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Old 04-20-2021, 12:47 PM
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Default Online mixing/mastering services?

Have any of you ever used one of these services where you provide the files and they mix or master it for a fee? Just wondering how it works and if there is any real benefit? I assume having someone with a real ear for it could be invaluable.
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Old 04-20-2021, 02:22 PM
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Have any of you ever used one of these services where you provide the files and they mix or master it for a fee? Just wondering how it works and if there is any real benefit? I assume having someone with a real ear for it could be invaluable.
Someone I did an album for sent the tracks off to be mastered by someone that was recommended to them. They asked me to leave the final mixes 3 db short of zero for that reason. I had told them if they wanted it mastered that they should definitely have someone other than me do that.

I believe the charge was $50 per track, but to be perfectly honest I don't think it sounded any better at least as far as I could tell.
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Old 04-20-2021, 02:58 PM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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There's a wide range of quality for online mastering unless you're talking specifically about the automated services. I'm not interested at all in having an algorithm making decisions about my music. I did use Abbey Road's online mastering service and chose Geoff Pesche to do the master. I was very happy with the result from that.
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Old 04-20-2021, 05:48 PM
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Yes, I've worked this approach for a bunch of years now. I can recommend Matty Harris who operates "Mix and Master My Song". Matty has done my last two CD projects and all the tunes in my current project.

www.mixandmastermysong.com

Matty is super responsive, a Berklee College of music engineer, full studio in California with some very nice equipment and trained ear for these projects, both large and small. I really love working with him! He's worked with Kelly Clarkson and other "name" celebrities, but mostly enjoys the independent artist.
While my stuff(solo instrumentals) is quite simple for him, he never hesitates to swing an email back......and turnaround is just a few days. As nearly all my tunes are originals, I decided years ago that I wanted them as good as they could be given my limitations on recording. If I were doing covers I might feel different and mix on my own, but I know my originals will be given the best treatment. Just how my thinking goes on this.
Is there a difference? Yes! "Fuller", "deeper" more "present" to my ears with both his mix and mastering services.
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Last edited by islandguitar; 04-20-2021 at 08:59 PM.
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Old 04-20-2021, 07:28 PM
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So, if you had an album of say 12 songs, you'd be looking at around $3,000?
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Old 04-20-2021, 09:39 PM
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So, if you had an album of say 12 songs, you'd be looking at around $3,000?
12 songs times $50 = $600. Where did you come up with $3000?
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Old 04-20-2021, 09:41 PM
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12 songs times $50 = $600. Where did you come up with $3000?
I was using the mixandmastermysong.com rates.
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Old 04-20-2021, 10:10 PM
jim1960 jim1960 is offline
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12 songs times $50 = $600. Where did you come up with $3000?
$50 is just mastering. The OP asked about mixing and mastering.
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2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
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2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce
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along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

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Old 04-20-2021, 10:41 PM
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I think it depends on the service. If it's upload and some automatic algorithm is fired off, I'd pass. You can do that yourself, there are auto-mastering plugins. If it's just a mastering house that lets you submit your files to them electronically and a mastering engineer listens and actually works on it - well, everyone does it over the internet now. You pick a mastering engineer ideally because you know they are familiar with the genre and type of sound you want. Then you send them files, dropbox, wetransfer, whatever, and they send them back. Some may have an upload box on the website, whatever way they choose to get the files. So the question is just is it "real" or is it some algorithm?.

A good mastering engineer can make a difference, even if it's just having a second set of ears. Sometimes the difference is subtle - for my solo guitar stuff, it's usually a fine line - I hope what I send in is pretty closed to finished to start with. My son just had a tune mastered by "Chris Graham Mastering", and it seemed to be a useful process, as he got a free dry run along with advice on improving the mix before resubmitting and getting the final master. This was a more punk-rock-emo-something sort of thing, but I was impressed by both his feedback, which was right on about the changes needed in the mix from my perspective, and also in how the final master really improved the clarity and brought out more detail in what was basically a wall of distorted guitars pre-mastering. So both the second set of ears+advice and whatever he actually did during the mastering was pretty effective, at least for that genre.
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Old 04-21-2021, 06:57 AM
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$50 is just mastering. The OP asked about mixing and mastering.
The OP asked about mixing OR mastering.

I try to actually read and understand what is being requested but I do miss the mark occasionally.

I would think it would be a much rarer request to have a mastering service "mix" a song. Any project I've been involved in (doing a recording) or playing in a studio setting involved input from the performer to refine what THEY wanted in a mix. Call me ill-informed but I don't see how that could be done remotely in a cost effective manner.

Last edited by Rudy4; 04-21-2021 at 07:08 AM.
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Old 04-21-2021, 07:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rudy4 View Post
The OP asked about mixing OR mastering.
I thought the OP phrased it that way to distinguish between, but not necessarily exclude, services that might only offer one or the other.
To my thinking, he asked about mixing and he asked about mastering, so he asked about mixing AND mastering but I can see how it could be taken the other way.
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2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi
2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood
2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar
2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce
2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce
1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce

along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos.

YouTube
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Old 04-21-2021, 08:16 AM
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I was using the mixandmastermysong.com rates.
Matty charges me $50 per track for mix/master. I've been with him for a while and I think that rate reflects that. Might be closer to $75 now. I'm a solo single guitar-instrumental....don't know what it would be for a full band, or various instruments and tracks....obviously could be much higher.
His upload section has a place for notes you can make about your preferences, and once he sends the track back there's room for refining things to your liking which I've only done once where I wanted a longer fade on the end of the track.
My impression is that he's happy to work with his client to get it right.
His web site also has a variety of videos on different recording subjects and how he approaches his work, which are interesting.
He's one of many......just passing through my experience, which started with a "chat message" and ended in a nice 20 minute phone call.
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Old 04-21-2021, 12:04 PM
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Thanks everyone and I apologize for any confusion about my question. I do realize that mixing and mastering are two separate processes. I guess my question was MOSTLY about mastering, but with the caveat that the person/organization I hire might also make recommendations for changing the mix based on what they are hearing? Most offer one or two changes as part of their fee. I was thinking something more like "You know, I really can't make that guitar sit in the mix right, so you may want to rerecord that section."
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Old 04-21-2021, 05:46 PM
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I'm a professional engineer and producer. I co-produced and mixed I Know What Love Is, the charity single Taylor Guitars put together with Zac Brown, Jason, Mraz, KT Tunstall and more than 50 artists from around the world.
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Old 04-21-2021, 06:46 PM
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I'm a professional engineer and producer. I co-produced and mixed I Know What Love Is, the charity single Taylor Guitars put together with Zac Brown, Jason, Mraz, KT Tunstall and more than 50 artists from around the world.
That's great. Comments pertinent to this thread?
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