Unattended Mastering

Saudade · 10th May 2006, 06:05 PM

Hi,

I am checking for a singer-songwriter client for whom I did/am doing 3 of 11 songs (arrangement/programming/mixing/co-produce).

Song arrangements are mostly programmed with samples plus live guitars/basses, and mixed ITB.

We are looking for AFFORDABLE mastering. Our "special" needs are:

1. We are poor. My client told me the budget set aside for mastering and I said: "maybe you should just master 3 of the songs". The $ I charged her for arranging her songs probably hardly paid for the electricity I used to run my DAW and equipment to do it. My client is a private piano teacher with just 3 students, she paid for everything out of her own pocket.

2. The mixes are far from "pro". We try our best using budget gear, inexperienced ears and untreated rooms. But we are not looking for "mastering" that simply squashes it to death (I can do that) and pretend it sounds better. It has to "save the day".

3. There are at least two other arrangers/programmers/mixers besides me and our different set of sound palette/tools results in VERY different results. What can mastering do to make it sound like "a record"? Or am I making any sense?

4. The album is a very strange one, in terms of genre. It has vintage hard rock, a Peter Gabriel-ish ballad, a marching band tune, a piano song, some acoustic guitar tracks, a "live"string quartet and some pop-rock stuff. We are looking for MEs that can understand each song musically and treat it differently.

5. Our location means it has to be unattended mastering. Which means we need samples of what you can do to our songs before trusting you to do it. Would that be possible?

6. It would be best if we could upload the file to you via (secured) internet.

7. The mixes will only be completed end June but it has to be released in mid july. How far must I book ahead?

Pls PM me with your rates if you are looking for a potentially interesting and satisfying job that just doesn't pay.

Thanks folks. (this is not a joke neither am I trying to insult mastering engineers btw)

DeeDrive · 10th May 2006, 07:06 PM

Maybe you could specify what price range you're in, I think many may suspect the worst.

If you want to post some wav files, (even just short clips), I could take a look and see what I could do for you.

cap217 · 10th May 2006, 07:37 PM

well your not in a position to be pickey.... and you are going to have to trust the engineer

Saudade · 13th May 2006, 07:40 AM

Thanks for all your replies/PMs!

And as one of you pointed out, on hindsight it's maybe too much to ask for a "trial" mastering before deciding.

We are just "bedroom musicians" with not even a distributor yet. we don't think its gonna sell more than 500 copies but we still want the best for our music which is many months of blood, sweat and tears. We are just looking for the best deal for our hard earned $. I apologize if our requests sounded like an insult to you guys.

So maybe it is reasonable to ask for your past work samples. yep that'll be good enough to judge I guess.

Any more interested parties?

Synthi · 13th May 2006, 08:18 PM

pmed you ;)

Synthi

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10th May 2006, 06:05 PM	#1
Saudade Gear addict Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Birthplace of the Soundblaster Posts: 371	Unattended Mastering Hi, I am checking for a singer-songwriter client for whom I did/am doing 3 of 11 songs (arrangement/programming/mixing/co-produce). Song arrangements are mostly programmed with samples plus live guitars/basses, and mixed ITB. We are looking for AFFORDABLE mastering. Our "special" needs are: 1. We are poor. My client told me the budget set aside for mastering and I said: "maybe you should just master 3 of the songs". The $ I charged her for arranging her songs probably hardly paid for the electricity I used to run my DAW and equipment to do it. My client is a private piano teacher with just 3 students, she paid for everything out of her own pocket. 2. The mixes are far from "pro". We try our best using budget gear, inexperienced ears and untreated rooms. But we are not looking for "mastering" that simply squashes it to death (I can do that) and pretend it sounds better. It has to "save the day". 3. There are at least two other arrangers/programmers/mixers besides me and our different set of sound palette/tools results in VERY different results. What can mastering do to make it sound like "a record"? Or am I making any sense? 4. The album is a very strange one, in terms of genre. It has vintage hard rock, a Peter Gabriel-ish ballad, a marching band tune, a piano song, some acoustic guitar tracks, a "live"string quartet and some pop-rock stuff. We are looking for MEs that can understand each song musically and treat it differently. 5. Our location means it has to be unattended mastering. Which means we need samples of what you can do to our songs before trusting you to do it. Would that be possible? 6. It would be best if we could upload the file to you via (secured) internet. 7. The mixes will only be completed end June but it has to be released in mid july. How far must I book ahead? Pls PM me with your rates if you are looking for a potentially interesting and satisfying job that just doesn't pay. Thanks folks. (this is not a joke neither am I trying to insult mastering engineers btw)

13th May 2006, 08:18 PM	#5
Synthi Gear Head Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Spain Posts: 68	pmed you ;) Synthi __________________ Custom Sound Lab, Spain Mixing & Mastering http://www.customsoundlab.com

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10th May 2006, 07:06 PM	#2
DeeDrive Lives for gear Join Date: May 2005 Location: Hillsboro, OR Posts: 894	Maybe you could specify what price range you're in, I think many may suspect the worst. If you want to post some wav files, (even just short clips), I could take a look and see what I could do for you.

10th May 2006, 07:37 PM	#3
cap217 Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 991	well your not in a position to be pickey.... and you are going to have to trust the engineer

13th May 2006, 07:40 AM	#4
Saudade Gear addict Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Birthplace of the Soundblaster Posts: 371	Thanks for all your replies/PMs! And as one of you pointed out, on hindsight it's maybe too much to ask for a "trial" mastering before deciding. We are just "bedroom musicians" with not even a distributor yet. we don't think its gonna sell more than 500 copies but we still want the best for our music which is many months of blood, sweat and tears. We are just looking for the best deal for our hard earned $. I apologize if our requests sounded like an insult to you guys. So maybe it is reasonable to ask for your past work samples. yep that'll be good enough to judge I guess. Any more interested parties?