How would you group your customers?

Posted: Sat Apr 19, 2008 2:11 pm

Hey, I am just wondering how everyone here might group their clients. I would say that mine are generally in three groups:

1. Beginners - Amatuer Home Recording Engineers / Amateur Musicians

These are almost always amateur musicians who are trying to avoid established recording studio costs
May be their first introduction to mastering
Highly affected by marketing context

2. Intermediates - Intermediate Project Studio Recording Engineers / Intermediate Musicians

May have already had experiences with ordering mastering services from competitors

3. Professionals - Professional Recording Engineers

Primarily focused on the equipment and facility acoustics

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:16 am

I am not sure what kind of an answer you are looking for.

I think you have it correct,

Beginner or newbie

Intermediate

Pros or seasoned musicians/producers

Most of my clients are in the first two categories. I do have some seasoned clients but most of them started with me in the first group and have progressed into the higher categories.

I would like to add a category which you have left out and that is the person who is at the beginning level but thinks that he or she is at the top. I think you could call it ITHINKIKNOWITALLBUTIREALLYDONOTKNOWANYTHING category. These are the people who get all their facts from reading MIX magazine or from the "experts" at GC. They don't know a dB from an F# but are worried that you do not have the latest <INSERT NAME OF GEAR> or that you are not doing stem mastering or that you can't master their stuff at 196 kHz and 64 bits because that is what the writer in MIX told them is the new standard for mastering.

It would be comical to watch this whole class of clients they weren't deluding themselves into believing that the pile of crap they have presented to you can some how be made to sound like a million dollar production if ONLY they could find a mastering studio with <INSERT NAME OF GEAR> or someone who has the ability to master their stuff at 192 kHz and 64 bits. I feel sorry for them and if you try and discuss the matter with them in a sane manner they go into the defense/attack mode which is not pretty to witness.

A little off topic but I think it worth a mention.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 5:42 am

1. clients with extraordinary talent.
2. clients with ample resources.
3. clients with extraordinary
talent and ample resources.

mostly 1 and 2 here. cat 3 is the most
demanding sort of client. there is
no free ride in mastering.

----

thomas, i hope you are too busy for that
type of client. if they don't have a
realistic and grounded sense of
what they are doing, then...

jeff dinces

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 7:33 am

cerberus wrote:

1. clients with extraordinary talent.
2. clients with ample resources.
3. clients with extraordinary
talent and ample resources.

mostly 1 and 2 here. cat 3 is the most
demanding sort of client. there is
no free ride in mastering.

----

thomas, i hope you are too busy for that
type of client. if they don't have a
realistic and grounded sense of
what they are doing, then...

jeff dinces

We don't get that type of client too often but when we do we only go so far and then suggest that they find someone else who can do what they want or has the <INSERT NAME OF EQUIPMENT> I recently had a client that was looking for some one to master his music using 196 kHZ and 64 bits (yes he really wanted it done at 196 and 64 bits) and I suggested he contact someone on the coasts as no one locally had the equipment. When I auditioned what he had to master it could have been eaisly done at 44.1 and 16 bits. The average RMS levels were about -4 dBFS and the peaks were at O dBFS. The waveforms looked like solid bricks on my DAW. He never called me back so I have to assume that he found someone that could do what he wanted.

Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 11:23 am

Quote:

...I recently had a client that was looking for some one to master his music using 196 kHZ and 64 bits and I suggested he contact someone on the coasts as no one locally had the equipment. When I auditioned what he had to master it could have been eaisly done at 44.1 and 16 bits. The average RMS levels were about -4 dBFS and the peaks were at O dBFS. The waveforms looked like solid bricks on my DAW. He never called me back so I have to assume that he found someone that could do what he wanted.

I love the sound of bricks at 196 kHz and 64 bits - sounds like - bricks - clear and pristine bricks.

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 1:33 am

i will order new gear this week. i won't even bother to
check whether the converter can do 192khz.

jeff dinces

Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:46 am

Yeah, these are definitely the types of answers I was hoping for. Just trying to get a sense of people's experiences in the mastering industry.

Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:24 am

covenant66 wrote:

Hey, I am just wondering how everyone here might group their clients. I would say that mine are generally in three groups:

1. Beginners - Amatuer Home Recording Engineers / Amateur Musicians

These are almost always amateur musicians who are trying to avoid established recording studio costs
May be their first introduction to mastering
Highly affected by marketing context

2. Intermediates - Intermediate Project Studio Recording Engineers / Intermediate Musicians

May have already had experiences with ordering mastering services from competitors

3. Professionals - Professional Recording Engineers

Primarily focused on the equipment and facility acoustics

i think this is write way to group.

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