Good affordable Mastering - if it exists...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Somnium7
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so Discmakers isn't a good deal? I've check out their sampler CD and they SEEM to know what they're doing, but then again...
Does anyone have any experience with them?



Umm yes. That's why I posted. Waste of money. I could and have done a better job. Now the rest of their services are fine.
 
i don't know what genre your recording songs for, but i know a mastering engineer who has over 15-20yrs in Hip-Hop mastering, who charges $250 for 5 tracks, or did at one point, thats pretty reasonable especially being that he has credits on over 10 albums that were arguable classics, including the first few Wu-Tang projects amongst others.....

he's the one who first guided me into doing my own mixing and gear purchasing.....
 
This is pretty much all I am looking for. I don't have the capability to check my mixes on different systems and I also don't have the best monitoring system. While mixes may sound alright for me I really have no idea how they will sound in general with various different sound systems.

Yeah mastering is like having an extra pair of ears to oversee a project to make sure nothing is out of place, and that the mixes will translate well on most systems.

Eck
 
i don't know what genre your recording songs for, but i know a mastering engineer who has over 15-20yrs in Hip-Hop mastering, who charges $250 for 5 tracks, or did at one point, thats pretty reasonable especially being that he has credits on over 10 albums that were arguable classics, including the first few Wu-Tang projects amongst others.....

he's the one who first guided me into doing my own mixing and gear purchasing.....

I once mastered a mix tape that 50 cents cousin was on which was cool. Also been in touch with the Wu-tang clan regarding mastering, although they told me they prefer to do everything themselves.

Eck
 
I just think that in a "real" studio project, the cost is justified.

For a self-produced effort ... it's not like a mastering job is going to transform it in to a professional product. And the fact that it was self-produced, kind of hints at the idea that probably it's not a very serious project.

And if it is, then the money you're just now looking to spend on mastering ... may have been more wisely spent on the tracking or mixing stage. At this point, I think it's mostly wasted, because for the most part it is what it is.

.
I find this Thread very interesting in the sense that I am currently attempting to create a nicely done Mix from the material I have in a Home Studio I built which seems to have most of the Bells & Whistles you'd find in a Pro Studio only 5 times lesser. But picking up on your point (which I think is excellent) many of those on this Forum seem to have ideals of Producing a polished CD and doing what with it, I'm not entirely certain.

I have a very serious connection with a family member who works for a large Record Label (one you all know) she is an executive in this Company and has asked me to give her some of my work for almost 3 yrs now after hearing some one Holiday get together where my wife threw one of my CD's in the machine for background music.

So I have hesitated sending her anything since my thoughts are, if I'm going to give her something that she might hand to someone else, I want it to be as good in Audio quality as possible. I'm totally into doing it myself. so I'm learning a lot about Engineering from reading, forums such as this and hands on application. I am not interested in getting a Record Deal per se in the sense that I want someone to say to me, we want to put a Band together, send you on the Road and promote you. I want to sell my stuff if at all possible.

Your comment
Chessrock said:
For a self-produced effort ... it's not like a mastering job is going to transform it in to a professional product. And the fact that it was self-produced, kind of hints at the idea that probably it's not a very serious project.

Is valid no matter how you slice it or try to justify your time in one's on home studio. We spend serious money on equipment and software etc for the purpose of learning & doing these projects ourselves and if one were to take these words to heart, then I'd have to ask, what's the point of buying any of this stuff? Why have the best monitors, mics, Recording, Mixing, Mastering Software, etc.? Then why this Forum even, since if any of us feels our work is serious, then all we really should have is a little 4 track to put down the idea and then take it into a Professional Studio.

But for the hundreds' of thousands that are purchasing gear that provides that next level of recording quality, there must be a means to an end for us.

This Forum is called HomeRecording.com not, HomeRecording_is_a_Joke.com
So I often wonder why when someone comes on here asking advice or opinions about gear, setup, software, layout construction, whatever, they are met with a barrage of putdowns from some who simply feel unless you're spending money in a Professional Studio, you must not be serious about what you're doing.

More people today have better setups in their Homes than what was available for Bands in the 60's & 70's in those very high priced Professional Studios. A couple of weeks ago, a friend who works in the Pro-Audio Dept. of a major Music Retailer out together a small piece of work using ProTools and it sounded every bit as polished as anything you'll hear on the Radio.

I believe it not only can be done but is being done each & every day by guys like myself who once there's an understanding of sound relationship and all the other nuances of the audio spectrum, can produce some serious music that can go up against what you'll shell out in a Pro Studio. Maybe for you guys who are Professional Studio Engineers, this is not something you want to even consider because it threatens your very livelihood.

My wife learned Type Setting when she was young and was told she had a lifetime occupation as long as she became good at it. But according to her, the industry went under with the advent of Text rendering Programs like Microsoft Publisher & Word, etc. Now everybody can put together a nice business card and all you need from places like Kinkos, Staples, Alphagraphics, etc. is for them to plop your disk in the machine and cut them for you.
Thus the end of the Type Setter.

But of course this is just my opinion ...
 
Hi

Hopefully in the near future I am going to take the plunge into a CD release for my band. Up to now I have done all recording and mixing myself. Considering my experience level and the gear I use I feel that I get the job done properly most of the time. However, I know my limitations (I hope) and think that I probably should have the mastering done by a pro. Big problem is I can't afford pro rates.

So is it even conceivable for me to try to get mastering on a shoe-string budget?

What kind of money would I need for "budget mastering"?
If there is such an animal...

Thanks

I was happy with the results I got from Trevor Sadler at Mastermind. More complete explanation of my experience is here:
http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/18618/0/
I would suggest you email him directly with your budget and goals.

My project was home grown and far from professional or perfect, but I believe the money spent with Trevor was very well spent. Drop him an email.
 
I was happy with the results I got from Trevor Sadler at Mastermind. More complete explanation of my experience is here:
http://recforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/t/18618/0/
I would suggest you email him directly with your budget and goals.

My project was home grown and far from professional or perfect, but I believe the money spent with Trevor was very well spent. Drop him an email.

I listened to Heptane.
The mixes are lacking bass (which makes the project sound a bit thin), this could be a mixing problem but I'm sure more could have been added at mastering. The cymbals are overpowering. I would have thought the mastering would have maybe compressed the hi end or advised you to remix with the cymbals lower in volume.

How much did you pay for the mastering if you don't mind asking?

Nice tunes btw.
Eck
 
There's a book that came out a few weeks ago called "Mastering Music at Home-How to Master Your Recordings for CD and Web Distribution".It's one of the best tech books I've ever read.Get it,even if you just want to know what mastering is,not nessessarily get into it.
 
Hi

Hopefully in the near future I am going to take the plunge into a CD release for my band. Up to now I have done all recording and mixing myself. Considering my experience level and the gear I use I feel that I get the job done properly most of the time. However, I know my limitations (I hope) and think that I probably should have the mastering done by a pro. Big problem is I can't afford pro rates.

So is it even conceivable for me to try to get mastering on a shoe-string budget?

What kind of money would I need for "budget mastering"?
If there is such an animal...

Thanks

A number of friends of mine have gotten good results from Carl Saff--
www.saffmastering.com
and I know a talented guy who has been doing mixing and mastering for hire on a word of mouth basis and has decided to go into business formally:
http://twwalsh.com/blog/mixing-service/
Both have rates that are extremely (almost shockingly) affordable.
 
My band paid around $3000 for our 11 track album to be mastered professionally.
He had some great gear but the mastering has made the mixes sound worse IMO. It mostly came down to using too much compression and limiting/clipping.

So just because someones got great gear and a great price tag doesnt mean they can do what you want.

Eck
That's crazy money. You could have got Paul Mcgeechan(keyboardist of love and money) to master for around £45/song(maybe per hour, i can't remember). But if that's per song, then it'd be £495, and he is one of the most respected engineers in Scotland.
 
That's crazy money. You could have got Paul Mcgeechan(keyboardist of love and money) to master for around £45/song(maybe per hour, i can't remember). But if that's per song, then it'd be £495, and he is one of the most respected engineers in Scotland.

Gaa!
Our record label said we should use this guy so we trusted their judgement. I think the rest of the band are happy with the masters, but I could hear the dynamics being sucked right out of the songs.
He probably is a good mastering engineer, he mastered that Gary Joules cover that was in the charts a few years back. But he squashed the life out of my mixes. :(

Is Paul the guy that has worked with Biffy Clyro at all?

Eck
 
Just noticed your link.
Not the guy I'm thinking of.

Eck
 
Gaa!
Our record label said we should use this guy so we trusted their judgement. I think the rest of the band are happy with the masters, but I could hear the dynamics being sucked right out of the songs.
He probably is a good mastering engineer, he mastered that Gary Joules cover that was in the charts a few years back. But he squashed the life out of my mixes. :(

Is Paul the guy that has worked with Biffy Clyro at all?

Eck
I hate that, in an attempt to get more volume just do away with dynamics. Not good.

As long as the label paid for it, then it's ok. But it's still annoying knowing that you've mixed it really well etc, then you send it away and it comes back worse than when it left.
 
I hate that, in an attempt to get more volume just do away with dynamics. Not good.

As long as the label paid for it, then it's ok. But it's still annoying knowing that you've mixed it really well etc, then you send it away and it comes back worse than when it left.

In a way its expected as commercial music these days is all squashed to fek. I didn't want to take the risk of having a very quiet album, but at same time didn't want it this squashed!
The label paid for it but any money we make from album sales goes to paying off any debt we owe to the label. Its scary the amount of money that can be spent in this business. :(

Eck
 
In a way its expected as commercial music these days is all squashed to fek. I didn't want to take the risk of having a very quiet album, but at same time didn't want it this squashed!
The label paid for it but any money we make from album sales goes to paying off any debt we owe to the label. Its scary the amount of money that can be spent in this business. :(

Eck
It's even scarier the amount of money that can be spent badly. :D

Yeah, that's a bugger. But they can't be expected to pay out all that money for nothing.
 
It's even scarier the amount of money that can be spent badly. :D

Yeah, that's a bugger. But they can't be expected to pay out all that money for nothing.
lol.

Definetly, especially when they are a small Indie label.

Eck
 
They are pretty much an Indie music Indie label.

if i was into the whole signature-on-a-message-board thing, this would totally be it...
 
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