Professional mastering services?

[Cyanite]

I'm thinking about getting one of my tracks professionally mastered, since I'm going to start sending my stuff to record labels to see what they have to say.

Do any of you have experience or knowledge of what online-based mastering services can offer? Would I be wasting my money spending $50-100 dollars on something like this?

I'm not sure which one I should actually send something to yet, though I'm pretty sure I can pick out which ones are scams and which ones can actually offer me something. Getting your guys' advice beforehand might be a good idea, though.

[Erothyme]

I recommend learning to do it yourself, especially if you're doing electronic music.

With electronic music, the mastering is part of the composition.

[Pyroshock]

I master myself as well. I have two books I learned from. Would've been nice to know how to do it before I put my EP online.

SGX sent his latest album to some online mastering firm, and I think the link was on his site somewhere but I can't seem to find it

If you do send your tracks to be mastered though, be sure they're 32-bit WAVs, and ask for your tracks to not be majorly compressed and limited

[Cyanite]

Originally Posted by Erothyme

I recommend learning to do it yourself, especially if you're doing electronic music.

With electronic music, the mastering is part of the composition.

I understand that, I also understand that right now I'm never going to have access to the same equipment the people running these services are going to have.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I just throw **** together and hope for the best, I master my own music. I'd just be doing this to make sure it's the best it could be.

[Erothyme]

Originally Posted by Cyanite

I also understand that right now I'm never going to have access to the same equipment the people running these services are going to have.

When you can download pretty much anything for free on the internet, this is irrelevant.

[Cyanite]

That and experience is usually beneficial

[Erothyme]

Originally Posted by KgZ

This is an false statement, hardware will always be on a much more powerful scale than anything virtual, always.

Getting a real hardware equalizer will blow any virtual one out of the water.

lol

[LogicalDefiance]

Why is a digital EQ worse then a physical one persisely? Actually I would think that with less hardware to go through there would be less interference-hence digital being better, but I don't see them in professional studios much yet. So there must be an actual reason for the hardware being superior. Regardless I dont think it will make or break a song at all. You should really just continue researching and get better at mastering yourself. I've got a whole list of great books to look into. Just ordered 3 for myself infact.

[Erothyme]

Originally Posted by LogicalDefiance

Why is a digital EQ worse then a physical one persisely?

So long as it manipulates the frequencies in question, it's not.

Originally Posted by LogicalDefiance

Actually I would think that with less hardware to go through there would be less interference-hence digital being better,

This.

Originally Posted by LogicalDefiance

but I don't see them in professional studios much yet.

They want to look more professional so they can take more money.

Originally Posted by LogicalDefiance

So there must be an actual reason for the hardware being superior.

Because studios have it and you don't. Therefore, you must give them your money.

Originally Posted by LogicalDefiance

Regardless I dont think it will make or break a song at all.

It won't. In fact, a lot of the most well-mastered electronic music in existence is done entirely digitally.

Originally Posted by LogicalDefiance

You should really just continue researching and get better at mastering yourself. I've got a whole list of great books to look into. Just ordered 3 for myself infact.

Or you could just listen to well-mastered music (Aphex Twin and Autechre come to mind) and try to reverse engineer some of their tricks.

Practice doesn't hurt either.

[Erothyme]

I tend to see mastering as something which happens in the course of composition, and I don't see them as two separate things. That is, while I'm creating bits of music I'm "mastering" them on the spot. I've gotten pretty good at that. I go back and touch bits up a tiny bit later if there is a problem.

Don't buy into the nonsense that "mastering" is somehow a completely different art which you are not initiated in. That became false the second electronic music emerged.

[Pyroshock]

Digital EQs versus analog EQs don't really matter as long as your digital EQ oversamples. Compressors on the other hand are a different story, with analog compressors tending to have different sound characteristics. Digital compressors have some features that analog don't, like look ahead, but a lot of mastering engineers still prefer analog compressors. Interference doesn't really matter as long as you have high quality equipment and cables.

Really the important factor now that digital is so improved is the mastering engineer behind the equipment, not which realm the equipment is in.

[Erothyme]

Originally Posted by Pyroshock

Really the important factor now that digital is so improved is the mastering engineer behind the equipment, not which realm the equipment is in.

QFE

Moral: learn to master yourself and get things to your specifications on the spot or spend lots of money allowing a stranger to do it their way.

[Cyanite]

There's no artistic integrity that I'm giving up by having someone with way more experience than me tweak a few aspects of a song I wrote and already mastered to my best ability, just for the sake of having it sound the best it can be.

I don't know what about that is so morally outrageous to you, Erothyme.

[Pyroshock]

I think you're right. Let's be realistic here: If the guy you go to has experience, he's probably going to do a better job than you would. If you want you could probably be involved in the process too, tell him what you want (like stressing NOT TO SUPER COMPRESS EVERYTHING) and maybe even listen as he works. Getting someone else's creative opinion isn't that bad of a thing either. If the money you'd have to pay isn't a problem, I say go for it.

[Cyanite]

Yeah, and it's not like I'd be using this as a replacement to actually learning how to master my own tracks. If nothing else the track I get professionally mastered can be used as something of a guideline as far as the quality I should be going for when I do my own mastering.

So I guess a few people agree it might be worth it, though now I have to actually find a reputable group that could do it...

[Erothyme]

Do what you like.

Good luck getting credibility as an electronic musician without mastering your own tracks.

[Erothyme]

Originally Posted by Cyanite

If nothing else the track I get professionally mastered can be used as something of a guideline as far as the quality I should be going for when I do my own mastering.

Why doesn't the vast amount of existing professional music qualify for this role?

[Cyanite]

Originally Posted by Erothyme

Do what you like.

Good luck getting credibility as an electronic musician without mastering your own tracks.

For the last time, I master my own tracks. I don't just throw **** together and hope for the best, and I'm not looking towards a professional service so I can do that in place of working on it myself.

http://www.tindeck.com/listen/cgym

I think for a final version, the mastering on my tracks is usually somewhat decent. I put a lot of time into it, and I understand that's part of the music-writing process with this kind of music. All I'm saying is, without a doubt, it could be better. And until I have the capability to master my tracks to a professional standard, which is something I'm still working towards, it might not hurt to try and find someone who'd be able to do so.

And saying I lose credibility by doing this is complete and utter bull****. Tiesto's Parade of the Athletes was mastered by someone else, and that was the soundtrack played during the 2004 summer olympic games. You don't get much more credible than that, and yet he still relies on other people to master his work. And just by browsing the production personnel involved with commercially-released albums, that seems to be the case for most of them.

[zajac]

I'm not going to bother reading all the previous posts since there are a lot and I'm writing back a little late, BUT

A friend and I have begun the process of starting and running our own label (Primarily focused on digital releases for now) and we already have the paperwork required turned in to Beatport for registration blah blah blah, but for our mastering, I do my own, but for other people we have recently signed onto the label, my friend has a friend out of Chicago that does his mastering and others' signed onto the label (For FREE) and he uses Logic HD to do it etc, so if you want me to check with my buddy, I'll see what he can do.

That and let me know if you're interested in possibly joining. A lot of your stuff already sounds industry standard with your own mastering being done.

But yeah. Best of luck.

P.S. After reading the previous posts, WTF Erothyme? Don't be so delusional thinking you aren't credible if you have another team master your tracks. I will guarantee most EDM artists out there, get their tracks mixed and mastered by other professionals, and as Cyanite stated, even Tiesto, #1 (acclaimed) producer and #1 DJ according to the official DJ List, gets most of his tracks mixed and mastered by others. How about this for a stab since you dished one out to Syanite, good luck getting any credibility as an IDM/EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCER (of all genres) who thinks he's too good to have a hand lent to him by a professional to help mix and master your tracks for you... Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mozart, they all wrote amazing, world-renowned compositions, but they weren't the conductor's of their works, were they? You seriously think a label or a listener wouldn't give him a chance if they knew he didn't master his own track(s)!? C'mon. Be real.

2nd Edit: And two hours later, I'm still frustrated by your comment about credibility... I'm saying one last thing, and then I'm done ranting, but your comment on credibility is like saying, Oh, you want vocals in your track? Yeah. If you have anybody else sing it for you, you lose your credibility. CMON. I'm still unsure as to who you are referring to as to who he will lose his credibility to? You? Cuz it definitely won't be me when Cyanite is signed by multiple labels someday. Now I'm content. Thank you for your time.