Finished mixing an album, would like some other ears to check it out before mastering

[Wesley D.]

Hello,

So I've recently finished mixing an album for a friend. I say finished, we may need to make some adjustments.

We sent the files to a mastering engineer who more or less turned around and said the mix engineer (me) did a terrible job. I found that offensive because he has no idea how this project was recorded & produced. We're talking about an ultra low budget project when much was done with less than ideal situations. Main mic was a Rode NT1, lots of stuff was done in Fruity loops, and there's plenty of noise in many of the recordings. Also, the client (my friend) is a very out there guy and he used tons of instruments and requested lots of reverb on things. Overall I'm pleased with the way the mixes turned out, considering what I started with. However, after reading the scathing review on my mixing I really wanted to get a second opinion from some professional ears.

Also, we're currently searching for a new mastering engineer. The guy we were going to use was essentially rude and unprofessional. He seems talented, but in a round-a-bout way he came across as a guy who didn't want to work on the project.

The budget is around $200, any suggestions for quality mastering engineers/facilities would be appreciated. I know this budget is incredibly low... but it's only 9 songs, 45 minutes.

If there's another forum here I should have posted this in please let me know. Also, I'm uploading the whole album as a .rar file to yousendit.com
I see you can attach files here but I wanted to maintain some quality, so you'll find 320 mp3's. I assume it goes without saying; please don't distribute or steal this material.

Here's the link:

https://www.yousendit.com/download/T...R3M4NVVLSkE9PQ

If you like eclectic rock, electronic type stuff (influences: Devo, Oingo Boingo, Human Leaque, David Bowie, etc.) you may very well enjoy this. I honestly think the project has serious indie appeal. It's unique and out there.

Any help with either mixing advice or recommendations on mastering are GREATLY appreciated.

Thanks,

-Wesley D.

[MASSIVE Master]

Also, we're currently searching for a new mastering engineer. The guy we were going to use was essentially rude and unprofessional. He seems talented, but in a round-a-bout way he came across as a guy who didn't want to work on the project.

The budget is around $200, any suggestions for quality mastering engineers/facilities would be appreciated. I know this budget is incredibly low... but it's only 9 songs, 45 minutes.

I'm not trying to sound - uhhh...

$200 for "only" 45 minutes worth of material - You're going to find a lot of "rude" and "unprofessional" people who come across as not wanting to work on the project.

It's "only" a full-length album.

I'm not saying that you won't find a plethora of people willing to do the work -

[NorseHorse]

Just listened to it. Real exciting music.

1st ME = []

If you've got it sounding how you like it, I don't see any changes that really need done. I'd remix track #7 to incorporate a stereo image. Sounds like it's in mono right now.

[Wesley D.]

Look, believe me, if it was my music and my project I'd be willing to pay approx. $15/min or $65/song, this seems to be more or less on par with what local mastering facilities have quoted me.

I'm willing to bet somebody could do a great job mastering this album in around 4 hours. I'm assuming it would be done digitally, no tape and not a lot of hardware patching. $50/hr for 4 hours seems like a not so bad deal. I would do it myself but I can't in good conscience master the same album I mixed. Plus I don't really consider myself a mastering engineer by any stretch.

I work at a post production facility and I would never even think about being rude and condescending to a client with a tiny budget. We've had clients decide we're too expensive, but we're always friendly and professional about it.

My hope is that someone out there with a good room, nice reference monitors and a workstation with some sort of mastering suite would like to have $200 for a portion of their time. I've seen guys online offering $99 for the whole album. I wasn't impressed with the site, surely there's someone out there who charges twice what that guy does and does twice as good of a job.

My company has worked out all kinds of deals and worked for less than normal because we want to stay in business and we realized that sometimes a client only has X amount of dollars, and somebody will get them. We won't lose money on a job. But we like to stay busy.

-Wesley

[macleodgrant]

you get what you pay for.
i've just finished mixing an album too and my quote for mastering the album is between $1200 & $1500 and that's fine. we want the very best job done that can bring out the goodness in the music


ok, about your music

what the hell were you thinking when you recorded & mixed this?
it sounds mental
but in a good way

sounds very experimental and from what i've heard so far (2 tracks) definitely ready for mastering.

please, do yourself a favour and pay at least between $700 to $1000 for it otherwise you could be disappointed and it's not worth it man - pull out the credit card

[Wesley D.]

Hey guys,

thanks for the input. I've gotten some PM's with offers and I'm very greatful! I'm forwarding this information to my friend/client and I'll go from there.

Thanks so much for both listening and to everybody who sent me a PM, I really appreciate it!

-Wesley D.

[24-96 Mastering]

Ooh, I wish I could make an offer for this one. Had a listen and, on first glance, love the songs & the production. Good luck with it though and I hope whoever does this one will do a solid & tasteful job. Keep us posted on how it goes, Wesley.