Good online mastering?

jamief · Post by **jamief** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:35 pm

popslut wrote:http://www.emasters.co.uk/

Highly recommended - run by Kevin Metcalfe who has a list of credits as long as your arm. I've spent thousands with them and I've always come away more than pleased.

Thanks for that

dj superflat · Post by **dj superflat** » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:36 pm

i honestly think most of it is driven by the fact that the multiband comp is included in whatever fx package people have, whether waves, sonalksis, whatever, clearly it's there to be (ab)used, why not go to town, etc.

somewhat counterintuitively, i think many people would be much better off using only presets for doing their own mastering, because that way they may be somewhat less likely to do something that really destroys their mix.

Spacerboy · Post by **Spacerboy** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:11 am

http://www.epms-online.com/

BASSbüro · Post by **BASSbüro** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 10:27 am

http://www.mastering-online.com/

Highly recommended!! esp. for dance-music.

Macrostructure · Post by **Macrostructure** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 3:28 pm

I mastered my new EP myself. General opinion is that it's come out quite well. I taught myself from scratch in 3 months, part time, from on-line resources and the manuals that came with Izotope Ozone 3, the package I used.
I recommend this course of action for economy and satisfaction.

Of course, with the type of music I write direct quality comparisons with other tunes are rarer. If one is competing in a more conventional musical arena then maybe going to a pro is the only option...

sweetjesus · Post by **sweetjesus** » Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:02 pm

ive used one of the big names in online mastering and wasnt impressed with the results.

i think the MOST important side to mastering is making sure your maastering engineer is very familiar with the exact style and genre of your music.

kimyo · Post by **kimyo** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:43 am

if it is results that count, nebulae has certainly delivered for us. (disclaimer: i also consider him to be a good friend and brother at arms).

i posted his most recent hba remix (double down quick) at slice the pie, amie street, and thesixtyone about 48 hours ago.

so far, it's got a 70% rating at slice the pie (the highest we've ever rec'd), it's got 10 recs on amie street (our previous high is 16, but that took a couple of months), and it frontpaged (top 10) on thesixtyone with 762 'bumps', pretty damn close to our highest (774).

also, you guys know that people rarely come out of their shells to write anything about your work, we've got people writing odes to this track, honest.

one guy wants to bathe in coffee to enjoy it that much more....

stallos · Post by **stallos** » Fri Jan 11, 2008 2:00 pm

I normally do my own mastering but on my last release I used Paul O'Brien in the UK

www.pobaudio.com

The results were impressive and he turned around the track very quickly which was great as I had a tight deadline to submit my master

A lot of these online place give you a sample snippet so you can check it out before deciding to commit

nebulae · Post by **nebulae** » Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:20 am

kimyo wrote:if it is results that count, nebulae has certainly delivered for us. (disclaimer: i also consider him to be a good friend and brother at arms).

i posted his most recent hba remix (double down quick) at slice the pie, amie street, and thesixtyone about 48 hours ago.

so far, it's got a 70% rating at slice the pie (the highest we've ever rec'd), it's got 10 recs on amie street (our previous high is 16, but that took a couple of months), and it frontpaged (top 10) on thesixtyone with 762 'bumps', pretty damn close to our highest (774).

also, you guys know that people rarely come out of their shells to write anything about your work, we've got people writing odes to this track, honest.

one guy wants to bathe in coffee to enjoy it that much more....

Thanks for such kind words, but I gotto say that Hot Bitch Arsenal is an absolute pleasure to remix. For anyone who hasn't heard these guys yet, please check out www.hotbitcharsenal.com !

The Phat Conductor · Post by **The Phat Conductor** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:49 pm

i use bil bless aka soteg aka skeetaz aka the disciple grin.

bill@audiowash dot com.

dope dope dope.

quick turnaround, cheap, and he does mixdowns too!

Tarekith · Post by **Tarekith** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:54 pm

Interesting, I didn't know Bil did that kind of work.

memes_33 · Post by **memes_33** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:45 pm

while pretty much any engineer will tell you that the quality of your gear is crucial to the mastering process, i bet not one of them would argue that the most important piece of equipment in the mastering process is the EAR. All of the Dangerous Masters, TC Finalizers, and $50,000 monitoring systems in the world don't mean shit when the person using them hasn't got the ears.

another thing to take into account is musical styles. someone like tarekith, who makes electronic music and probably plays it live, has a much better idea of what works in that realm. these "professional" mastering engineers (katz, ludwig) are used for pop records (i know, not always) that are likely going on the radio. i would venture to say that mastering for 12" singles to be played in clubs and mastering CDs to go on the radio are two very different things. if they are not thought commonly to be, then they damn well should.

there is a definate an oxymoron flag that goes off in mine & many others' heads when the term "cheap mastering" is used. but in this changing music business climate, there's no reason that mastering engineers with a few good plugins, an optimal monitoring environment and some "golden ears" (a little experience helps too) can't do a great job mastering. shit, those soteg and skeetaz albums sound great, and i'd venture to guess bil did those himself (opposing the cardinal rule of mastering)!

besides, most of those mastering engineers are using the same fucking plugins that tarekith and nebulae are using!

think of some albums you like, find out who mastered them, and find out what there rates are. unless they're the big guys, then they're probably hurtin' for work, and a lot of them will use a sliding-scale depending on how busy they are. good luck!

abletongeek · Post by **abletongeek** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:30 pm

nebulae wrote:
dj superflat wrote:no offense, but if neb were a pro at mastering, that would be his only job (almost by definition). so far as i know, that's not the case. and you only pay for true "pro" mastering if you have a true "pro" product (one that can justify the expense). if you're asking here (and don't already know), you obviously don't need "pro" mastering.

Well, you're certainly entitled to your opinion, and that's the opinion most "pro" shops love to hear, as it keeps them in business...

A parallel debate exists for software synths vs. hardware, and you pay about 5x-10x for hardware, but many would argue that softsynths are just as good or better...With mastering houses, you pay not just for experience and good ears, but also for all that lovely "vintage" hardware. Having said that, I've heard lots of recent records that sound horrible, and many of them that sound really good. My point here is that just because you pay more doesn't mean it'll be better, and conversely, just because someone masters it inexpensively and without expensive hardware doesn't mean it can't stack up with the big boys.

My approach is simple - make a great sounding mix using analog emulations, and my ears tell me that I can get pretty close. Along the way, my goal is to empower everyone to be able to master their own mixes with the tools we already have.

As for doing this as my only job, well, that's a fairly acute statement...there are lots of people who do more than one job. I'm fortunate enough to have three professions, one of them fulfilling my love for music and helping other musicians succeed. Sadly, it doesn't pay as well as I'd like. Does that make my work less "pro"? Well, again, you're entitled to that opinion, but I'd say that's fairly narrow-minded. Anyone on this forum, whether newbie or veteran, could create a great song using only their laptop and the software tools they have. So I'll have to disagree with you about your definition of "pro".

But this thread isn't about me or what I do for a living. The bottom line is that there are options for everyone out there. You can pay a "pro" studio lots of money, or you can learn for yourself and use some very good mastering plugs out there and create the next independent underground hit. If you're in the second category, email me, or Tarekith, or anyone else who's able to help you get there.

PS - thanks to everyone with supporting posts...I've truly enjoyed working on all your mixes!! *hugs*

1+ Nebulae said it best,
dj superfag u just don't know what ur talking about obviously, i normally don't say much in the forums as im too busy for it, but after reading this i just had to butt-in and agree with Nebulae's comment as he spoke as a pro, dj superfag u speak non-sense, im out of here i got money to make.

senator adam · Post by **senator adam** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:30 pm

I used www.panicstudios.com. Highly recommended. John is a great guy to work with. If you are around Seattle area, he let's you come over and his wife bakes you cookies and other goods (she owns a baking company)

knotkranky · Post by **knotkranky** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:38 pm

If it needs mastering surgery and you've mixed in the box, boot up the mix session cuz you ain't finished mixing.

If you think your track is problematic, can't be tweaked in the mix and needs some mastering surgery, make sure you get a great referral and hold them to it. Strangers don't get a whole lot of love online.

If the mix is awesome, let one of the dudes off the forum do it.