Master by Mail?

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russtafari

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I've been eyeing up Master by Mail for a long time now. There prices are low ($15 per song or $99 for a full cd) and from the samples it sounds like they do a good job. I'm just wondering if anyone has used them or maybe has some advice on this or another company thanks!

Oh yeah there site is http://masterbymail.com/
 
For $15 a song, you should expect that the Mastering Engineer is a teen with a pirated copy of Waves on his computer in his bedroom. Yeah - it's cheap, and it's going to sound like it - you'd almost be better off buying T-Racks for $100 and doing it yourself -- it won't sound good, but no worse than the teen with the pirated s/w will do.

There are some REAL mastering engineers that hang at this site - John at Massive Mastering and Tom at The Mastering House - you might want to check with them.
 
The thing is that I don't have loads of money to spend on mastering. Like I said I have been watching that site for a while now probably a year and a half and it's still there. Also they say they have been mastering for over 10 years. Don't know just seems like a good one.
 
Here's where I have an issue... Not pointing fingers or anything, just an observation...

Here's a paragraph from the gear page...
Great care has been taken to build an acoustically neutral room and equip it with the most sonically accurate speakers made by Yamaha and Genelec. We added classic analog Eqs, and the ultimate in tube compressors and limiters from such names as Avalon, Manley, Weiss, CraneSong, Oram, Requisite, and Universal Audio. We’ve got what it takes to bring your sound to the next level.
Click to expand...
No room photos, no photos of any or "the good gear." Behringer, Alesis and Digitech is all I can see in the photos.

Plus at $99 for an album I'd have to wonder...

On the other hand, I've seen sites that say "We've got Alesis monitors and a DAW with some plugs" that also charge around $100. The thing with them, is at least you know what you're getting. This one? I just don't know.

Again - Not accusing or pointing - Just fishy... If I had that gear in a rack, I certainly wouldn't be posting photos of Berry's and Digitech stuff. The other part that strikes me...
Also, our prices are reflective of the high volume of projects we receive.
Click to expand...
Okay, high volume of projects. If I was running my gear (also Manley, Crane Song, Lavry, etc.), 24/7 I *still* wouldn't be able to charge $99 for an album and still be able to afford just to change the tubes in the Vari-Mu...

And the final thing - Is the guy's name some sort of secret? I can't find it anywhere... That's just bizarre...
 
What about the samples they offer? Did you give them a listen the before and after. What do you think of them? Also I think they offer a free sample of their work, you send in a song and they master if for free to get an idea of what you will get.
 
'K... This is gonna open a can of worms...

I'm PM'ing you... I'll leave it to others to discuss the technical impossibilities of of the second one (Edikt Groove)...

[EDIT] Okay, I took a "good" listen to that second one... Please, discuss. Who else wants to call "Shenanigans" on that?

This oughta be good... [/EDIT]
 
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Oh god...at 99 dollars for a full CD.

Dude, don't waste your time. Trust John and Bruce.


Or, you can tell these people that you have a 30 song "cd" and see what they tell you.

then you simply tell them, "but it says 99 for a FULL CD" right?


Not only a fake but a business moron too.
 
They do have a DBX Quantum sitting in the rack, which is a pretty good unit comparable to the Finalizer. The DBX and the Waves plugs is probably what they use.

And I can tell you exactly how they will master your album: the same way all the super budget CD mastering shops do it. They'll call up a preset on the Quantum or a series of Waves plugins and do a single pass through all the tracks on your album. That's how the CD mastering/duplication places do it, the one stop shops that master your CD and do the artwork, duplication, etc. In those places you'll most likely get a pass through a TC Finalizer.

Of course, our very own Massive Mastering has what I would consider budget rates, but clearly his level of gear and experience sets him apart from $99 places like the shop being discussed in this thread. I'd be *very* wary of $99 mastering.
 
You guys didn't listen to that second track yet, huh... :D

C'mon... Bring it on... I hate throwing gasoline on a fire all by myself... :eek:
 
Massive Master said:
You guys didn't listen to that second track yet, huh... :D

C'mon... Bring it on... I hate throwing gasoline on a fire all by myself... :eek:
Click to expand...

Don't tempt me!
 
I have no experience with this company, so I am not going to say anything directly about them..... Ok I will.

Go ahead and send them a track. 15 bucks will not kill ya and then tell us how they do. If it is not great make them give you your money back like they promise. but I checked out the site and as a guy that has had well over a hundred CDs mastered by various mastering engineers, their site raised more concerns than I would feel comforatable with. I can not comprehend any way that they could actually give your project any degree of care and attention and make a profit unless they are flat out lying on the web site (which I am not saying they are but I did not see any Weiss equipment in the rack.) If they have the gear they say, then they probably have at least 30 grand into the studio. The only way they could possibly do this is by mastering in one pass (an awful idea unless your mixes are pefectly consistant) and burning your masters at high speed (a bad idea)

But all of this aside the biggest problem with all of this is that WHO masters your CD is the single most important variable. I would gladly take a great mastering engineer with a few bomb factory plug ins, over a chump with all of Bob Ludwigs gear that was going to bash my CD out in 50 minutes. Just like every stage of recording, its all about the people more than the gear. The web site makes no mention of who would master you CD.

I would bet that there is a cool guy/gal on this site that is trying to get into mastering that would love a chance to work with your music, and would really care about making it right and would be happy to only take your 99 bucks when you were really happy with this master. I am a huge fan of using real experienced mastering engineers, but you are going to get one for 99 bucks for your album.

Again, I have no experience with these guys and their mystery engineer may be very telanted and get great results, but it would surprise me.
 
Ronan Said
But all of this aside the biggest problem with all of this is that WHO masters your CD is the single most important variable. I would gladly take a great mastering engineer with a few bomb factory plug ins, over a chump with all of Bob Ludwigs gear that was going to bash my CD out in 50 minutes. Just like every stage of recording, its all about the people more than the gear.

Great points. Good response.
Cheers
 
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I just listened to that second sample track -- what a joke....

That's NOT a mastering job - that's a complete re-mix (and not a good one at that).... that's not what a mastering house does. So they need whacked samples to showcase their um, "skills"? I don't think my presumption of there being something fishy about them is too far off the mark.
 
I didn't want to get involved with this thread, but since John has ...

On the paragraph:

"We added classic analog Eqs, and the ultimate in tube compressors and limiters from such names as Avalon, Manley, Weiss, CraneSong, Oram, Requisite, and Universal Audio. "

Does he even know that Weiss is a digital EQ?

As far as before and afters, it's pretty easy to fake (which is why I don't bother on my site). Just take a good mix and screw it up, the screwy version becomes the "before". As one of the first companies to offer a free online evaluation, I've felt that it's more important to hear what YOUR music sounds like as a before and after than someone else's music. Also there's no faking that.

Ask him for an evaluation and see what he says, if he can master a song for as cheaply as $15, he shouldn't have a problem with it.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
That's NOT a mastering job - that's a complete re-mix (and not a good one at that)....
Click to expand...

the first one is also a re-mix... they added a second guitar...

on their "return the master CD for a full refund" guarantee -- with the ease of duping a CD, not sure why they would assume someone returning the "master" would not have already made a bunch of copies and rips...
 
There are several truisms that apply to this situation, among them:

"You get what you pay for."

"You don't get what you don't pay for."

"If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is."

"If you have all the facts straight and they still don't add up, you either don't have all the facts or they are not all straight."

"If it looks like dog poop, smells like dog poop, acts like dog poop, and says it's chocolate mousse, it's probably best not to eat it."

"There's a sucker born every minute."

G.
 
Well I think we gave him enough advertising on this site.

Unless he comes here to defend his services, it isn't very fair bashing them.

Try an evaluation and let us know what you think.
 
On a tangent..........

...I'm still a strong advocate for the licensing of audio engineers. Why isn't this already happening? Accountants are self-governed by a chartering body, why can't we initiate something similar for AEs/MEs?

Technology is so accessible that any hack can buy (or steal) a whack of s/w and called themselves a studio or mastering house..... throw up a website and sucker-in those not knowledgable enough to discern the differences in quality!

I suppose it's no different than any other internet scam, but it seems to becoming more and more prevalent. There have been several cases of "mastering house" trickery that I've seen now just in the last few months.

Exactly what does it take to create a regulatory commission for a particular industry?
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
I just listened to that second sample track -- what a joke....

That's NOT a mastering job - that's a complete re-mix (and not a good one at that).... that's not what a mastering house does. So they need whacked samples to showcase their um, "skills"? I don't think my presumption of there being something fishy about them is too far off the mark.
Click to expand...

Is the before sample in mono? Pretty damn close anyway. I think it is definately safe to declare shenanigans on this outfit.
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
...I'm still a strong advocate for the licensing of audio engineers. Why isn't this already happening? Accountants are self-governed by a chartering body, why can't we initiate something similar for AEs/MEs?
Click to expand...
Well, there's always the AES...

But on the other hand, they even let me & Bruce in... :eek: :D
 
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