Professional mastering services? - Flash Flash Revolution

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Cyanite

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#1

Professional mastering services?

05-3-2009, 12:05 PM

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.

Last edited by Cyanite; 05-3-2009, 12:13 PM.

Originally posted by KgZ

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Erothyme

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#2

05-3-2009, 02:08 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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

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

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Pyroshock

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#3

05-3-2009, 06:54 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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

Last edited by Pyroshock; 05-3-2009, 07:04 PM.

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Cyanite

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#4

05-3-2009, 08:06 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

Originally posted by KgZ

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Erothyme

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#5

05-3-2009, 08:09 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

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Cyanite

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#6

05-3-2009, 08:12 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

That and experience is usually beneficial

Originally posted by KgZ

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Erothyme

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#7

05-4-2009, 10:28 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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

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#8

05-4-2009, 11:42 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

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Erothyme

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#9

05-5-2009, 09:26 AM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

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Erothyme

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#10

05-5-2009, 09:29 AM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

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Pyroshock

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#11

05-5-2009, 05:02 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

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Erothyme

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#12

05-5-2009, 09:48 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

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Cyanite

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#13

05-6-2009, 04:02 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

Originally posted by KgZ

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Pyroshock

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#14

05-6-2009, 06:30 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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.

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Cyanite

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#15

05-6-2009, 08:58 PM

Re: Professional mastering services?

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...

Originally posted by KgZ

oh yeah girls love it when I stick my massive arm in their mouth
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