly get a deal on a REAL recording....

Drums were recorded in a fuck*ng barn, on a 4-track tracker, guitarists were left alone to record their parts
(BIG-ass mistake!!!..nearly unusable muddy crap, had to EQ to hell..)
and the rest is pure homerecording too..:o

preliminary mix on one song from yesterday:

"Hate Rapture"



..close enough for Blackmetal.:D
 
sure is... sounds good.

for some reason i don't think mastering will be the difference between getting a deal or not.

but i'm just some guy on the internet, you shouldn't listen to me anyway.
 
I won't listen to you.:D

Ofcourse, the music should count.

But the bar these days on metal is friggin much higher around here, than any other type of music...
Last demo we did got squashed on reviews about its poor quality, reviewers won't listen anymore the music longer than a minute if it don't sound perfect. I mean, dudes here are recording "demos" in studios with money they sold their car for...:eek::confused::(
 
Jouni said:
Last demo we did got squashed on reviews about its poor quality, reviewers won't listen anymore the music longer than a minute if it don't sound perfect. I mean, dudes here are recording "demos" in studios with money they sold their car for...:eek::confused::(
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I get why their are "reviewers" critiquing your recording quality if this is a demo for a record contract. If you mean the talent or A&R guy for a record company, yeah, he'll only listen for the first minute, but if he stops listening, it's probably not because of the quality of the production, but because he's not interested in what he's heard musically...unless the production quality is really God-awful.

If the production values are that bad where the man won't even listen to it, looking to fix it in mastering is the wrong place to go. If your tracking is lousy, even the finest mastering isn't going to do a whiole lot of good. That's like putting pinstripes and polish on a rusty old '72 Ford Pinto. Or as it's often put: polishing a turd.

Those guys that are selling their cars know what they're doing. Step #1 is to get the performance right before you hit the record button. Step #2 is to get the tracking done well. If you don't have BOTH of those to start off with, the rest is fairly meaningless. If you get them right, the rest is easy.

G.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
I'm not sure I get why their are "reviewers" critiquing your recording quality if this is a demo for a record contract. If you mean the talent or A&R guy for a record company, yeah, he'll only listen for the first minute, but if he stops listening, it's probably not because of the quality of the production, but because he's not interested in what he's heard musically...unless the production quality is really God-awful.

If the production values are that bad where the man won't even listen to it, looking to fix it in mastering is the wrong place to go. If your tracking is lousy, even the finest mastering isn't going to do a whiole lot of good. That's like putting pinstripes and polish on a rusty old '72 Ford Pinto. Or as it's often put: polishing a turd.

Those guys that are selling their cars know what they're doing. Step #1 is to get the performance right before you hit the record button. Step #2 is to get the tracking done well. If you don't have BOTH of those to start off with, the rest is fairly meaningless. If you get them right, the rest is easy.

G.
Click to expand...


1. The previous demo was sent to local metalzines etc. also, hence the comment on reviews. The same will be done with this one too, we're printing about 500pcs and sending EVERYWHERE.

2. Everyone and their mother knows the deal on polishing a turd by now.

This is getting old...:(
 
Jouni said:
This recording will be absolute sh*t, whoever mixes and masters it.:D
...
Drums were recorded in a fuck*ng barn, on a 4-track tracker, guitarists were left alone to record their parts
(BIG-ass mistake!!!..nearly unusable muddy crap, had to EQ to hell..)
and the rest is pure homerecording too..:o
Click to expand...
And yet you're aking for someone to master it. Apparently the turd polishing thing hasn't gotten to quite everyone yet. ;)

Look, I'd talk to Massive in private if I were in your position. Let him be the judge. He'll be honest with you one way or the other.

G.
 
If you're serious about this, GO INTO A STUDIO.
Don't waste your money on duplication for something you know has been tracked wrong.

Besides, you'll have the satisfaction of having the makings of a real album.

My band does not record for the labels. We record for the fans. Either way, we want them to have a nice quality product.
 
Jouni said:
This recording will be absolute sh*t, whoever mixes and masters it.:D

It's purpose is to demo our stuff, so we can possibly get a deal on a REAL recording....

Drums were recorded in a fuck*ng barn, on a 4-track tracker, guitarists were left alone to record their parts
(BIG-ass mistake!!!..nearly unusable muddy crap, had to EQ to hell..)
and the rest is pure homerecording too..:o

preliminary mix on one song from yesterday:

"Hate Rapture"



..close enough for Blackmetal.:D
Click to expand...


If the tracking was shit, you may consider re-recording. Most record companies ask that a submission demo be as clear as possible. Submitting muddy junk just makes you look unprofessional, in my opinion.

Out of curiosity, what labels are you planning on sending submissions to?
 
i just listened to hate rapture, and it doesn't sound too bad...i've heard a lot of metal that sounds a LOT worse than this

the biggest thing will be tightening up low end on the guitars and bass, but that should happen in the mix stage...controlling the lows on those guys will help bring out the kick as well, which sounds pretty well buried to me.
 
Somebody already came up with the turd polish stuff so I'd like to give you a honest critic of the song. I've listened to it with a pair of M-Audio BX5 near field monitors and AKG Monitor headphones. These are my conclusions:

1. Drums: Yeah, it has the bite, but I 'd like to hear some thud... I don't know if you have top/bottom snare separate tracks. If so, try balancing the levels to have more body on the snare. Double bass drum needs more click... have you ever heard behemoth... whoa! That's the sound you want to achieve. Maybe you can fix it with some Eq but if the thing is poorly recorded I recommend you to record again the drum or replace the bass drum track with a MIDI drum or using Drumagog. By the way, you can go and replace all the drum with that software.

2. Guitars: EQ of the guitars is not my favorite... pretty muddy. If you're working on digital you can make some arrangements to the song and the plan a new recording session. I'm saying that because in black metal I really like to hear twin harmonized guitars or syncopated riffs. Like Immortal.

3. Voice: The best part to me... Two vocalist? Ha, maybe just one with a great vocal range. You can add some stereo panning to the voice to achieve a more evil sound. Just a little in the part they require attention (Long screams in example)

I recommend to remix your tracks again thinking FIRST waht you want to achieve:
1. A raw old-school blackmetal a la Mayhem
2. A modern sounding black metal in the vein of Emperor
Then mix trying to achieve that particular effect.

Do you have the tracks in digital? I'd love to hear them in the original state to see what I can do with the mix. Upload the files to an FTP :)

Good luck.
 
hi. i have neither "pro" or perhaps even "proper" mastering equipment, but i do the best i can with what i have. i am basically a hobbyist anyway, and only record projects that arent my own a few times a year. that said, i have recorded a couple of very heavy bands, and save for the sometimes ho-hum performance, i think the recordings sound pretty good, especially for demo purposes.
i chose this particular track because it is unfinished, basically all first takes, and with minmal processing (oh, and no lyrics, etc to make anyone nervous). it was 3 piece band, recorded by me on to a VS1680 in a pretty crappy garage-like room. they were dumped over to sonar for a little rudimentary massaging.
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=761741&songID=6175336
let me know what you think.
a
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top