Anyone here master Hip Hop?

[BobbyPeru]

Anyone here that does mostly Hip Hop/R&B mastering?

I have a gansta rap e.p. I need mastered. I'd like to go to someone who does that style mostly.

Bobby Peru
Milwaukee, WI

[e-cue]

Brad Blackwood does a great job, even though it might not be the majority of his workload. I'm actually sending him a project today that's like a cross between Jay Z and 50 cent.

http://www.euphonicmasters.com/

[Cellotron]

Hope it's ok to toot my own horn here - if not - my apologies to th moderators and I'll delete this post - but if it's ok:

It's not the only genre I work with - but I deal with mastering hip-hop for CD and vinyl on a daily basis and count it as one of my favorite things to work on.

Credits include pretty much every recent release by AV8 Records & DJ Wholesale Inc. (both are indie labels who do licensed remixes of a who's who in Hip-hop - including stuff featuring Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Terror Squad, Treach, Notorious BIG, Shaq, etc.) and lots of New York's underground scene (including releases by O.P.N., Substantial, Ill Ones, Spitfire Ent., Under Cover Entertainment, Backwoodz Studioz, etc).

We've got lots of toys to make things phat - pristine vintage Neumann comp's & eq's, Amek Medici, Waves L3, SAWStudio workstation with the RML Labs Levelizer, SPL SX2, Neve DTC, Finalizer+, etc. - and monitoring is done with the massive & accurate Infinity RS4.5s driven by Neumann SAL84 amps - http://www.totalsonicmedia.com/infinity.jpg

Right now we're offering very affordable package deals for unattended sessions (price ranges depending on length of release from $300-700 and includes CD-R master & ref) - you can email me at steve@europadisk.com or call 800-455-8555 for quotes and info.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[jdunn]

I've noticed that when I actually notice a great mastering job on some hip hop, it's done by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound. Don't know if he still works there, probably.

[Cellotron]

Originally posted by jdunn
I've noticed that when I actually notice a great mastering job on some hip hop, it's done by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound. Don't know if he still works there, probably.

Yup - he's still there and is a great engineer -
http://www.sterlingsound.com/home/en...contact_id=104

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[picksail]

Originally posted by jdunn
I've noticed that when I actually notice a great mastering job on some hip hop, it's done by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound. Don't know if he still works there, probably.

Don't forget Chris Athens at Sterling, as well. He masters quite a bit of hip hop these days.

http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/ar...589748,00.html

Although, I haven't heard much of Brad Blackwood's work I would recommend him just based upon the fact that he's a great guy. (Love ya bro).

[Infa]

Agree with JDunn here -- Tom Coyne at Sterling is one of the BEST at that.

Also Big Bass Brian at Bernie Grundman Mastering.

Those two do probably the most hip hop to date.

And Big Bass Brian is extra KNOWN for Gangsta Rap.

But a new booty doin' REALLY well, and is actually cheaper than those two kats is the guy who does ALL of Ludicris's stuff, and ALL of Def Jam South stuff (Tha Dirty Dirty South) -- His name is Glenn Schick, and his website is www.gsmastering.com - he's a great guy.

He also did "Shake Ya Tailfeather" by Nelly, P Diddy & Murphy Lee'...

Check them ALL out -- I have... And they are ALL the best, and awesome to me....

Hope This Helps--

[The MPCist]

Originally posted by jdunn
I've noticed that when I actually notice a great mastering job on some hip hop, it's done by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound. Don't know if he still works there, probably.

Tom Coyne is great! We've worked on some stuff with him and really liked the end result....

[jazzius II]

Here's another vote for GS mastering. Glenn's a nice guy and his engineer (Carlton Batts) mastered my all-time favorite (musically and sounding) rap album (Timbaland + Magoo - Welcome to our world).

B.B. Brian is all hype.....everything he does sounds bad to me, but maybe that's just me. Back in the day he was great, but not any more.

[ttauri]

Originally posted by jdunn
I've noticed that when I actually notice a great mastering job on some hip hop, it's done by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound.

Yeah, same here.

Peece,
T. Tauri

[Curve Dominant]

posted by e-cue:
Brad Blackwood does a great job, even though it might not be the majority of his workload. I'm actually sending him a project today that's like a cross between Jay Z and 50 cent.

http://www.euphonicmasters.com/

I second the Brad Blackwood recommendation.

This notion that good mastering engineers "specialize" is overrated.

Producers? Musicians? Singers? Yes, they "specialize."

Mastering engineers are in a different league. Their job is to make ALL the styles translate to the same playing field equally well. Brad is a Kung Fu grandmaster in that realm.

I would be as comfortable with Brad mastering the hip hop album I'm currently working on, as the southern rock EP he recently mastered for my most recent client - which, by the way, she is unequivically thrilled with (and you can sample it on my website - the Chase link).

There's just something about going to the home of rock & roll for that final touch...

[axtrak]

Tony Dawsy and Howie Weinberg from Masterdisk do a great Job, i had once the fun to work with Howie, he a genius...

[chap]

Greg Calbi at Sterling is great.
chap

[Jose Mrochek]

My thumbs up for Brad Blackwood Just recieved a master 2 days ago. EXCELLENT Job!!

[Gregg Sartiano]

I agree that mastering engineers don't 'specialize' in the same way that producer/engineers do. I mean, mastering engineers work on "audio" in a very pure sense -- level, frequency spectrum, harshness/warmth, etc.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally posted by jdunn
I've noticed that when I actually notice a great mastering job on some hip hop, it's done by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound. Don't know if he still works there, probably.

Yes he still does.

And he is does other styles just as well, even better.

He is also one of the busiest guys here in NYC.

I think the waiting list is like 3 months right now.

[Gregg Sartiano]

A lot of the longtime "name" individuals/studios seem to have another mastering engineer working for them, picking up the extra work -- often for half the price.

When I was looking for a mastering for a project last year, I cold-called about ten of 'em, and five or six of them had the same scene: the name-dude was about $300/song (approx.), and the new dude (if you can call, in some cases, five years "new") was about half that -- for indie/self-financed projects. The gear & workflow is the same -- I'm not saying it's "six of one, half dozen the other" (or whatever), but there definitely is a bang-for-the-buck concept at work here.

Seriously -- I'm near Hollywood & Vine, and six or so world-class mastering studios are in a ten block radius: Bernie Grundman (two blocks east), Precision Mastering (four blocks south), Marcussen (two blocks southwest next to the post office), Capitol (duh!), The Mastering Lab (four blocks southeast) -- I'm leaving one or two out...

Anyway, I'm curently sending all of my biz to Louie Teran at Marcussen. I've brought him mixes from hip hop and modern hard rock and he's always worked me in & cranked out amazing work.

[Jules]

Welcome to August 2005!

[Stick]

Originally Posted by Gregg Sartiano

Anyway, I'm curently sending all of my biz to Louie Teran at Marcussen. I've brought him mixes from hip hop and modern hard rock and he's always worked me in & cranked out amazing work.

Yeah, Louie's done a number of records I've produced/mixed... always sounds good.

[DivineMusic]

i have to say Gleen Schick only b/c i've dealt with him before(here in atlanta)
GS mastering will give you a great sound with out a doubt

[wreck]

don't sleep on Ken lee mastering.

[jgo]

Originally Posted by wreck

don't sleep on Ken lee mastering.

Wow, he's still around?
Does he have a website?

He used to do alot of the Bay Area records back in the day.

[Dor]

Originally Posted by jgo

Wow, he's still around?
Does he have a website?

He used to do alot of the Bay Area records back in the day.

Yeah, he's still around. He just mastered a few projects for my label.

[Stoneface]

Nice thread!

[Dor]

not sure Ken Lee has a website but you can google his name in quotes to find the #.

[Barznbeats1]

Originally Posted by Cellotron

Hope it's ok to toot my own horn here - if not - my apologies to th moderators and I'll delete this post - but if it's ok:

It's not the only genre I work with - but I deal with mastering hip-hop for CD and vinyl on a daily basis and count it as one of my favorite things to work on.

Credits include pretty much every recent release by AV8 Records & DJ Wholesale Inc. (both are indie labels who do licensed remixes of a who's who in Hip-hop - including stuff featuring Jay-Z, 50 Cent, Terror Squad, Treach, Notorious BIG, Shaq, etc.) and lots of New York's underground scene (including releases by O.P.N., Substantial, Ill Ones, Spitfire Ent., Under Cover Entertainment, Backwoodz Studioz, etc).

We've got lots of toys to make things phat - pristine vintage Neumann comp's & eq's, Amek Medici, Waves L3, SAWStudio workstation with the RML Labs Levelizer, SPL SX2, Neve DTC, Finalizer+, etc. - and monitoring is done with the massive & accurate Infinity RS4.5s driven by Neumann SAL84 amps - http://www.totalsonicmedia.com/infinity.jpg

Right now we're offering very affordable package deals for unattended sessions (price ranges depending on length of release from $300-700 and includes CD-R master & ref) - you can email me at steve@europadisk.com or call 800-455-8555 for quotes and info.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

You do av8? woww.... you just took me back to my djing days...