[bob katz]

Originally Posted by SDStudios

this band is interested in having me master their music, i told them that i dont professionally master, and all i use is software mastering.. they dont seem to mind. but anyways i listened the one of their songs and the mix is horrible.. you can tell it was done on a low end home studio..

and me, not being as experienced as most of you guys i can make it slightley better than it is already but i think they should just have it re recorded, or mixed better.

should i just tell them that mastering wouldnt help much?

they want to record with me, but i dont want to say something to them that might put them off on recording with me.. should i just do what i can and give it back? i mean i dont want my 'master' to have them think i dont know what i'm doing and they should go to another studio..

Tell them as gently as possible, and remember that honesty is the best policy. It also helps to be pretty sure of your judgment, so you could try to get a second opinion before you tell them. One way to tell them is not to tell them their mix "sucks" but to give it a letter grade. Is it a C or below? If it's below a C then they really have no business doing their own engineering and the fact that they don't realize it already is quite revealing of where they are at.

But if it's at least a C grade you can tell them that the mix really needs to be improved because after a lot of work you could possibly get it up to a B-grade master, but really it should be a B or better mix (which can become an A master) to be noticed and appreciated by critical listeners. That usually wakes them up. Then prepare to recommend a good remix engineer who can help their mix before bringing it back to you for mastering. That approach can usually work, if you are confident in your assessment and tell them tactfully and honestly.