Do I need mastering?
Yes. In a perfect world one would make a perfect record which is directly ready
for reproduction. Unfortunately reality is a lot harder. In fact every record
or song you listen to has passed the mastering stage. Without mastering, who's
going to guaranty you that your songs will be "loud" enough, sound
just right (not too bright, not too dark) and makes sure the premaster CD is
ready for reproduction?
Can't I do it myself?
Of course you can. But only smart friends or your record company will stop you!
It defeats the whole purpose of a fresh pair of objective ears listening to
your music in a neutral and controlled environment with proper gear and
knowledge.
Mastering music in the same studio it was recorded, by the same people,
isn't a smart idea either. There's far more to it then just slamming a TC
Finalizer on the stereo channel. The monitoring and equipment might sound great
for mixing, but that doesn't mean it's suitable for mastering. If there's a dip
at a certain frequency you'll never notice it until you listen to it in a
proper environment. During mixing you should concentrate on the best possible
sounding record.
Mastering is the final step before production. You want to be sure
someone with an objective and professional view takes a look at the project.
Someone who makes sure it sounds as good as possible on all playback systems.
Why is it so expensive?
Have you looked at our rates? We want to offer a fair alternative between DIY
mastering and the expensive studio's. Simple because DIY is not the way to go
and many artists do not have the money to go to one of the big mastering
studios.
Normally mastering is expensive because most studio's have invested more
money in their equipment and rooms, than the majority of the people will earn
in 10 years. We've selected and modified our gear and room to meet the
mastering standards, yet are able to keep the costs lower. Although at our
price range many mastering studio's have less then adequate listening
facilities and only use plugins, we take pride in our work and want to offer
you great value for money.
I want it loud!
There is a virtual loudness war going on right now.
Loudness always compromises dynamics, without dynamics your song is
going to sound flat and lifeless. It may be loud and impressive for half a
minute, but can cause fatigue after a few minutes.
We are very capable of producing both loud and yet punchy songs. Using
plugins to achieve loudness can sound harsh, that's why we use lots of analog
gear to get there.
Radio ready?
Somehow many people believe a song has to be hard compressed/limited in order
to be Radio ready (=loud on radio?). Exactly the opposite is true, why else do
old 60's and 70's recording sound as good on the radio as modern songs?
Modern radio uses lots of compression on their broadcast. If music is
already squashed before airplay, it will be even more squashed after! For more
detailed information, check this great article by Bob Orban.
Can I upload tracks on your website?
We want to offer this in the future, but right now it is not possible. But
there are great online services that can help, like www.yousendit.com. And you
can always send a data CD or DVD with the tracks.
We can put the final product online for you on our website, so you can download and evaluate
the finished products.
What are the requirements for the tracks
- please don't use compressors/limiters/eq's/exciters/normalizers on
the whole mix to make the it louder.
Solve it in the mix or leave it to us
- audio files should be at least 16 bit 44.1 kHz (we prefer higher quality)
- file type should be WAV or AIFF file types without data compression
- do not upsample or downsample your audio
- please don't use dither.
- maximum peak at -2dBFS
- don't do any fade in/outs, but tell us how you want it
- leave at least 2 sec of silence in front and at the end of the track
- provide us with a clearly typed overview of all necessary data
(artist, album title, song titles, ISRC codes, etc)
- mark your CD/DVD with at least your name/album and email address
- burn your CD/DVD as data disc and make sure it's suitable for Windows PC's
- burn your CD/DVD at the slowest speed possible on the best media you can
afford
- make sure you have a backup copy for your own use
What's so special about your custom tube processing?
Well… not much, except that it sounds like nothing else. It involves over a
dozen (!) pieces of equipment with a broad variety of vintage tubes and audio
transformers. Some of them have been modified, others where completely designed
and custom build for Tubefreak Mastering.
Through this processing we can really add character to your music in a
very precise, controlled and unique way. There are many pieces of equipment
that mimic this type of sound and some even sound pretty nice. But very few of
them offer the precise, controlled and real tube character as this setup.