Metal mastering houses?

[deathman]

Hey!

Can you give me some links of some good Metal music mastering houses.
Me and my band are going to make an EP in September and need a great mastering house!

Thanx very much!

[Oroz]

Don't know if this is what you're looking for but these guys seem to know metal: http://www.dbrecordings.com/mac.asp

[bob katz]

Originally Posted by deathman

Hey!

Can you give me some links of some good Metal music mastering houses.
Me and my band are going to make an EP in September and need a great mastering house!

Thanx very much!

I'm not directly tied in with the metal community, but let me tell you a story.

I am not generally known as a "metal" engineer, but some metal clients have sought me out for my approach to sound. A band from Germany called "Necrophagist" on Relapse records came to me because they knew I wouldn't smash a record unless someone asked me to. (Which is the approach of many of our fellow Gearslutz guys so I'm not pretending I'm unique).

Anyway, the story is the band and the label were all going for "good sound with a reasonable compromise". They preferred to have some sound quality and it came out anywhere from 2 to 4 dB lower than the current loudest metal CDs (that is a lot, but the loudness race has taken us to a dead end, with undefined transients, actual loss of loudness and clarity, lumpy bass, small image...). So if you came to me you wouldn't get the hottest CD on the planet, but if it's a good mix, it can become a great master.

For this to happen, the band, the label and the engineer(s) must be on the same page, and the rewards (better sound on the radio) can be enormous. You also have to deal with that penis-envy that comes from "my disc only goes up to 10" if you forget to turn up the volume control!

BK

[Masterer]

Originally Posted by bob katz

penis-envy that comes from "my disc only goes up to 10"

BK

Easy Bob! This is a family show.


Hey Deathman, it may be wise to search www.allmusic.com for some of your favorite [and favorite sounding] records. Check the credits. That should give you an idea of the variety of folks getting the sound you're looking for.

Some folks will also do a test track for you for free. This can be a good way to go if your thinking of using a mastering engineer that doesn't have a particularly impressive "pedigree".

Good luck.

[Jay Kahrs]

You could also ask for the recommendation of whoever's tracking & mixing your EP...

After years of problems, I give bands a list of "known good" mastering engineers to pick from rather then letting them go with some random guy.

The last time, and I mean the last time I let that happen was just over two years ago. The band wanted their record mixed to 1/4" tape and the singer wanted to use some connection he knew down south that sounded good on the surface.

About halfway through mixing he called to book the mastering and discovered that nope, this "pro mastering house" where his old college buddy worked can't play 1/4" 15ips reels and it threw everyone a tailspin and ended up costing a LOT more then they had originally budgeted for since they thought they were getting a mastering "hook up" that was anything but.

Things like that and just overall shoddy quality when things come back have led to the "list" approach.

It's working for us!

[Joc R]

Dragan at Bohus in Sweden is very good.

www.bohussound.com

/ J

[Tubefreak]

Björn Engelmann from http://www.cutting-room.se is GOOD! Listen to Meshuggah for example. But he's also done many other major artist as well. Friends of mine went there for their mastering and he did an excellent job!

Maarten

[lucey]

Imagine a world where each ME was a known specialist in each and every sub group of each and every style ... and what would we have?

Records that sounds the same, one after another. Yawn.



If you dont have a person in mind already, a test master and good communication are all you need.

[MASSIVE Master]

Originally Posted by deathman

Me and my band are going to make an EP in September and need a great mastering house!

Just to make sure, you're starting with a great recording studio, right...?

I certainly don't want to downplay the importance of a good mastering facility, but the chain is still only as strong as its weakest link...

[lofi]

Don't know if this is what you're looking for but these guys seem to know metal: http://www.dbrecordings.com/mac.asp

what ??? come on. have you listened Bob Katzs "necrophagist" and than anything from above ? most sterile and fake sound ive ever heard imo. and i really mean it. mr Katz is completely another universe above.

no offense to anyone but thats what i hear

[deathman]

First of all... than you guys for these nice posts!

Actually i rly was looking for a sound like Necrophagist or Meshuggah. We play very similar music.

We are going in a pro studio in 2 weeks so the EP is not made now... but it will be in about a month or two. It's a studio with Pro Tools and a cotnrol 24 mixer, etc,etc...

When the EP gets ready i'll send a song to all of you who can make me a free sample of his "ARTS".

BTW: dBrecordigns makes very sterile masterings and the sound loses very much dynamics... So... no thanx.. we need a punchy sound!

Thanx all!

[brandy]

Originally Posted by bob katz

I'm not directly tied in with the metal community, but let me tell you a story.

I am not generally known as a "metal" engineer, but some metal clients have sought me out for my approach to sound. A band from Germany called "Necrophagist" on Relapse records came to me because they knew I wouldn't smash a record unless someone asked me to. (Which is the approach of many of our fellow Gearslutz guys so I'm not pretending I'm unique).

Anyway, the story is the band and the label were all going for "good sound with a reasonable compromise". They preferred to have some sound quality and it came out anywhere from 2 to 4 dB lower than the current loudest metal CDs (that is a lot, but the loudness race has taken us to a dead end, with undefined transients, actual loss of loudness and clarity, lumpy bass, small image...). So if you came to me you wouldn't get the hottest CD on the planet, but if it's a good mix, it can become a great master.

Hey, cool! I made that Necrophagist Record!

And all i can say is: That record wins and wins and wins. Bobs Mastering supported the music in the best possible way. That record is one of the cleanest and most dynamic Metal Recordings out there in the Moment. 99% of the time i do the mastering by myself (i do mostly metal these days) - and i am very very shure that i would have hitten it much harder... I think Bob saved that record ;-)

Have to add: The label was not giving a rats ass about the sound. Instead of that the Bandleader and i were the most critical people on earth, haha :-)


BTW:

http://www.smnnews.com/board/showthread.php?t=72913

Nice words about the sound of the Necro record.

what ??? come on. have you listened Bob Katzs "necrophagist" and than anything from above ? most sterile and fake sound ive ever heard imo. and i really mean it. mr Katz is completely another universe above.

no offense to anyone but thats what i hear

That's up to taste. I and many many others are thinking that this band needs that sound. You can realy enjoy every element of that music.

And don't blame Bob for the overal sound. The way a record sounds is made in the recording and the mix. I have to say, i am the guitly one. But i have to say also: The way that record sounds is the way the record needs to sound. Bobs Mastering greatly supported that. As i said bevore. Others might have put two vintage warmers and an L2 on it, crunshing the thing to death....

I made tons of metal recordings as well wich are agressive and dirty.

It's up to the music.

Modern Metalcore or some kind of Hardcore might suck with a "conservative" (sorry for that word) mastering - a ultra-technical record like the Necro might like that.

More "normal" deathmetal stuff usually likes a little bit more of the "hit it harder". Shurely - punch and impact decreases, but the overall "blastfactor" is important.



brandy

[lofi]

brandy !!!! im pretty sure its the language barrier as i guess we both are non-native english speakers !

or i should have been more clear !!!

That's up to taste. I and many many others are thinking that this band needs that sound. You can realy enjoy every element of that music.

And don't blame Bob for the overal sound. The way a record sounds is made in the recording and the mix. I have to say, i am the guitly one. But i have to say also: The way that record sounds is the way the record needs to sound. Bobs Mastering greatly supported that. As i said bevore. Others might have put two vintage warmers and an L2 on it, crunshing the thing to death....

i dont "blame" Bob or you for anything ! that "necro" record is sitting happily in my REFERENCES pile !!! (lofi - jelous !!! )

and big big big big respect to you and the band (and mr. Katz of course) !!!

i was talking bout dbrecordings and the poster obviusly understood my point !

BTW: dBrecordigns makes very sterile masterings and the sound loses very much dynamics... So... no thanx.. we need a punchy sound!

glad you hear it too (again no offense to anyone i think what i hear / maybe the price is cool)

so to be perfectly clear : necrophagist + brandy + mr.katz = one of my references !!!

peace to all

[brandy]

Hi lofi!

got your pm! Thanks so much for the nice words! Yea, we misunderstood each other first, but that made us talking a little, isn't that great?

Yea - you are so right - it is the combination. Bob was the missing link in that chain. And without THAT band there would be no chain. If you know what i mean.

brandy

[SLy_drums]

I highly recommend Cutting Room in Stockholm (www.cutting-room.se).
Björn and Thomas are the guys !

I've just finished to master some french metalcore with Thomas Eberger and he really achieved the best for the song. Sounds amazing now !
They know metal and they are very sympathetic
And they have great gear (GML, Weiss etc.)

You also can try Peter In De Betou for a lower budget. He is a former Cutting Room engineer (HE has done Meshuggah, Hipocrisy, Dark Tranquillity... and a lot more extreme metal bands) and now he works alone in his house with some cool equipments. He is very cheap (85 euros per song) and has one of the best quality for the price paid.
www.tailormaid.se
PM me if you want to hear some mastering job done by Cutting Room.

[SMC Productions]

One of my favorite Metal albums in YEARS is Feinstein's Third Wish. I know it was a pretty decent mix, but the Mastered version is simply stunning to me. It was done by Rene Schardt at Galaxy Studios in Belgium.

http://www.galaxystudios.com/

http://www.rockfeinstein.com/biography.php

http://tinyurl.com/ovsgo

http://tinyurl.com/q9kr9

[Detuned6]

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...endid=21319795

If you doing extreme metal stuff,check out Imperial Mastering-Colin Davis(Trideint studios) I like alot of albums he has mastered.

[vile_ator]

That post above this is pointing to my Myspace page. Thanks for the props Detuned!

Its not so cool to recommend yourself I guess but I am one of the few out there that masters primarily metal and is a metal musician and audiophile as well. Im not expensive because I cant be with the bands I work with.

But I would actually say that there are a lot of great mastering engineers that can do metal extremely well. I think that when you have decades of experience behind you, you can do any style extremely well. Tom Baker at Precision Mastering is one of my favorites for metal though. (3 grand a pop).

I also love the Necrophagist record that Brandy recorded and Bob mastered. I wish more albums were treated in this manner.

Colin

www.imperialmastering.com

[dispo]

The best place if you are serious about getting real metal mastered, go to morbid mastering. I got some shit mastered there and holy shit is was unbelievable what I got back. Anyway check it out.

MORBID MASTERING - DIGITAL MASTERING ONLY FOR METAL.

HAIL DARKNESS!

[Robert Randolph]

Originally Posted by dispo

The best place if you are serious about getting real metal mastered, go to morbid mastering. I got some shit mastered there and holy shit is was unbelievable what I got back. Anyway check it out.

MORBID MASTERING - DIGITAL MASTERING ONLY FOR METAL.

HAIL DARKNESS!

[MASSIVE Master]

I'm thinking that after 26 months the guy may has probably made a decision by now.

[Ajo]

Mika Jussila at Finnvox (Finnvox Studiot / Finnvox Studios) in Helsinki (Finland) is great.

[SMC Productions]

Originally Posted by MASSIVE Master

I'm thinking that after 26 months the guy may has probably made a decision by now.

You think? Ha....wonder where he ended up going?

How about it guy?

[Ecktronic]

Private Messaged you.

Eck

[MASSIVE Master]

Originally Posted by Ecktronic

Private Messaged you.

Eck

[Ecktronic]

Originally Posted by MASSIVE Master

LMAO!!
What a dork I am!

I should really keep an eye on them old things called the dates!

Eck

[MASSIVE Master]

Well, who knows - Maybe he's working on his next (or second, or third) release after that one.