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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Do I really
need CD Mastering?
Unmastered tracks suffer from many problems, see below for most common.
( Note: This is not a comprehensive list.)
1. Song volume varies from track to track.
2. Overall album volume and "punch" is low compared to professionally
mastered CD's.
3. Songs can vary tonally; some tracks can sound tinny (too much high
end) or boomy (too much bass).
4. Vocals and/or specific instruments might be too quiet or loud,
to an extent Mastering can correct this. (Note: Whenever possible
it's always best to fix issues like mentioned above during the mixdown
phase.)
5. Fade-ins and fade-outs are uneven.
6. Noise at the beginning and end of each track.
7. Overall album does not meet Red Book spec. For the duplication
site to accuracy reproduce your album it needs to adhere to Red Book
spec.
8. Spacing can vary from song to song.
So to answer the question, if your looking to present your music in
a professional manner mastering is imperative. The mastering process
I provide corrects all of the above mentioned issues and then some.
Your tracks will be shine and will exceed top current industry standards!
If you have any additional questions on what mastering can provide
please don't hesitate to contact
me.
I'm ready to master my release, what
do you need from me?
-
Your mixdown audio
tracks on CDR or DVD with no post processing. (Note: It's
always better to burn DATA and not audio that can be played on
a CD player). The
audio extraction process can induce errors from time to time.
-
Whenever possible, burn your audio as DATA be it a .WAV file
or other format you prefer. If audio extraction is the only
viable option I have many safeguards in place to ensure the
best results, so don't fret too much.
-
Material submitted
(peak level) should be between -1dB and -4dB, this ensures no
clipping is occurring.
-
Very
Important;
In all cases avoid any limiting, compression, normalization, and/or
gain changes to your overall mixdown's.
-
Send track list
of each song along with any special instructions. An example of
special instructions would be "I would like song "x"
to fade out at 3:41" or "with song "y" the
vocals are not as loud as I would like them to be, please try
to bring them up".
How
long does the process take?
-
Once I receive
the pre-master tracks typical turn-a-round is 1 week. However,
the process may be longer or shorter given the complexity of the
project.
-
If you need your
project expedited that can be negotiated on a case by case basis
with a typical additional charge between $5-10 per track given
the need date.
What format should my songs be in when
I submit them?
Do
you do DVDs or CD Artwork?
DVD audio, Yes. CD Artwork, No.
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