Mastering - By Mail?
January 11, 2008 - 13:48 Filed in:
Articles
Generally speaking, MASSIVE Mastering isn’t
a “master by mail” place. Although
admittedly, probably 75% of all sessions
here are unattended. So, it’s worth
addressing that we (and basically every
other mastering facility) can act as a
“master by mail” facility.
Some of our clients attend the sessions
start-to-finish. Some drop the materials
off and wait for a phone call. Others just
send it in and wait for the package to
arrive. If you’re a little uncomfortable
with the concept, we can respect that.
However, you’d be surprised how many
mastering sessions are unattended by the
client. Big time, small time, a lot of the
time. It’s really no different than
dropping off your master recordings and
picking them up later. The only difference
is the wait - we try to alleviate that a
bit by e-mailing out “sample” files -
either small WAV files or larger high-bit
rate MP3 files of your project (before and
after samples) for you to audition if you
like.
This way, you don’t have to sit through a 10 hour session (mastering can be pretty boring) listening to the same 15 seconds of your song over and over while the EQ is being tweaked. You get to hear it in its near-finished state, while your ears are fresh, on whatever system you want to transfer it to. If it “sounds great” we’ll run with it. If it “sounds great but it’s a little bright for me...” that’s all we need to know. Don’t think there isn’t a big advantage to listening on a system you’re used to - Although the mastering engineer may well have an advantage in the monitoring department, if you’re not used to his system, you may not be able to listen the way you’re used to. Many sessions start out with "Wow - that already sounds better" or "Whoa - Why does that sound so crappy?" all due to the accuracy of the monitoring chain - a chain that the client has never heard.
When you book time at a mastering house, you’re booked. If the engineer has a cold and can’t hear the distortion in the highs, you’re booked. If his ears are fatigued from the death metal session that just left, you’re booked. We have the ability to change projects in the middle of the day for a fresh perspective. We can take the time to get the basic “shape” of the sound down. Then later, or even the next day, approach the project again with a fresh perspective and tweak it without the rush and the ear fatigue that would no doubt be the case in a marathon session.
Many mastering houses (MASSIVE Mastering included) are chosen because they have a certain “sound” or style to their masters. It’s just the engineer’s style & technique showing through. Same with how certain musicians, microphones and studios are chosen for their particular “personality” or sound. A good mastering engineer should be able to listen to a source recording and have an idea of where to “take it” and what it will take to get it there. It’s all about getting the most out of any source recording, and every engineer will have a slightly different way of doing it.
Of course, one of the greatest benefits are the rates - Since we started doing most of our sessions unattended, we’ve been able to control our rates to be among the best anywhere for a chain of this caliber. We keep the quality high and the overhead low. You end up with a production master that you can be proud of.
In any case, it's fairly publicized that I'm a skeptic when it comes to many "master by mail" companies. It should be known that I have nothing against the concept - I might have issues with some of the places offering the service... But that's for another entry...
John Scrip - MASSIVE Mastering - http://www.massivemastering.com
This way, you don’t have to sit through a 10 hour session (mastering can be pretty boring) listening to the same 15 seconds of your song over and over while the EQ is being tweaked. You get to hear it in its near-finished state, while your ears are fresh, on whatever system you want to transfer it to. If it “sounds great” we’ll run with it. If it “sounds great but it’s a little bright for me...” that’s all we need to know. Don’t think there isn’t a big advantage to listening on a system you’re used to - Although the mastering engineer may well have an advantage in the monitoring department, if you’re not used to his system, you may not be able to listen the way you’re used to. Many sessions start out with "Wow - that already sounds better" or "Whoa - Why does that sound so crappy?" all due to the accuracy of the monitoring chain - a chain that the client has never heard.
When you book time at a mastering house, you’re booked. If the engineer has a cold and can’t hear the distortion in the highs, you’re booked. If his ears are fatigued from the death metal session that just left, you’re booked. We have the ability to change projects in the middle of the day for a fresh perspective. We can take the time to get the basic “shape” of the sound down. Then later, or even the next day, approach the project again with a fresh perspective and tweak it without the rush and the ear fatigue that would no doubt be the case in a marathon session.
Many mastering houses (MASSIVE Mastering included) are chosen because they have a certain “sound” or style to their masters. It’s just the engineer’s style & technique showing through. Same with how certain musicians, microphones and studios are chosen for their particular “personality” or sound. A good mastering engineer should be able to listen to a source recording and have an idea of where to “take it” and what it will take to get it there. It’s all about getting the most out of any source recording, and every engineer will have a slightly different way of doing it.
Of course, one of the greatest benefits are the rates - Since we started doing most of our sessions unattended, we’ve been able to control our rates to be among the best anywhere for a chain of this caliber. We keep the quality high and the overhead low. You end up with a production master that you can be proud of.
In any case, it's fairly publicized that I'm a skeptic when it comes to many "master by mail" companies. It should be known that I have nothing against the concept - I might have issues with some of the places offering the service... But that's for another entry...
John Scrip - MASSIVE Mastering - http://www.massivemastering.com