Okay guys, I need recommendations

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 8:23 pm

So I'm going to be recording an album during the summer, and I've got two friends who are engineers willing to do the whole thing for free. The problem is, it'll be in a not so perfect environment, therefore a good mastering job is a must. I don't have a gagillion dollars to spend on it, I know this is going to sound terrible but I need an affordable yet good master. My budget will be around 400 dollars for the whole thing, it'll be about 12 songs. I know thats a stretch for that price, but anyone got any good recommendations?

Oh and style of music, think Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, and My Morning Jacket... but less good than those heroes.

Posted: Tue Jun 10, 2008 11:05 pm

Mckey, ahhh the voice of a clueless creative.

Not good environment? Therefore need good mastering? That's a non sequitur. Don't know what a non sequitur is? Well I think your grandmother has an army differential squirrel. That's also a non sequitur. George W. Bush. Another non sequitur.

Free engineers? Equals = Guys right out of quickie school.

Expecting a good product? Sort of like expecting God to FedEx you a purple and pink platypus.

Lousy environments never kept me from making good recordings just lousy musicians. Not even the equipment kept Me from making lousy recordings even if The equipment was lousy.

So here's the deal. You need a bag full of SM 57/58's. Something as innocuous as a Mackie or Beringer. Maybe even one that offers a USB or FireWire option for multi-tracking capabilities. It'll come bundled with inexpensive multitrack software able to get the job done. All you have to do is remembered don't use much equalization. Use the compressors and/or limiters along with the equalizer's in the bundled software but be gentle. And remember to first play your favorite big-time Rocker's CD to use as a reference as a starting point. Once you know what something is supposed to sound like coming out of your monitors, you'll have a good place to start.

I've actually made some wonderful recordings with no equalization and no limiters/compressors. Try it. You'll like it. I think most plug-ins should go where the sun doesn't shine.

Postmenopausal no plug-ins necessary
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:30 am

Hey Remy, no disrespect, but I'm not the clueless creative. My Engineers are not newbies, their close friends, and have offered their services as favors to a friend. The equipment being used is pretty decent; a digi 002, a digi 003, 2 UA610's, bags of 57s/58s, a U87, K2s, an NTK, other mics I don't really remember, mainly audiotechnica's and sennheisers. Anyways, Protools something, and plug-ins yadah yadah yadah. I don't plan on using any of them like you said, I agree they are for the birds, which is why I want to find an affordable mastering studio that does good quality. The thing thats lacking is the room(s), it isn't a studio. I could get studio time at the studios they work at, but even they can't get me an affordable rate (like free), so to rectify certain inequities I'd like to get a good mastering job.

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 2:59 am

You and me both...

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:18 am

I think the point that Remy was trying to make is that good mastering isn't what you are going to need. Mastering isn't going to fix a bad sounding guitar or bleed from one mic to another or a really bad room sound. That sort of stuff is done either at the recording or at the mix stage.

If you are recording in a not-so-perfect environment, your focus really should be on the recording/mixing. That is where you'll be able to address the problems that you encounter due to the bad recording space. When it comes time for mastering, it's much too late to address those types of things.

It sounds like you've got engineers and equipment. I'd recommend that you spend as much time as needed to try and eliminate any issues or problems you have during recording while recording. Don't wait and try to "fix it in the mix" or as you propose "fix it during mastering".

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 10:26 am

I think the problem lies in an inability to count.
$400 for 12 songs = $33.33c approx. per song.
If that's all you want to spend all you can expect is work worth that much.
I don't know about you, but I'm willing to outlay a little more per song before I release it. Just a tad.

Moderator Joined: Sep 12, 2002 Posts: 1881 Location: NYC

well the key I feel is pulling off good sounds during the recording. The references you named are fairly slick sounding and it's really hard to create that at any stage if it isn't there in the recording. If the focus is on capturing good sounds, then the later stages become much easier.

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:10 pm

boy you guys all take the cake, none of you answered my original question.

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:40 pm

Your question was for recommendations for a mastering Engineer who will work magic on your pox recording style for $10 an hour?
Am I wrong?

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:49 pm

Mckey wrote:

boy you guys all take the cake, none of you answered my original question.

I think this is because the original question is misinformed and leads down a path that would be impossible to resolve.

1: Your budget does not allow for a "good" or even decent mastering job.

2: You're ignoring the fact that most problems should be resolved during recording if at all possible, which they usually are.

I've heard plenty of recordings done in fully untreated rooms that sounded great. Sure it may be a pain to get it right but it's not impossible and it's certainly easier to fix during tracking than it would be for a mastering engineer to fix in a stereo mix. IE: you can't put a gate on the snare and not expect it to affect the entire mix. During tracking yes but not over a stereo mix.

If you're still determined to have "mastering" fix it, Discmakers will tack on mastering to your repro order for few hundred extra. So, you pay $1500 for your 500 cds instead of $999.

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:51 pm

If you really want, send me your files and I'll run them through Izotope Ozone for $400. Yeah, I'm kidding.

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 12:53 pm

hueseph wrote:

If you're still determined to have "mastering" fix it, Discmakers will tack on mastering to your repro order for few hundred extra. So, you pay $1500 for your 500 cds instead of $999.

May I hijack?
Know of anyone who does vinyl like that?

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 1:47 pm

http://www.mpo.co.uk/

Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:03 pm

Mckey wrote:

boy you guys all take the cake, none of you answered my original question.

You can have your cake and eat it too. They responded directly to your question. No such person exists. You may find a friend who will master it for $400; but that's charity, not a fee. For $400 you can find plenty of newbies who will run your mix through a limiter and call it mastering. But your friends doing the mixing can do that as well, and probably won't destroy their mix the way some fool in love with his hacked L3 plugin will. This project is going to be DIY. No pro studio. No pro mixing. No pro mastering. Live with it. Make the best of it. Embrace it.

Moderator Joined: Sep 12, 2002 Posts: 1881 Location: NYC

what exactly are you looking for? If you are looking for a good sounding CD, concentrate on the recording. If you are looking for cheap mastering, look on ebay.

if everyone could fix their CD's for $400, life would be full of great sounding CD's.

While good mastering can take a recording to the next level, it can't replace a great recorded song.

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