Hi,

I've read a few posts from the mastering area from the pros. I have a final mix from my Alesis board and a lot of hours with Cubase. I've mixed it and made mucho adjustments with the near field speakers. I've cut a sample CD and the band loves it. I'm now ready to get it ready to send to a CD production company and somehow have all of a sudden "scared" into thinking I've got to pay someone $99 a song to master. I don't want to offend anyone nor threaten to take away their living. I'm sorry but that's just not in our budget. So that's the reality. If we're already happy with the quality then what can someone tell me on how to do the final prep/mastering for the reproduction stage? I need reasonable compromise on time to do this, I realize the best way is rocket science but that won't happen - what are the simple options? For example, I can import the mix into Wavepad and get the levels right, but what do I need to know from there?

Thanks very much!
Patrick