Recording a CD & doing it ALL yourself... many, many questions etc

["Evil" Aidy]

I couldn't find anything all about this on the search function unfortunately (hence the new thread).

It's always been a vision/goal of mine to do a CD of my own material, an E.P. or album and have it sounding and looking pretty damn pro overall when it's done. It's something I'm working on at present (Mörti Viventi in my signature) and I've had lots n lots of helpful advice and inspiration particularly on this forum. A lot of it from listening to other members productions (most recently Daunt's work with Chaos Creation).

So far I'm happy with my guitar tone, drum sound (DFHS) and overall mixes in general (perhaps they're a little on the quiet side compared to CDs nowadays).

Maybe I'm just being paranoid...

BUT - Is it actually feasable to record and mix something entirely yourself at home privately (without having tons of expensive gear) and then get someone else to just master it?

My PC is pretty sweet and I'm diggin' my songs, Firepod, BC Rich guitar n bass and Shure mic for vocals but am I just kidding myself?

Would a mastering engineer need the whole project file or just the stereo mixdown file?

Do your mixes sound significantly different before and after or do they come back from the mastering process and just sound a bit louder (-8dbs RMS LOL) and clearer?

I read somewhere awhile back, Andy was saying he had stuff done by someone else in the past and things like the snare and kick drum were compromised after this process.

This also concerns me because at the end of the day, even though I'm recording/mixing stuff for my own project privately, I'm pretty damn certain I'm gonna have to get a pro to actually "master" the final product. I don't want it to suck after I've put all my time and effort into it!

Would it also be realistic to record all your tracks yourself and then send your project to a pro to be mixed & mastered? Sort of long distance mixing if ya know what I mean... Anyone out there offering that kind of service? What are the current going rates £ for that kind of service?

Lastly, once all the recording, mixing and mastering is done, how do you go about getting it printed to a proper CD (not a cd-r) with the tracks in the correct order and with the right length of pauses between each song and all packaged up with a sleeve and ready to roll? (I've found an artist who can do the artwork for me).

I really appreciate all comments, feedback and help. I seem to have lost a bit of confidence recently in regards to achieving this personal goal as I've been at it for SO long now.

Cheers.

 

[Torniojaws]

I've done three albums like that (http://www.vortechmusic.com) Except they aren't professionally mastered. I'm intending to do a CD print of them this summer and start selling them through my website, along with a t-shirt too. I don't think it's far-fetched, since the world is quite global nowadays. It's easy and reasonably cheap to ship things anywhere in the world. For printing to a proper CD or CD-R - yes, CD-R's are also used for proper indie releases, and you probably don't even know it - the factories can print to CD-Rs just as well as into "real" CDs. Most people will probably not even be able to tell the difference. There are hundreds of companies that offer printing/full packaging. The more albums you order, the cheaper per-unit price it will have to manufacture.

In Finland, the prices are usually about this:

100 pcs (Super jewel case, 4/1 inlay, 8-page 4/1 booklet, 1-colour ("transparent" text) printed CD-R) = 2,7 - 3 euros per CD (around 4,5 USD)
200 pcs (same deal) = 2,5 - 2,8 euros per CD (around 4 USD)
500 pcs (same deal) = 2 euros or so per CD (around 3,2 USD)
1000 pcs (same deal) = 1,5 euros per CD (around 2,4 USD)

and so on. Not all that expensive Just try to figure out how many people actually would by your albums, and print a little over that amount of CDs. For me it's quite easy since I've kept track of how many people download my stuff (they're available for free) and then with the statistics Trent Reznor got (12 percent of people who download the release will buy it too), just count how much demand you'd have.

Say, so far people have downloaded my latest release (Deep Beneath) 220 times. So I just multiply 220 * 0,12 = 26,4. So, 26 people would really buy the CD, so I would take a 50 pcs print of the release for selling. But since I also intend to send it for promotion to different magazines, I'll take some extra - so a 100 pcs print is what I'm going to get for it Of course, if there is more demand, I can just do a second print of it.

Have fun

 

[AdamWathan]

The place we used for our CDs was only like $1.03 per CD when we ordered 1000 of them. Only $2.42 when you order 300 even, but it barely makes sense to order less than a 1000 because of the value you get...

Anyone in Canada or the USA check www.hypnoticduplication.com our CD's turned out fantastic and Tom is an awesome guy to work with. All the CDs are pressed at the Sony plant, not CDRs.

 

[obscura1560]

My band has recently used Torch Music Productions, which does short runs of CD's. 100 CD's, 4 page booklets, disc print, jewel case, all CD's burned, overwrapped with cellophane. £190.

 

[schust]

first off, i don't think you're alone. it sounds like a lot of us do everything ourselves. frankly, who can afford to do everything the way it use to be 20yrs ago? plus - with my schedule (e.g. day job, kids) - it's impossible to do anything with time sensitivity. i have to do it when i can do it. i think it almost makes my music better because it's not rushed, although on the flip side - it does take a lot longer than booking a studio for a week and just finishing it.

my last CD was professionally mastered ($600). i wasn't completely happy with the job done. might have been from my inexperience of working with a mastering house - or just that the guy doing it didn't have "my vision" in mind. either way - i'm seriously thinking about doing it myself this time around. i can't expect to sell a million CDs - so why spend $600 on something that "might" sound better. if you know the mastering engineer and trust their ability - may be worth it. mastering is typically the place to get another pair of ears around your mix, but ONLY if you trust those second pair of ears.

really, everything depends on how many copies you realistically think you can sell. everybody wants to sell a gazillion - but how many will you really? most the time, the number sold doesn't justify the costs of most mainstream recording prices these days. plus, most DAWs provide some tremendous mixing/mastering features.. i don't mean to sound pessimistic, but for most of us this a reality.

as for CD reproduction, there are several "mom and pop" places out there that offer this service. i decided to sway away from "disc makers" in lieu of a local guy. he did a good job (cdr) - but i did get a few reponses from folks who bought the cd that wondered if it was a "real" cd. kinda embarassing. i'm probably going to spend the bulk of money on getting the CD reproduction done a bit better this next time around.

in the end, the final product needs to make YOU happy.

btw - once you get it finished, i highly recommend CDBaby.com as one of your sources for online sales. i've been very happy, and impressed, with this little site. they provide a great stream of new, potential customers daily - and also offer digital sales with several online retailers.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

Hey dudes! Thanks for all the support, reassurance and advice!

I'll get some mixes and stuff posted on here soon too I reckon...