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Our growth is dependent upon you.
When undertaking each project, we do something which is often unique in the world of audio recording, we listen.... Once we understand your individual requirements and challenges, we get down to business, working
closely with you to develop a world class product...... |
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What is Mastering? |
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If you want your music to have maximum impact
for radio release, or if you want to  be able to compete with major record label releases, it is extremely vital that
you do not miss this important step in the recording process. Mastering can help your music sound louder, bigger, smoother, punchier, warmer, cleaner, more 3 dimensional and generally
more exciting and most importantly sound more natural . Mastering is the process of making the production master - final master from which your production CDs are made. Your songs are assembled and
processed so that they sound like one project rather than just a collection of mixes. Mastering also called pre-mastering is the step between mix down and
manufacturing. Our Mastering facility can help give your recording that "big studio" sound that is crucial for success in a very competitive  marketplace. All changes and enhancements in the Mastering process are done in
close consultation with you, to make sure that results fits your vision of the project as well as bringing your project to its maximum sonic potential.... |
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Preview original master for sonic quality, level, sampling frequency, distortion, dropouts, phasing problems
and other anomalies.
- Advise client of any condition that could adversely affect the finished production and suggest remedies to correct them.
- Digital sampling conversation to 44.1 kHz.
- Ensure that peak level fills the digital envelope.(DAT masters are often recorded at relatively low levels. Replication directly from such a master will result in a finished CD that is likewise
low in level and hence not competitive with product that has been properly mastered. Spacing from cut to cut made consistent(unlike live performance).
- Add digital black(silence) between all cuts(unless live performance).
- Match levels from cut to cut, correct balance(left and right) and phasing problems.
- Correct fades as needed to unsure smooth transition from program into silence on all cuts.
- Apply dynamic enhancement, transparent limiting, stereo width expansion, mulit-band compression, dynamic EQ, tube warmth, harmonic enhancement, track level adjustment, click & clip removal,
sample accurate editing and fades...
- No Noise processing for restoration of old or problem masters.
- Create frame accurate track ID's using SMPTE time code.
- Create CD master. CD masters are available in CD-R format, this is the format preferred by most if not by all leading CD manufacturers.
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How many hours should I budget for? |
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To achieve good results in mastering we usually need to spend approximately 1/2 an hour of studio time per track. This
allows us enough time to analyze and process that particular track, and achieve its maximum sonic potential. |
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How much should I pay? |
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Premium quality mastering is not as expensive as you might think. Our clients typically pay between $350 and $550 US per
album project(up to 12 tracks or mixes), depending on the needs of the project.When you consider how much time and money you've already spent on recording the album, and how much work you're going to put into
marketing and promoting the album after it's release, this is not a lot of money to ensure the best possible sound for the album |
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Is spending this kind of money on my project worth it? |
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Definitely worth it, as this is the last chance you have to perfect the sound of your recording project and it does not pay
to try and rush things at this stage. We offer you the same professional mastering service at a fraction of the cost. The fact is, every major label release get professionally mastered before discs are pressed.
Every independent production can benefit from our world-class, state of the art mastering studio. We do first-rate mastering at a fraction of the cost of a major mastering studios, we guarantee it....
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Do you provide any guarantees? |
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Yes. We are so confident that you will be happy with the results of the mastering process that we guarantee our work. If the sound
does not meet your expectations in any way, we will redo the project without incurring any additional charges for the studio time. |
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What is the maximum length of a CD? |
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The maximum length allowed by the Sony/Philips red book standard is 74 minutes(one hour and 14 minutes). However CDs as long
as 79 minutes or more can be manufactured. Usually manufacturing plants do not guarantee the performance of very long CDs as they can be more prone to playback errors. 74 minutes or less offers the best possible
quality of sound on playback. Also there is provision for up to 99 tracks on a CD. For 12" records @ 33.3 rpm, maximum 18 minutes of playing time per side is recommended. Please note that high volume levels or excessive
bass will result in a deeper and wider groove, reducing the amount of playing time per side. |
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What should I send with my master DAT or CD-R? |
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Send a complete log sheet with the titles and times of all the songs. Indicate which mixes you want to use for the final
master and which order you want the songs to appear in. We would prefer to receive your studio-produced masters in DAT or CD-R format. We can also transfer material sent in on vinyl record, please inquire in advance.
Jot down some notes for the mastering engineer, including any comments you may have about the sound quality or any deficiencies in the sound that you may have noticed. |
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disc editing as well as their renowned No Noise process for
removing clicks, pops, and hiss on old masters and records. We are professional and have mastering experience of every genre of music and audio. Our talent, combined with our mastering suite's
acoustical environment and equipment can transform your "good" sounding master into a great one.
