Mixing And Mastering - Choosing A Mastering Studio Options

[Saoirse O'Shea]

If you do decide to master your own material you should be aware of the quality and technical standards for your release format. You should try to be as objective as you can about your work and if at all possible critically listen to it on a mastering monitoring chain in a suitably acoustic treated studio. You should also be as familiar as possible with music production and editing and be able to use your daw and hardware and software wthout relying on presets.

Very few people however are sufficiently objective enough to master their own music and so it is rarely a good idea to do this if this if you intend to release your music commercially.
If you decide that you don't want to master your own work there are a lot of people and studios who offer mastering so how can you chose between them?

Different types of mastering studios/engineers
It doesn't take long looking on the Internet to realise that there are literally hudreds, if not thousands of people and studios who offer audio mastering. These include:

The amateur home or 'bedroom' masterer. This is the self-taught person who often works from home, relies on software and who makes considerable use of pre-sets. Their room/studio often lacks sufficient acoustic treatment and little of their software will be specifically for mastering. Very few have an understanding of the quality and/or technical requirements for each format. Sessions are unattended. Some will do this work for free but most will charge a low rate which (should) reflects their use of presets along with their very limited experience and skill levels.

pros - usually inexpensive and may be free.
cons- you get what you pay for.

The professional mixing engineer/studio. Many mixing engineers/studios nowadays offer a basic mastering service usually to give their clients an idea of what their music would sound like if it was mastered. Here the engineer who mixed your work also masters it often at the same time, in the same studio and on the same equipment. The engineer has at least some understanding of the quality and technical issues for the required format and a good understaind of their studio and equipment. Nonetheless the engineer, studio and the equipment are rarely specialised for mastering. Sessions are usually attended. Fees varely widely.

pros- can be quick and easy as the mastering is often done alongside the mixing. Fewer engineers for the producer to deal with. Can be cheaper than professional mastering but rates vary.
cons - tends to lack objectivity about the mix and often does not reach the sonic quality of a professional master.

The professional mastering engineer/studio Here the engineer, studio and equipment are specialised for, and often only provide, mastering. The engineer has a good understanding of all aspects of mastering and the requirements of the different formats. Sessions can be either attended or unattended. Fees vary.

pros - Objective about the mix. Specialised, high end service.
cons - another engineer/studio to work with. Not as immediate as the service fom a mix engineer. May not be the cheapest solution.

How to chose an engineer/studio
As there are literally hundreds of people on the Internet how do you chose between them then? Here are a few things to consider.

Only you can decide what you can afford and what you want from the service. A high price may not always provide a good result and sometimes a free/low cost solution might meet your needs. Think carefully about what you need and what you can afford.

Ask the engineer questions about the service they provide and if you have any technical queries ask them. A good service will answer your questions and will often provide explanations about what they do, how and why. Mastering requires communication between the cllient and the engineer and if the engineer can't /won't answer your questions from the start you may well not get the results you want.

Does the studio have photos of their equipment? If they haven't then it may well be because they rely totally on software and work form home. Do be careful with photos as some internet sites use stock, generic photos and some use photos stolen from other sites. Most professional studios now watermark their photos because of this.

Some people use photos taken whilst the engineer was in a different studio. The classic photo is of a mix engineer sitting at someone else's console in someone else's studio. One way to avoid this is to see the studio in person. Professional engineers are usually happy for people to arrange to visit their studio but don't try to pop in uninvited. Most professional engineers are also happy for you to attend your session. If your engineer will not let you make an appointment to visit or attend sessions you may need to ask them why.

Is the equipment and studio suitable for mastering? Professional mastering is specialised work and requires specialist equipment. Recording and mixing hardware and software is not specialised mastering equipment nd is often not able to operate at a high enough quality. Ask the engineer what equipment they use and why it is suitable for mastreing.

What experience has the engineer got? Many are accreditted members of the professional Audio Engineering Society (AES) and you can check their registration with the AES.
Accreditation helps demonstrate that they have the appropriate skills, knowledge and experience. Any mastering engineer should be able to answer technical questions so don't be afraid to ask! The engineer may also provide a list of clients and projects that they have worked with/on and any awards that they may have been nominated for or won. Lists ishould clearly identify what the project was for - mastering, remastering, compilation, post and so on. Some sites include famous guest musicians used on a track as clients.

Can you hear their work? Many web sites include 'before' and 'after' samples of audio. Very few of these samples are level macthed - the 'master' is louder and so sounds subjectively better. Very few professional mastering engineers provide samples like this for many reasons including copyright, the need to level match the samples, the breach of client confidentiality by posting the 'warts and all before' sample, the reduction in audio quality when audio is streamed. What a professional engineer will do is suggest examples of their work for you to listen to or offer a demo.

Will they provide a demo? Some sites will master a track, or an edited track for free or for a nominal fee. This can be helpful if your demo is really representative of your project. Furthermore a demo may not represent the final proposed master as that is often dependent on issues such as fades, track order, flow and coherence. Many studios instead allow you a specific number of free 'amendments'. If you are not happy with the first provisional master you can ask for an amendment. This can be more helpful then a demo as it is based on the full project rather than one track.

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