Mixing/mastering services

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mashers
Posts: 435
Joined: 05 Nov 2018

09 Dec 2018

Hi all,

Hope it's ok to post this here. I'm looking for a recommendation.

I'll be honest, I'm a philistine when it comes to production. I'm a classically trained musician who loves synthesisers and orchestras, and am also a singer/songwriter. I understand some of the basic principles of production, but have neither the ear nor the instinct, let alone the patience, to really get the best out of my songs. So when I've finished writing and recording my album, I'm considering using a mixing/mastering service. I realise that production starts before you even start laying down a track, and I'm doing my best, but I don't have the ability to properly "produce" a track from the outset. So, I'm doing my best during the composition and recording stage, and need someone to polish it all up and get things as loud as possible.

So, does anyone know of a reputable service which could do this for me at a price that won't break the bank? I have found several services just by googling for mixing/mastering services, but to be honest all of their before/after samples sounded the same to me. And I don't want to pay money for someone just to put it through a multi-band compressor and normalise it...

Thanks in advance!

RobC
Posts: 1833
Joined: 10 Mar 2018

09 Dec 2018

On here, Selig mixes, Normen masters.

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minilog
Posts: 193
Joined: 07 Aug 2018
Location: California

09 Dec 2018

Not sure if you were cracking a joke but multiband compression should be more of a problem solver than standard practice and nobody should be normalizing in the final process. Mastering is about tonal balance with emphasis on EQ more than anything before compression, coloration, limiting, etc. But yeah the A/B shouldn't sound the same. Something you can do while you're searching for your engineer is to find some reference tracks that you more or less want to sound like as this will help both of you reach the final destination.

mashers
Posts: 435
Joined: 05 Nov 2018

09 Dec 2018

RobC wrote:
09 Dec 2018
On here, Selig mixes, Normen masters.
Thank you! I'll get in touch :)
minilog wrote:
09 Dec 2018
Not sure if you were cracking a joke but multiband compression should be more of a problem solver than standard practice and nobody should be normalizing in the final process.
Well, that was the point I was trying to make - I don't want to pay for a service which is ostensibly mastering, but just compress the hell out of it then normalise.
minilog wrote:
09 Dec 2018
Something you can do while you're searching for your engineer is to find some reference tracks that you more or less want to sound like as this will help both of you reach the final destination.
That's a great suggestion. I'm leaning towards a John Grant/Radiohead kind of sound at the moment, so picking out some tracks which have a similar feel and sound is a great starting point.

djs
Posts: 98
Joined: 29 Jan 2018

16 Dec 2018

I read an article on LANDR today that supposely uses AI to master songs. Im not too familiar with how it works, but just want to throw it out there.

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Zac
Posts: 1784
Joined: 19 May 2016
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16 Dec 2018

djs wrote:
16 Dec 2018
I read an article on LANDR today that supposely uses AI to master songs. Im not too familiar with how it works, but just want to throw it out there.
I've tried LANDR a few times and found the results to be ok but a bit bland. I certainly wouldn't pay to use it.

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minilog
Posts: 193
Joined: 07 Aug 2018
Location: California

16 Dec 2018

djs wrote:
16 Dec 2018
I read an article on LANDR today that supposely uses AI to master songs. Im not too familiar with how it works, but just want to throw it out there.
AI is a bit of a stretch but I'll give Landr credit for helping people who don't know anything about mastering.

RobC
Posts: 1833
Joined: 10 Mar 2018

16 Dec 2018

minilog wrote:
16 Dec 2018
djs wrote:
16 Dec 2018
I read an article on LANDR today that supposely uses AI to master songs. Im not too familiar with how it works, but just want to throw it out there.
AI is a bit of a stretch but I'll give Landr credit for helping people who don't know anything about mastering.
If all it does, is ensuring ~ 1 dB headroom, filter the sound between 20-15000 Hz, centers frequencies below 80 Hz, then an automatic mastering tool may be harmless.

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minilog
Posts: 193
Joined: 07 Aug 2018
Location: California

16 Dec 2018

RobC wrote:
16 Dec 2018
...an automatic mastering tool may be harmless.
If by harmless you mean bland then sure. It looks like Cloudbounce gives the user more EQ Control but still bland.



I went down the Plugin Alliance rabbit hole this year and there's no turning back for me. Black Box HG-2 is on sale for the next nine hours. Great device.

prophecy
Posts: 57
Joined: 18 Oct 2018
Location: Liverpool

17 Dec 2018

I've never used their services, but I like the videos of Dr Mix on YouTube. There's also a guy on YouTube called Owen Palmer who seems to offer some services, although I am not sure how you would ask.

I feel like I'm in the same boat, as I know diddly about mixing/mastering. I'd love to hear your experiences with whatever service you choose, even if you just want to share anonymous feedback and not name the service.

Would the mixing/mastering people need to use Reason as well, or is there a common format that can be exported and worked on in other DAWs?
Reason 10 Lite | Surface Pro 3 i5 | Akai MPK Mini II | Yamaha Clavinova CVP5 | Fingers | Ears |

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jam-s
Posts: 3036
Joined: 17 Apr 2015
Location: Aachen, Germany
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17 Dec 2018

The common format is usually stereo/mono wav files (24 bit) for all individual stems (=mix channels) and separate FX stems.
Reason has a nice option to export those easily.

RobC
Posts: 1833
Joined: 10 Mar 2018

17 Dec 2018

minilog wrote:
16 Dec 2018
RobC wrote:
16 Dec 2018
...an automatic mastering tool may be harmless.
If by harmless you mean bland then sure. It looks like Cloudbounce gives the user more EQ Control but still bland.



I went down the Plugin Alliance rabbit hole this year and there's no turning back for me. Black Box HG-2 is on sale for the next nine hours. Great device.
I said: "If all it does, is ensuring ~ 1 dB headroom, filter the sound between 20-15000 Hz, centers frequencies below 80 Hz, then an automatic mastering tool may be harmless."

The things I said, avoid DA conversion clipping when it comes to inter-sample peaks, remove infra and ultra frequencies, and the differences between channels below the frequency range where the human hearing normally can't localize sound. That's about all, one can safely do automatically.

prophecy
Posts: 57
Joined: 18 Oct 2018
Location: Liverpool

18 Dec 2018

jam-s wrote:
17 Dec 2018
The common format is usually stereo/mono wav files (24 bit) for all individual stems (=mix channels) and separate FX stems.
Reason has a nice option to export those easily.
Thanks. I'm learning every day.
Reason 10 Lite | Surface Pro 3 i5 | Akai MPK Mini II | Yamaha Clavinova CVP5 | Fingers | Ears |

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