mastering engineer and clients..

[seawhores]

hey guys..

im finishing up a project now and i just found out the mastering engineer has been emailing the clients without me knowing, or forwarding me any of the emails. the band has really no clue about the engineering/mixing side of things and im wondering what his intentions are by not keeping me in the loop. Im not a control freak ( i think) but when im hired as the mastering engineer i keep a certain level of confidentiality and respect for the engineer/mastering engineer relationship. im not trying to hide anything from the band, but i cant help but shake the feeling that that opposite is not true. why does the band "know more about the mixes" than i do? just talking to the clients after they said they read an email from the mastering engineer, tells me that the emails the ME is sending to the clients are far more detailed than the ones im gettting. should i be annoyed? what yall think?

 

[dcb]

are you producing that stuff ? than its definately not cool.
have you just been hired for mixing... ? sad fact is that most bands take over after your done. at least in my experience...
if im producing tho - i make the decisions in regards to mastering...

 

[seawhores]

i am producing. and i do like the ME work, in fact i mixed this album catering to his mastering style, because i knew i he was the man for the job. But i do also know he mixes himself...so dont know if there are some hidden intentions. he seems like a really cool dude, i just feel like a line has been breached. Also, even if im producing i still want the band to be happy, but i feel a bit shitted on because, who knows what the ME is telling the clients, and the clients wouldnt know better...

 

[MetalSound]

maybe the band is paying him?!
if so THEY are his clients...and he may be willing to make THEM happy.

 

[seawhores]

your right, they are his clients too, they are paying him for his work. my only gruff is im in no way trying to short the clients or cut corners, so the band is happy with my work, although i feel like i should be in the loop on all the back and forth between client and ME, since im the one doing the mix changes and all. blah

 

[Let it burn...]

maybe the band is paying him?!
if so THEY are his clients...and he may be willing to make THEM happy.

This

 

[arv_foh]

The busiest engineer here in town where I live, I know for a fact, isn't consulted on the masters for work he does, the ME talks directly with the band, and often times he doesn't even hear the master until weeks/months later after the CD is already pressed and done.

 

[Dalinkwent48@aim.com]

Same here...Anything i have worked on, after mixing is done, is gone until the client hands me a final copy of the released cd, Ive gotten a few calls to make minor adjustments but for the most part after it leaves my hands, i dont hear anything.

 

[seawhores]

thats insane! though that happens all the time, even on alot of my projects. Its the bands/clients music and songs and ultimately the final word is theirs. I cant argue with that. That said, in a general sense its sad for someone to spend the time choosing the paints and the canvas, the colors and then making a painting and then having someone else put a frame on the painting without the artist ever having say when it gets hung on the wall, in this specific case were talking errors from internet connections and the master being too brite/loud

 

[Ermz]

I have a very close communication process with my mastering engineer. It's why I've settled on him for a majority of my projects. The lack of communication with others usually lead to masters that came back sounding worse than the mixes that got sent out. At the very least I always include a set of notes including what I was shooting for in the mix, what the limitations were, what i hope to get from the master, what the best reference albums are etc.

 

[seawhores]

yea i agree ermz...if i have my way thats how its should always be. the band, engineer and ME are all a team. i just feel like im getting benched, when they dont talk to me haha prolly just paranoid, its hard to be super confident when there is alot of back and forth and deadlines to be met. not having a good relationship with the ME is a no bueno

 

[gabriel g.]

Once I told a mastering engineer to ask the band for something and not me, because I only produced, tracked and mixed the record. The last word is always in the bands and/or labels hand...

Dont be pissed, just do your work and ask if everything is ok. Put the cards on the table...then everything is fine and you all can work great together again.