Audio Mastering

The work of audio mastering is the final stage in preparing your music for distribution. On tracks collected on to a CD, it includes matching volume levels and EQ to give the album a uniform sound. EQ is also used to enhance and bring out certain features of each track possibly vocals and percussion. It also includes trimming tracks, setting spacing between tracks. Especially with live instruments and generally on live recordings, the mastering engineer can remove unwanted noises, pops, bangs, sibilants and coughs (even behind the music). This is why it costs more to perform the mastering on live instruments and live recordings rather than the music produced "in the box"

Here are a few notes on submitting tracks for Audio Mastering. The people tagged on this note are mostly unconnected with the recommendations and these notes are intended for future projects (and partly as an advert).

Definitions

Producers: I refer to 2 different types of producer though in some cases this is the same person. The Beat Producer who creates the backing track; The Studio Producer who records the artist and produces the final mix. Some of these comments apply to both.

Stems: This is the bounce of each individual instrument/voice etc as a seperate file. It can be stems with or without effects and it should be specified which is required

Do's and Don'ts

I need high quality WAV or AIF files. I can resurrect and enhance an MP3 if that is all there is but this will never be as good

Do not trim the recording right up to the first note of the track. Leave some space and I will trim it

Do not chop the end of the track too soon. Especially do not chop the reverb tail or a ringing note. This is usually the fault of automated bouncing of tracks. You can extend the length of the bounce by adjusting the setting to include effects trails or simply by extending time a few seconds. This is something I can fix, but would rather not have to.

You can leave the fades at the end of the track to me; a note telling me when to fade would be nice

While you will want to put compression on individual stems, PLEASE do not put compression on the whole track. This is best done at the mastering stage.

WAV and AIF files are pretty big. You can use YouSendIt or a similar service to send a single file but for a full set of files it is better to use FTP. I can set up an FTP account for you to transfer the files to my server.

Information required

Some of the following information is required as it is embedded in to the master CD image and iTunes tags.

Purpose of mastered tracks: CD, iTunes, MP3 downloads. It maybe that I need to produce multiple versions of each track to suit its destination.

Name of each track in the required order on the CD

Gap required between tracks (can be different per track). Without a specification, I will use 2 seconds

Any useful notes/opinion on tracks needed to assist me in the Audio Mastering

Names of any featured artists

Names of any writer(s) (This should include the beat producer, i.e. the maker of any backing track/beat)

Name of the studio producer for each track

Declararion that all material is copyright to the writers listed and that no unauthorised samples have been used

I can provide a form for this information on request.

Remixing and Radio Edits

I can do Radio Edits from the final mix files, but it is much easier to do this with the stems (with effects)

Remixing: I really do need the stems for each instrument and vocal; with or without effects depending on how much you want doing. I would prefer an MP3 of the original mix as a guideline unless you want me to just start again.

About my work

I qualified in Audio Mastering at the Berklee College of Music, USA. I have done mastering on all types of material from hip-hop to classical. Mastering starts at £25 per track for tracks made "inside the box". Mastering of live recordings is by quotation after I have heard the source material.