Where Are The Decent Houses?

[numberforty1]

I had a mastering house do a demo of a song for me...looked like a credible operation with a decent history...

They sent the song back to me sounding like smashed garbage. I mean, I wouldn't even consider my opinion to be expert, but compared to the original, any idiot could tell that it was much muddier and dead.

How's one to find a decent studio without having ten places send me ten demos?

[Cellotron]

Originally Posted by numberforty1

I had a mastering house do a demo of a song for me...looked like a credible operation with a decent history...

They sent the song back to me sounding like smashed garbage. I mean, I wouldn't even consider my opinion to be expert, but compared to the original, any idiot could tell that it was much muddier and dead.

How's one to find a decent studio without having ten places send me ten demos?

Super easy - just find some albums in the genre somewhat related to your releases whose sonics you really like - and then look up who mastered it in the album credits or on one of the many discography websites online. Then - contact these folks.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[Alécio Costa]

I Know at least 100 very decent places...
Want some suggestions?
Steve is one of them!

[Virtalahde]

What Steve said. Look up for credits and possibly search for their presence in the web. Choose once, choose wisely. If the first round doesn't make the results you're after, communication with your mastering engineer is the key.

[Mastering7]

Originally Posted by Virtalahde

If the first round doesn't make the results you're after, communication with your mastering engineer is the key.

Review! Correct MEs let you tell your opinion about their work and change things accordingly.

[Virtalahde]

Originally Posted by studiozr

Review! Correct MEs let you tell your opinion about their work and change things accordingly.

Precisely. In the end, sound is such a subjective thing that communication is absolutely essential.

I believe there is no room for big egos in mastering. About 30 minutes ago I got a phone call. A band wasn't happy about the sound of a mastering job done by a pretty respected engineer. They asked for changes, the engineer said no but still billed for the job. The label offered to pay for the revision, but no. Nothing quite beats shooting into your own leg.

Apparently I'm doing the album next week in a rush, and I hope to find a sound that pleases the band.

[brethes]

Originally Posted by numberforty1

I had a mastering house do a demo of a song for me...looked like a credible operation with a decent history...

They sent the song back to me sounding like smashed garbage. I mean, I wouldn't even consider my opinion to be expert, but compared to the original, any idiot could tell that it was much muddier and dead.

How's one to find a decent studio without having ten places send me ten demos?

Demos or tests are totally hit or miss. Usually the request doesn't come with any info about what is expected and more often than not the mixes are flawed and need help, so we just take a guess and often make it pretty loud to try to get a reaction from the artist as making it quieter is of course easier than making it loud and still good.

It is all to do with communication. All decent engineers can achieve a similar result when they understand what is required... The first revision is usually free is this is all that is usually needed if the first version is not what was expected.

[Waltz Mastering]

Some of the big mastering houses have some very talented ME's working there, but they also have the 2nd stringers. It's probably better to specify which engineer you want to work with and then let them know your sound preference personally. In other words, don't go for the house name go for the engineers name and rep. 2 cents.

[MASSIVE Master]

Going along with Dom's post -- No doubt, "hit-or-miss" with a general lack of communication.

The fairly recent "cattle-call" mentality about "sample" masters is having a negative effect in ways the potential client probably isn't aware. I get requests pretty frequently -- Usually I can tell if someone wants a 'sample' from *ME* or from 50 other people also.

Find a place that looks like the type of place you'd want to deal with, contact the engineer - and be specific on what you're looking for - and see how it goes.

[Virtalahde]

Precisely. A crapload of sample masters can only get confusing. If you can't decide, ask for a sample from two engineers, 3 at the max. And whoever you choose, it's polite to tell the others that this time someone else did a better job.