|
 What
is Music Mastering?
 There
are thousands of playback systems with all kinds
of sound qualities and frequency responses.
From a cheap boom box to an audiophile state-of-the-art
home stereo system, not two systems sound the
same, specially when you also factor in room acoustics.
That's the reason why once you've finished your
work in the Studio, your music mix down needs
to go through one final crucial step, Mastering.
Mastering is not mixing, where
tracks from a multi-track format, are reduced
to a 2 channel stereo mix format (left & right
stereo).
Mastering is the
process of optimizing all individual frequency
levels to meet Industry Standards.
The music sounds punchier, clearer and
consistently on point in all
systems, meaning wherever medium you
play it, the sound quality reaches its
maximum delivery potential (MDP).
It's all possible thanks to digital frequency
alignment.
Your
new master source
will be perfectly formatted for manufacturing,
so it can make great copies for cds, cassettes
and vinyl records.
Your music cds will be RADIO
quality ready, or formatted for air
wave broadcasting - which is the first thing
radio program directors expect to hear from any
published material.
You won't even believe how much better your mp3
sounds on the web.
Your
new master source (if PMCD was required from us)
is also guaranteed to pass the Media
FORM CD-5900 test, at any plant in the USA,
or We will replace it.
Our
philosophy is to never add anything
to the mix unless is requested. From our stand
point, mastering is a technical process where
creativity is placed in solving frequency problems
only.
Unless you have basic training or some knowledge
on audio engineering, You won't truly grasp some
concepts on this subject, so we recommend you
to listen to our mastering samples and read our
articles
on mastering.
Nevertheless, you'll be able to hear the results,
which vary depending on the mix and other factors
that we will skip for now.
Keep in mind that while some mastering engineers
promise "To level the playing field"
for you, We promise to tell you the honest truth
about what can be done to your project.
In some cases we advise people, to go back and
try to do another mix.
Who does that these days? You need to trust someone
who knows. That someone is us. If you have the
time, please read this entire page, It will broaden
your knowledge on the subject.
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What is Industry Standard?
Every
Cd you buy from a record store or a major record
label release, has gone through this finalization
process. The benefits are obvious if not dramatic
in many cases.
Lack
of consistency on the delivery of the sound is
one of the most telling signs of an un-mastered
piece of music. The sound quality varies significantly
from system to system used for playback, and hardly
ever sounds the way it did at the Studio.
Signs such as:
- All mixes have mismatched levels.
- A mix lacks of bass and/or high frequencies.
- A mix has excess of bass and/or high frequencies.
- Unclear vocals.
- Incorrect pq indexing (the track ids), etc.
By aligning the music mix frequencies (or optimizing
their individual frequency levels), you get a
better perception of that mix in any system at
any given output level.
The
result is a cohesive program that sounds consistent
and at its Maximum Delivery Potential (MDP).
At
present the Industry Standard sound
quality is based on the specifications of the
Red Book Convention, which is a sampling
rate of 44.1 Khz and a word resolution of 16 bits.
A music production is considered
to meet the Industry Standard
when its frequencies show adequate alignment of
the 3 main densities:
Bass
(20-300hz)
Middle Range (1K-8k)
Hi Frequencies (10K-20K)
The music should sound punchy and clear, with
all its dynamics intact (an average level of -6db
or -10db, and high peak average of -0.5
db maximum, depending on music
style).
Output
levels should never be too loud as it means that
the dynamic range has been compromised (if not
already
"crunched").
A refined mastering job shows adequate alignment
within a 25 to 30 frequency spectrum
(our mastering standard).
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What
is a PMCD?
Pre
Mastered Compact Disc.-
The
pre-master CD was originally developed jointly
by Sonic Solutions and Sony. The
PMCD has the advantage of being easily played
on an ordinary CD player before glass mastering.
A true PMCD contains the PQ code burst in the
leadout area; for this reason relatively few CD
recorders are capable of making a true PMCD.
Some CD pressing plants require PMCDs and other
disk-at-once CDRs to be accompanied by a hard
copy printout of the PQ code information in order
to document its authenticity, and thus to prevent
confusion with ordinary recorded CDs which may
be track-at-once (duped in real time).
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What's the Advantage of Mastering to PMCD?
Please,
read also What is Industry
Standard?
By using a CD-R format for storage (Compact Disc
Recordable), is a better medium and more reliable
than 1610 & 1630 pre-mastered tape (DDP),
or any 4mm/8mm tape format.
The reason is due to magneto-optical technology
which has no tape head friction.
This is a storage medium that will last for many
years and the last step on your sound production
investment.
While
the manufacture of compact discs is done to stringent
standards, economic pressures can force CD pressing
plants to take shortcuts when material is supplied
in a non-professional CD format (i.e., track-at-once,
instead of disk-at-once CDs).
Some CD pressing plants will accept CDs recorded
on ordinary track-at-once CD recorders, but the
glass master might be made from an analog transfer
(you lost a generation!) from the customer's CD.
Other plants will not even accept such CDs.
The problem with track-at-once CDs is that there
is a digital gap before each track selection and
this interruption in digital data causes excessive
errors during the glass mastering.
We have a StageTech EC2 CD Error Checker for analyzing
CDs of unknown heritage. That's why all our PMCD's
guaranteed to pass the MediaFORM
CD-5900
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What's
Accuracy to MG?
In our book it means that a piece of music has
a well balanced frequency spectrum, within the
3 major densities (bass, mid-range & the high
end). Their transients are not overshooting, allowing
for higher overall output levels without compromising
dynamic range.
A frequency curve consistent with a particular
style of music should be achieved after frequency
alignment. This is what constitutes Maximum Delivery
Potential (MDP).
For people without engineering knowledge, our
statement on accuracy may not mean much. But relax,
because not even some "mastering engineers"
understand it, or care about either.
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Does
Equipment make a difference?
Some
so called "mastering engineers" - offer
a dirty cheap rate for this service,
claiming their motivation is to "help
musicians" - when in reality all
they do is, help themselves.
How can you tell?
Check their equipment listing.
No equipment listing?
Then once again, beware.
There are only 2 names and 5 digital workstations
in total to look for. They are:
-SonicSolutions
DAW (24 Bit / 48 Khz or higher)
-ProTools HD (24 Bit/192 khz)
(That's right folks, 192 Khz sampling
rate!)
-ProTools Mix 3 TDM System (24
Bit / 96 Khz)
-ProTools Mix Plus TDM System (24 Bit / 48 Khz)
-ProTools Mix TDM System (24 Bit / 48 Khz)
There are some ProTools versions that don't meet
the professional mastering criteria - such as
'ProTools Project 1' 'ProTools
LE', and there is even a downloadable ProTools
free software version on the web. They
are not TDM systems,
so be advised of this fact.
Using Apogee filters to do A/D conversion is considered
a plus, since neither SonicSolutions nor ProTools
can provide a finer digital conversion. DigiDesign
argues that their HD- TDM system is as good or
better, though.
Other brands most likely utilize an algorithm,
acquired or borrowed from reversed engineering,
conditional licence, and even illegal patent.
They do not conform to the professional
mastering standards found at reputable
mastering facilities in the U.S.A.
Brands like: MOTU or Digital Performer, Cubase,
Logic, Ensoniq Paris and many others, are fine
multi-track recording systems for project studios
and even for some major studios. But,
not meant for professional mastering.
Some engineers make and/or brag that they do their
own gizmos and devices. This is nothing but a
gimmick to get your business.
Why would anybody want to add some weird or unknown
process to the signal path of a mix that simply
needs frequency alignment? Be this analog or digital,
it's all non-sense.
So
the answer is, Yes!
It does make a difference working with professional
tools. However, if the engineer doing
the mastering is not experienced, We guarantee
that you will not get a quality mastering job.
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Who
Needs Mastering?
If
you are a major recording artist, most likely,
you would not care less. Since, this is totally
out of your realm, and it gets all done for you.
You have come to expect only the best treatment
to your music (mastering is part of your contract's
recoupment cost, right?).
But, what about those who are struggling on their
own, trying to market their work, or shopping
for a label deal on their own?
What about their dreadful meeting with the radio
program director in hopes the station will play
their tune?
You guest it, Mastering is probably the least
of their thoughts. Usually they are already out
of budget when they find out about it, and many
will have to skip this step.
We
don't know if it's even possible to get radio
play on major radio stations these days, maybe
College Radio or small local
stations.
But if it doesn't sound "Radio Ready",
forget it.
To
make things worse, it is precisely these recordings
coming from these artists and indie producers,
that require the most mastering work, since, their
mixes come from recording situations where budget
is always an issue, and major compromises in sound
production quality had to be made.
They hardly ever allocate the necessary budget
to do good MIXING, or dedicate enough time.
Songs that came from state-of-the-art studios
($150 to $200 hourly rate) may require much less
adjustments than songs recorded on a basement,
but still benefit from this process, specially
when they reach radio
broadcast.
That said, nobody can make a project studio or
a bedroom studio mix sound like a million dollar
studio mix, but we sure can get close in many
cases!
Well,
this is what our studio has been doing the last
15 years. Helping this group of artists, present
their material with the highest quality possible
and at a price they can live with.
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Our Digital Mastering Facility
We
are located at 20th Street and Fifth Avenue.
Call us at the number down below to get our
address. By appointment only.
Master
your song or music album at CD Digital Music Services,
located in New York City, and get that fabulous
sound that finalizes your music project. If your
music is your investment, then you can't skip
this crucial process.
We
do complete music spectrum analysis for accurate
compression and equalization.
Pre-gapping and fine tuning (fade ins and outs
or digital black).
We use cutting edge software and 100% digital
domain.
You can master from your Dat, Cd, CD24, Mini-Disc
and even a Cassette (not advised unless you need
to archive the contents) to create a PMCD (pre-mastered
compact disc) that will be used as your source
of duplication.
Your
new master cd will make great cd copies as well
as cassette and vinyl. Your music will be
RADIO quality ready, which is the first
thing radio program directors expect from any
published material.
You won't even believe how much better your mp3
sounds on the web.
CALL for an Appointment and Get a Free
Consultation and a Mastering Sample
@
(212) 727.1397
in New York City
or use our Toll free CallWave number at
1-877-CALL-WAVE enter 212-727-1397
 
|
We
also do quality cd
manufacturing and cd-r
short runs at competitive prices.
or Call
us for a quote at 775-373-9475.
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of Contents
What's
Your Mastering Equipment?
If
it's good enough for Bob
Ludwig from Gateway, then it's good enough
for us.
All audio is digitized on ProTools
HD or 24 Mix TDM System
with DSP by:
Focusrite,
Lexicon,
TC Works and
Waves mastering tools.
Superb A/D converters by:
Apogee,
SONY
DMX -R100 A/D/DA
Other Conversions by:
MasterLink
ML9600,
Tascam DA-45HR 24 bit,
Panasonic 20 bit,
Marantz CDR610 MKII,
Sony DAT machines,
Playwrite CD recorders.
Your music is handled with care.
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CALL
FOR AN APPOINTMENT @ 212.727.1397
or
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