Master house: I should be there, right?

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Jim S

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In about a month my songs will be 'ready' to get mastered. I have recorded, engineered, and mixed at my home studio to the best of my abilities. I plan to send this out to a place like Oasis for duplication and marketing and a relative who is in charge of PR at MCA in Nashville.

1. I ass/u/me I should be present with the mastering engineer? ... as opposed sending out the mixes and trusting his/her judgement and hoping to get back a nice master.

2. Anybody know off-hand of good mastering houses in south east Florida from Palm Beach to Miami?

Thanks!
 
Always be there for your mastering...


Sorry, can't name off any FLA mastering houses.
 
>>Always be there for your mastering... <<

Actually, most mastering engineers prefer that the client is not there for mastering sessions, and some actually charge more for the client to be there. I think that 9 times out of 10, the artist is not present for a mastering session.
I would let a reputable mastering engineer do the job without me, but I would also really clarify to him what I wanted the final product to sound like, give him a reference CD of another artist whose product sounded like what I'm going for, and give him notes on all of my fades and cross fades etc.
 
I doesn't matter If they prefer the artist not be there... My advice is, Be there!

You would be suprised how many artists or at least someone representing the artist is present....

Read any interview with Bob Ludwig and he is always talking about "Eric Clapton and his team are showing up today" and things like that.

The 9 out of 10 ratio is not accurate....

Charge more for the client to be there?... I have never heard of this... What type of silly business would use this policy...

Definately not one I would suggest using..
 
Check out Hit Factory Criteria. I'm not sure if they do mastering, but I know they do recording and mixing. It's in Miami.
 
E-money said:
>>Always be there for your mastering... <<

Actually, most mastering engineers prefer that the client is not there for mastering sessions, and some actually charge more for the client to be there. I think that 9 times out of 10, the artist is not present for a mastering session.
Click to expand...

I don't understand where you found this information. In most instances, the mastering engineer will request that at least the producer be on site if at all possible. I think the reason that so many masters are done without the artist or producer present is that the mixes are sent halfway across the country. I really don't think it is the choice of the mastering studio. But I could be wrong since I only know a few mastering alchemists. :)
 
Thanks. I'll go to the sessions and am leaning towards Bob Katz in FL. He's about two and half hours away and has been extremely helpful with e-mail.

I'm sure it will be more money when I go because masterering engineers appear to be paid on an hourly basis and I will definitely interfere with the flow of work by asking questions and simply being there and more than a fly on the wall.

There are months of my life in this work and some mastering decisions may be purely artistic and worthy of discussion on the spot. And life is an adventure: I'm sure I'll learn something and maybe have few anecdotes to share. I.e., I'm sure someone like Bob will think Helen Keller mixed my sessions!
 
I am going to be looking for a mastering house soon. I was thinking of Discmakers since they will probably be duping the cds too. I read that they charge extra for someone to sit in on the sessions. Any suggestions?
 
In my e-mails with Bob Katz he said it usually costs more to master when the artist is present for very simple reasons: he charges on an hourly basis. If you are not there, then he can work at lightning speed without interruption. If you are present and ask questions, comment, discuss, and just shoot the sh_t, then it takes more time to get the job done.
 
All I can suggest is, To keep the cost down, don't ask useless questions and try not to shoot the shit...

I learned the hard way..

Just stay stricly to the task of overseeing your mastering job being done and O.K.ing the sound...


I remember my first time in a pro mastering studio, I had the guy explaining to me what the different plug-ins were all about and explaining all of the equipment and mastering steps... and amongst that, describing what my set up was at home.... this probably add 2-3 hours on to the tab...
 
Bob Katz has a great reputuation and should be able to do a great job for you. Whenever I've taken stuff to a mastering house I have always been present, and it really hasn't costed me an arm and a leg even though the guy I use here in Atlanta charges $120 an hour since he is still really quick.

The advantage to being there is that you can answer his specific questions on how you mixed it, and often times you can learn how you can do things better next time you prepare mixes to send to your mastering engineer. And just about everyone can learn something from Bob Katz. Good luck :)
 
ummm teah so I pay this guy to mix my music and he doesn't want me there....find a new engineer


anyway, I agree wit vox on this one, no silly questions and don't waste time get the product finished and ready for distribution with the best sound possible.

Mastering can be the best thing or the worse for your music so take it seriously do your homework and DON"T go to the first one you find, research their work.
 
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