mastering house suggestions

[distortedrumble]

so mastering engineers (some) seem to have an abundace of software titles.....I'm using sonar and when i finish mixing, cant i just send the songs to you as a sonar bundle? wouldnt that give you a better mastering ability on it rather than the song being on a cd?

 

[Massive Master]

I actually try to get clients to NOT send CD audio discs - I'll take 'em if that's what they can get from the studio, but I'd MUCH rather work on 24 or 32-bit files. If they DO send 16 bit and I run an analog pass, it's 32-bit at the end of that. Any processing, summing, etc. are done at 32-bit minimum.

I don't have an abundance of software titles for the most part - I've got a few extra programs around, but I keep my main station as clean as possible. No, I want the client's final mixes. That's it. If I need something later (the vocal is way to quiet - Send me a lead vocal in a WAV file or something) I can mix it in later.

Occasionally, I'll get a "newbie" client that'll send me their TRACKS... That's always an uncomfortable situation...

John -

 

[Richard Monroe]

Without getting too deep into tech talk, my recent project, "Reunion" was mastered at NGS productions by Sjoko, who is available on this BBS. He did good work at a reasonable price, was responsive to my input, and completed the work in a timely fashion. At all times, we were treated as if we were big name clients, and the end product rocks. 'Nuff said.-Richie

 

[distortedrumble]

when i say tracks...i mean the final mixes for the cd

and i'd send them as wav. files in 24bit on an ISO cd and not an audio cd....thats what I'm understanding

 

[chessrock]

I've heard some of John's work, and I know of some very respectable bands (mostly Indie artists) who have used his services and he appears to be pretty well-respected.

As far as mastering engineers go, he's pretty busy (which says something right there) and I haven't heard any negative comments about the guy. And with him being based out of Schaumberg very close by, I try to get a lowdown on all the local mastering engineers and if there was anything bad to be said, I probably would have heard it by now.

I'd like to try him out sometime, and I'm sure I will at some point.

 

[SubA]

Great thread... I'll use it to plug my buddy and his mastering services. He's done a couple projects for me for ~ $30/song and does a nice job. He doesn't advertise anywhere, but you can write him at JHUGHES26@woh.rr.com Tell him Adam sent you and maybe you'll get the same rate.

adam

 

[Dyson Steel]

De-oxidation

Sorry, dude - That was sort of a joke, but based in truth.

Long story short...

I was presented with a tape once - 1/2" 16 track Fostex 15-IPS, DBX.

The band recorded onto the first 10 or so tracks. The DAT at the studio failed or something and had no analog mixdown deck. So, not to waste a good mixing day, they sent the stereo buss to 13 & 14.

Hence, for mastering I needed a deck of the same model (I never realized how many different 16 track decks Fostex made... DBX, no DBX, HX, S, C, 15IPS, 30IPS - They really had a good selection!).

That was a strange one... Of course, the moral of the story is, Lend Unto Others as you would have them Lend Unto You. And of course, return the gear in at least as good, if not better condition than when you got it. Deoxidize knobs, jacks, take the grime off the knobs, clean the heads (if you're borrowing a deck).

John

John,
What is used for the cleaning process? I need to clean about 400 jacks.

Thanks
P.S.
I never got a email from you on the questions I ask. Did you get 1?

 

[Massive Master]

D - Try sending the e-mail again - It may have gotten deleted accidentally (I'm averaging about 150-250 virus attacks daily with this MyDoom - There's 4 more RIGHT NOW - virus. It's terrible).

Cleaning - (Caig) DeoxIT spray is one of my big faves for knobs & faders... Radio Shack has an electroncs cleaner that's pretty good and has a brush on the end of the sprayer for getting grime. Great for rental gear and XLR males.

I have a insert cleaner... Can't remember where I got it - Looks like a 1/4" plug made out of machined aluminum. It's DA BOMB for cleaning 1/4" jacks... It also has a spray port in the back that leads to a few pinholes in the plug area so you can get cleaning spray inside where you need it. For the most part, you put it in a jack, give it a twist and pull it out. You can do a 48-point bay in about 1-1/2 minutes.

Probably got it from Markertek or Full Compass... I just don't remember... It's not like it wears out quickly enough to worry about for another 10 years or so...

There's also a graphite stick (lost it) that I used to use... Looks like a small screwdriver, but the shaft is graphite. Super for slightly oxidized 1/4" connections...

John

 

[the_man]

another newbie question...

And with him being based out of Schaumberg very close by, I try to get a lowdown on all the local mastering engineers and if there was anything bad to be said, I probably would have heard it by now.

I'd like to try him out sometime, and I'm sure I will at some point.

I'm currently preparing to go into the studio to do my first "real" CD. Is there any advantage to going with a local mastering house?

 

[Massive Master]

You can sit in on the session if it's local. Sometimes that's a good thing. Other times, it's long, boring, and the engineer's tend to be a little more conservative on experimentation with the client present. This is why I got into mastering in the first place. The engineers weren't going as far as I wanted them to. "Playing it safe" to a fault.

I'm not dissing "local guys," that's just my experience. Every engineer, every house, is different. If you're comfy with a local place and local engineer, nothing should stop you. If in doubt, ask for a sample A/B file of your material or another band in a similar genre.

That all being said, even most of my local clients just send or drop off their originals and either come back later or I mail it out. Same as if it was from Portugal. If they want quick reference A/B's, I send high-rate VBR MP3 snippet files to them to audition.

John