Mastering Yourself?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JG96
  • Start date Start date

Who masters your recordings?

  • Me

    Votes: 118 84.3%

  • Online Service

    Votes: 14 10.0%

  • Nearby Recording Studio

    Votes: 8 5.7%
  • Total voters
    140
There's still some R&D in these cases... I'll most definitely "not vouch for the validity" of a few of those top-positioned "mastering facilities" --

Ranking high in Google is nice, but it's no guarantee of anything.

Photos and gear lists are nice, but without an actual reputation of some sort to back it up -- well, my gear list has been found on no less than two dozen "Mastering" sites over the last few years. Photos also. On occasion, the entire site.

Same with other info... Anyone can put a year up and claim that's when they started. Sure - it's probably true (again, assuming you've actually heard of the person or know of their credits). But I can again tell you for a fact that it's not always true...

You cannot get the * Pre-Mastering that we give your tracks through the Major English Automated Logic CONSOLE in Real Time from other studios.
** This is a FREE step that we do to enhance your mixes and make it sound like you recorded the entire cd in our studio with the Major English Logic Console **
Click to expand...

Years later, that still cracks me up like few things I've ever read. And that's one of the more coherent passages from one of those sites listed.

Another fave:
The Pre-Mastering thru Warm English EQs Automated Logic Console will change the basic characteristics of your mix from the small computer / mixer to the huge Recording Studio Sound. That's why all the Major Labels, Artists & Producers record in Major Studios with the Logic Console.GET THE MAJOR LABEL SOUND.
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Just what I want the mastering guy to do... "change the basic characteristics" of my mixes by running it through a cheap, old, discontinued mixer that has the word "Logic" in its name - in a fairly obvious effort to make less-seasoned persons think that they have a SSL in the room -- As if I'd want the mastering guy to run my mixes through a SSL console for that matter...

Just a guess, of course...
 
Massive Master said:
There's still some R&D in these cases... I'll most definitely "not vouch for the validity" of a few of those top-positioned "mastering facilities" --

Ranking high in Google is nice, but it's no guarantee of anything.

Photos and gear lists are nice, but without an actual reputation of some sort to back it up -- well, my gear list has been found on no less than two dozen "Mastering" sites over the last few years. Photos also. On occasion, the entire site.

Same with other info... Anyone can put a year up and claim that's when they started. Sure - it's probably true (again, assuming you've actually heard of the person or know of their credits). But I can again tell you for a fact that it's not always true...



Years later, that still cracks me up like few things I've ever read. And that's one of the more coherent passages from one of those sites listed.

Another fave:

Just what I want the mastering guy to do... "change the basic characteristics" of my mixes by running it through a cheap, old, discontinued mixer that has the word "Logic" in its name - in a fairly obvious effort to make less-seasoned persons think that they have a SSL in the room -- As if I'd want the mastering guy to run my mixes through a SSL console for that matter...

Just a guess, of course...
Click to expand...



no its no guarantee...im just mocking the fact that I'm a clown moron without a sober braincell because i dont believe that online mastering is saturated with kids and cracked plugins, and if it is how do I find them...certainly not through my search engine of choice

I dont think any of these on the first two pages of google is one of these "kids"...they may not offer the standard of mastering some of you guys might, there again they may offer better...the list runs out by page three so wheres this hyperbolic saturation that my dear friend Glen states its so obvious to all but the mentally challenged?

how hard should I search for it...after all this is how I would find an online solution...is there another way?
 
kcearl said:
...is there another way?
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Actually you get with the people here, gearslutz, etc. They have the credibility evidenced by that they are still posting without getting slammed and for the most part, have a lot of people recommending them. I think if there were any problems, [the posse formin']people would be driving to some of these windy, bean town, type cities, etc...


Additionally there are some really "heavy hitters" that do online mastering that aren't too hard to find out, but I think you know all this. I'm just paying a compliment to those ME around here that may read this.

I find the kids with the cracks, are pretty much uniformed of the "ways" of these types of forums and for the most part, expose themselves and get run off pretty quick... or at least, ponced upon. It's a pretty common theme that pirated software isn't really appreciated and these forums are full of plenty of people to let them know that. :spank:
 
yeah if i ever got to the level that it was necessary to get something mastered Id certainly choose someone that could be vouched for..actually fuck it...Id get it done at the Abbey Road online site so I could write "mastered at abbey road studios" on the sleeve notes of my free handout cd at the pub :laughings:
 
I master my own stuff and other people's, but I used to do this stuff for a living for a long time before switching careers. It takes skill but also years, and IMO you can't get around those years... there are no shortcuts. Mastering is one of those things that not everyone can do, but on the other hand some people that don't do it now could learn the ropes like anything else and do a decent job.

The question of who to trust is another story, and no easy answers.

:)
 
I hate to repost this (as I usually get at least a few "Hey - I know you wrote that about me and you can f*** off!" letters - obviously from people who are scam artists) but it may be of a little bit of help:

http://www.massivemastering.com/blog/index_files/mastering_scams_buyer_beware.php

But undoubtedly - The 'hacks' are out there - in force - hundreds of them. It's very easy to come across a dozen "mastering" places with Waves Mercury (they think people think you're cool if you have a $7,000 plugin bundle) and $500 low-budget monitoring along with some fake samples. And there's enough "you need (insert name of plugin bundle here) to get that 'pro' sound" that people actually fall for it on occasion.

The bummer part of it all is that there are some -- Let's call them "casual hobbyist" mastering guys out there who actually do a decent job with an 'almost nothing' gear list (some decent monitoring and freeware plugs will outdo Waves Mercury and a $500 set of "studio monitors" every single time without fail). The problem is that these decent guys get overshadowed by these software pirates (when people actually have the balls to advertise their cracked software, that tells you something about their character). They can't compete and they stop advertising.

Seasoned engineers know who and what to look for. Less seasoned engineers sometimes don't - and there are plenty of people out there more than willing to take advantage of that.
 
Massive Master said:
The bummer part of it all is that there are some -- Let's call them "casual hobbyist" mastering guys out there who actually do a decent job with an 'almost nothing' gear list (some decent monitoring and freeware plugs will outdo Waves Mercury and a $500 set of "studio monitors" every single time without fail). The problem is that these decent guys get overshadowed by these software pirates (when people actually have the balls to advertise their cracked software, that tells you something about their character). They can't compete and they stop advertising.

Seasoned engineers know who and what to look for. Less seasoned engineers sometimes don't - and there are plenty of people out there more than willing to take advantage of that.
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Very well put, John. That's exactly the point.

There are folks who consistently misconstrue my bellyaching (and I admit I get annoying many times, I'm doing my best to work on that) as being anti-small guy or anti-amateur or something similar to that. That's not it at all. I AM a small guy myself ; where people get the impression that I'm some Sir George Martin looking down my nose at the rest of this board is beyond me; if that were the case, I would not even BE here.

My problem is with the phone-ins, the pretenders who know very little and can do even less who pose as someone qualified to be something they are not qualified to be. You're absolutely right; there are honest, small-budget folks out there how DO have the chops and want to honestly work their way up the ladder, and I support them 100%.

And kc, there is every possibility that your favorite Canadian boyz fit that bill. Their biggest obstacle is the sad fact that for every one of them there are a dozen or more pretenders ruining the scene for them, making the whole segment highly untrustworthy for the potential client who does not *really* do their homework first. It's those pretenders that I would like to rid the a perfect world of, so that the legit ones can get their fair shake and fair stake of the market, and so the final product - the actual recordings we wind up listening to - don't keep declining in sonic quality the way they have been ever since this phenomenon started.

Where this situation *has* touched me at home a bit has been in a running debate my studio team and I have been having just in the past week or so; not in mastering, but in tracking and mixing. There are so many hack "home studios" out there charging ~$25 an hour for horseshit services that the founders of the studio are thinking maybe they have to charge equally low rates in order to be "competitive". Well, I have been with these guys for a couple of months now and worked with them on several different projects so far, and I have been incredibly impressed with them and with what they can accomplish with a fairly standard "garage studio". Not because of their gear, which is pretty average for a home studio situation, but because of THEM.

They know how to run a production and produce a project very professionally, and have the chops and the ears to back that technique up. They offer a grade of service and product well above your average "home studio", and IMHO should not be afraid to charge for that, and that dropping their price to "compete" with the hacks is just cutting their own neck for no reason. It's not like we have trouble getting business, we have been steadily busy since the studio opened. But there is a downward "market pressure" caused by the large influx of DIYers who just are not ready to open their doors yet lowballing the market by taking advantage of a client who just does not know any better.

G.
 
moresound said:
Sir Glen ......I think it has a nice ring to it!
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No need to be so formal, you can just call me Sir. :p

Nah, I'm nothing like that, nor have I ever pretended to be. It's mystified me ever since I came here why "little guy" has to mean unknowledgeable and "knowledgeable" has to mean big-time establishment prick.

G.
 
Yes Sir .
Really, if you do your homework you could build a ship to take you to the moon if one was so inclined. I like many choose to learn as much as I can about sound both live and in the studio.





:cool:
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
Very well put, John. That's exactly the point.

There are folks who consistently misconstrue my bellyaching (and I admit I get annoying many times, I'm doing my best to work on that) as being anti-small guy or anti-amateur or something similar to that. That's not it at all. I AM a small guy myself ; where people get the impression that I'm some Sir George Martin looking down my nose at the rest of this board is beyond me; if that were the case, I would not even BE here.

My problem is with the phone-ins, the pretenders who know very little and can do even less who pose as someone qualified to be something they are not qualified to be. You're absolutely right; there are honest, small-budget folks out there how DO have the chops and want to honestly work their way up the ladder, and I support them 100%.

And kc, there is every possibility that your favorite Canadian boyz fit that bill. Their biggest obstacle is the sad fact that for every one of them there are a dozen or more pretenders ruining the scene for them, making the whole segment highly untrustworthy for the potential client who does not *really* do their homework first. It's those pretenders that I would like to rid the a perfect world of, so that the legit ones can get their fair shake and fair stake of the market, and so the final product - the actual recordings we wind up listening to - don't keep declining in sonic quality the way they have been ever since this phenomenon started.
Click to expand...


I think its doubtful the Canadian guys i mentioned are of that ilk...purely because they got a decent spread in the magazine (I think it may have been musictech) and they had a fairly well known clientèle list

But I do imagine there are the guys you are talking about, perhaps approaching large numbers, but if you are going to fall for them and not do your homework then sorry...tough shit...like I said googling brought up more than enough online businesses that are more than likely legit and when even Abbey Road offer something affordable then your really going to be a gullable fool to pass over cash to anyone else...as mentioned earlier..you come courting business on websites like this and gearslutz etc, you are outed pretty quickly

Where this situation *has* touched me at home a bit has been in a running debate my studio team and I have been having just in the past week or so; not in mastering, but in tracking and mixing. There are so many hack "home studios" out there charging ~$25 an hour for horseshit services that the founders of the studio are thinking maybe they have to charge equally low rates in order to be "competitive". Well, I have been with these guys for a couple of months now and worked with them on several different projects so far, and I have been incredibly impressed with them and with what they can accomplish with a fairly standard "garage studio". Not because of their gear, which is pretty average for a home studio situation, but because of THEM.

They know how to run a production and produce a project very professionally, and have the chops and the ears to back that technique up. They offer a grade of service and product well above your average "home studio", and IMHO should not be afraid to charge for that, and that dropping their price to "compete" with the hacks is just cutting their own neck for no reason. It's not like we have trouble getting business, we have been steadily busy since the studio opened. But there is a downward "market pressure" caused by the large influx of DIYers who just are not ready to open their doors yet lowballing the market by taking advantage of a client who just does not know any better.

G.
Click to expand...

buyer beware...it always is
 
Audio production is like sex, it's usually better when there is more than one person involved. :-)
 
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