Help me master a track?

[wyllie]

So yeah i was thinking the other day about mastering and such. Been reading "mastering audio" by Bob Katz and im starting to think i've been doing things ALL wrong haha

Which brings me to my question...Would anyone like to master a track for me so i can hear the difference between my master and yours? I want to see whats attainable with my own tracks ya know? It'd be super cool if someone could help me out like id be totally like

i've got the stems ready to upload if anyones interested?

Cheers and beers
-Wyllie

 

[-Noodles-]

I wouldn't mind doing one for you.

I'm not a mastering engineer pre se, but I've done a lot of mastering stuff through my Uni - and learnt a hell of a lot.

So, if you want - send me a PM for my email.

 

[wyllie]

sweet!
Cheers man
Cant wait to hear what'll end up sounding like lol

 

[TRA]

Upload it. I can't promise that I can get to it right away because right now things are crazy, but I will get to it.

 

[Wackner]

I am not a proff mastering dude, but will give it a try. PM me the link to the mix file or post it here

 

[lordtech]

ill give it a shot. PM me and send the links will ya mate \m/

 

[Gomez]

Take it to a proper mastering place.

You won't get the same results you get with small home setups using plugins with poor acoustics and bad monitoring.

The whole point of mastering is to listen through a very high spec set up with excellent acoustics and get a second opinion from an experienced engineer who has the right tools for the job. This way you can really work out what the "problems" could be and make your track sound great. Mastering really isn't about how much - RMS you can get out of your limiter.

I can do it for you. It will cost you ($50 u.s.), but then you get a pro - world class service. You can also come down to the session and see it yourself and learn a thing or two.

 

[-Noodles-]

I can do it for you. It will cost you ($50 u.s.), but then you get a pro - world class service. You can also come down to the session and see it yourself and learn a thing or two.

I think the trip from Ayr will be a little costly to do that!

 

[wyllie]

sup guys,

cheers for the replies!
I cant upload it today cuz im out recording a folk singer but once i get home ill get it uploaded to dropbox!

heres my take on the song anyhow just so you hear whats in store i guess.

https://dl.getdropbox.com/u/419166/New Band Song 16 STS VERSION2.mp3

thats with my "attempt" at mastering hahaha

-Wyllie

 

[-Noodles-]

What trial software are you using on that??

(I can hear the white noise every 20 seconds or whatever)..

 

[TRA]

Take it to a proper mastering place.

You won't get the same results you get with small home setups using plugins with poor acoustics and bad monitoring.

The whole point of mastering is to listen through a very high spec set up with excellent acoustics and get a second opinion from an experienced engineer who has the right tools for the job. This way you can really work out what the "problems" could be and make your track sound great. Mastering really isn't about how much - RMS you can get out of your limiter.

I can do it for you. It will cost you ($50 u.s.), but then you get a pro - world class service. You can also come down to the session and see it yourself and learn a thing or two.

Wow! What about small home setups using a hybrid of plugins/hardware in a treated room and an excellent monitoring chain?

Not everyone in this forum is a hobbyist. Some of us work in audio for a living and have a home setup. $50 for a "pro world class" service? Sounds too cheap for that many buzz words.

 

[Ermz]

Cool man, upload that and I'll give it a shot for you.

Haven't done many mastering-specific jobs lately, but much of the time I'm forced to master my own stuff. Whilst I prefer not to do so, there are very few mastering engineers out there I would trust to master for me regardless. In my experience the vast majority tend to return something that sounds worse than the mix they were given. I used to buy into the 'you pay for objectivity, the gear, the experience' spiel, but at the end of the day, you're paying for a guy who knows what he's doing, and that seems to be as rare amongst MEs as it is amongst tracking engineers, mix engineers, musicians, plumbers, doctors etc.

 

[TRA]

In my experience the vast majority tend to return something that sounds worse than the mix they were given.

I have to agree with you. I think a lot of it stems from the loudness war. An ME is often told to "make it loud" and the side effect of doing that is never good. Striking a balance between acceptable level (in the artists' perspective) and overall quality (in the MEs perspective) is like walking a tightrope while drunk.

I've had clients that were able to lower their loudness expectation and choose dynamic range.....then I've had clients that didn't care and just wanted it loud.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Take it to a proper mastering place.

You won't get the same results you get with small home setups using plugins with poor acoustics and bad monitoring.

The whole point of mastering is to listen through a very high spec set up with excellent acoustics and get a second opinion from an experienced engineer who has the right tools for the job. This way you can really work out what the "problems" could be and make your track sound great. Mastering really isn't about how much - RMS you can get out of your limiter.

I can do it for you. It will cost you ($50 u.s.), but then you get a pro - world class service. You can also come down to the session and see it yourself and learn a thing or two.

+ at least 5 gazillion

 

[Skinny Viking]

$50 for a "pro world class" service? Sounds too cheap for that many buzz words.

Dude, its $50 for like 1 song, not a whole cd

if he had 12 songs on a cd it would be $600. Not too cheap. A lot of known, professional mastering engineers would do a cd worth of material for something between $500 - $1000

point being that he was actually being generous with his price as well

 

[TRA]

Dude, its $50 for like 1 song, not a whole cd

if he had 12 songs on a cd it would be $600. Not too cheap. A lot of known, professional mastering engineers would do a cd worth of material for something between $500 - $1000

point being that he was actually being generous with his price as well

Which name MEs are you going to? In my experience you'll spend a minimum of $2k for an album for anyone that has known credits on actual releases (not demos).

$50/song is pretty cheap. I was just razzing the guy because he comes off as being an arrogant elitist yet I've never heard of him.

 

[Skinny Viking]

Which name MEs are you going to? In my experience you'll spend a minimum of $2k for an album for anyone that has known credits on actual releases (not demos).

$50/song is pretty cheap. I was just razzing the guy because he comes off as being an arrogant elitist yet I've never heard of him.

That just means you don't know how to haggle

but yes, there are more than a few. I'm not gonna name names cause its not my business to disclose how much someone chooses to charge someone but if you do just a little bit of research, you'll find "name" people with known credits etc... that will do a cd for the amount I stated

as for you razzing him, I didn't read anything in his post that came across as arrogant or elitist, it sounded informed to me and sounded like he was trying to help out the OP.

keep in mind also, I never said that was the average cost charged .. I just said there are plenty of options for him to look into when choosing an ME, paying more doesn't always = better quality

 

[TRA]

That just means you don't know how to haggle

but yes, there are more than a few. I'm not gonna name names cause its not my business to disclose how much someone chooses to charge someone but if you do just a little bit of research, you'll find "name" people with known credits etc... that will do a cd for the amount I stated

as for you razzing him, I didn't read anything in his post that came across as arrogant or elitist, it sounded informed to me and sounded like he was trying to help out the OP.

Yeah...I just suck at haggling.

It was the whole "You can't get anything good from a home setup with plugins" and "Come spend your money with me and you might learn something" that rubbed me wrong.

Maybe I'm just overly sensitive today, and have to chill out.

 

[Skinny Viking]

Yeah...I just suck at haggling.

It was the whole "You can't get anything good from a home setup with plugins" and "Come spend your money with me and you might learn something" that rubbed me wrong.

Maybe I'm just overly sensitive today, and have to chill out.

all good man. I'm pretty sure he was talking more about people who have a good setup at home with some avergae gear and all. You can get results from those but if you're looking for the best sound you can get from your recording, 9 out of 10 times its better advised to let someone else master your material. Thats for a lot of reasons, and you're not just paying for the use of (a lot of times) better gear but more importantly, experience and understanding of how to achieve the best sound from a finished mix.

Personally I feel just the experienced 2nd set of ears is worth a lot of what you pay for professional mastering, but thats me

 

[Gomez]

Wow! What about small home setups using a hybrid of plugins/hardware in a treated room and an excellent monitoring chain?

Not everyone in this forum is a hobbyist. Some of us work in audio for a living and have a home setup. $50 for a "pro world class" service? Sounds too cheap for that many buzz words.

Sorry, my post did sound a bit arrogant. Not enough coffee in the morning.

FYI I'm not a hobbyist. I make a living out of this and in fact I'm moving to much bigger and better commercial premises next week as things are going alright The rate will also have to go up. this is my mastering chain:

Monitoring:
- Barefoot Sound MM27 full-range speakers.
- Lavry Engineering DA10 "Black" Digital to analog converter.

Processing
- Lavry Engineering 4496 "Blue" Analog to Digital/Digital to Analog Converter.
- Manley Massive Passive - Valve design stereo Equaliser.
- Crane Song IBIS - Stereo Equaliser.
- Cranesong STC-8 Stereo Compressor
- Custom SSL "Gomez" compressor (based on the SSL G series Compressor)

Recorders
- Plextor 716UF Recorder.


Yes that is a special rate I have for users here, as I think there's some real talented people in this forum who is doing a lot with little. Some of them want "proper" mastering as they really care about their product - I want them to be able to afford it.

I do testers as well, some people here liked them, some didn't. I do revisions free of charge and satisfaction is guaranteed. My goal is to make people happy with my work, not just get their money and disappear. Most clients also come back.

I think that too many mastering facilities over charge for the job. I'm happy charging less and getting more work, than sitting in my suite waiting for the phone to ring. Most of my equipment has been already paid for, I don't have big loans or big expenses or kids or pets.