Quality Mastering On the Cheap - AskASoundGuy.com

[owlbeat]

Hello all -

My buddy Sanjay and I started an all digital mastering service awhile back and things have slowly been picking up. We're always looking for some new clients/projects, so if you're ever looking for some solid mastering, be sure to check us out.

Rates are:
$10/track for 0-5 minute
$20/track for 5-10 minute

Like most other mastering services, we're looking for any kind of music, dubstep or not.

http://askasoundguy.com/home/get-master ... -soundguy/

If anyone has any questions about gear, software, want to hear samples of our past work or what have you, please feel free to contact me in a few different ways:

1. PM me on Dubstepforum.com
2. AIM me = xHOUSEBOATx
3. Email = ben.versluis@gmail.com

Thanks and hello to all other recording, mixing, and mastering engineers on Dubstepforum! :]

Samples:

This sample is from our most recent client, a singer/songwriter from the UK. I uploaded the tracks in 44.1/16-bit .wav:

Unmastered sample: http://www.mediafire.com/file/zmvmzyijk ... stered.wav
My master: http://www.mediafire.com/file/nzyntk0yj ... man_A1.wav
Sanjay's master: http://www.mediafire.com/file/wdjjzh0ym ... man_B1.wav

I did several different versions of each track, some with more aggressive limiting and some with more subtle. I just uploaded the one that the client liked.

[FSTZ1]

can you please post a kitlist

people want to know what they are getting into

[step correct]

Clever name!

[owlbeat]

can you please post a kitlist

people want to know what they are getting into

Kitlist? As in what our gear setups are?

Edit: To avoid a bunch of back-and-forth, I'm just assuming kitlist = gear. So here's what I use:

MacBook with Pro Tools 8 LE and Ableton Live 7
Digidesign Mbox 2 interface
Two sets of monitors: Genelec 8020A and M-Audio Audiophile
Headphones: AKG K99
Plugins: IK Multimedia T-RackS Mastering Suite

Sanjay's got a similar setup. He uses two sets of monitors as well (KRK and something else). He also uses PT8 and Logic 9 on a MacBook and uses the Sonalksis plugin suite.

All tracks are listened to on computer speakers, headphones, monitors, and we also burn every track onto a CD for listening to in our cars.

[lowpass]

Those are some very cheap rates, 6-7 quid a track?

I thought mastering rates were cheap enough with some other guys round here, I'd be pissed if I was mastering for cheap trying to earn money to eat and then found that I was being majorly undercut this way.

-How long have you been charging these rates for business?
-How long have you been into engineering/mastering etc?
-Kit list would be cool, whats the room set up like?

Sorry If I seem rude but yeah

[FSTZ1]

can you please post a kitlist

people want to know what they are getting into

Kitlist? As in what our gear setups are?

yes

[owlbeat]

can you please post a kitlist

people want to know what they are getting into

Kitlist? As in what our gear setups are?

yes

I responded. Check above.

[steveydubz]

yo sent you a message via the website

[yellowhighlighter]

Those are some very cheap rates, 6-7 quid a track?

I thought mastering rates were cheap enough with some other guys round here, I'd be pissed if I was mastering for cheap trying to earn money to eat and then found that I was being majorly undercut this way.

-How long have you been charging these rates for business?
-How long have you been into engineering/mastering etc?
-Kit list would be cool, whats the room set up like?

Sorry If I seem rude but yeah

this isn't communist russia.

[owlbeat]

Those are some very cheap rates, 6-7 quid a track?

I thought mastering rates were cheap enough with some other guys round here, I'd be pissed if I was mastering for cheap trying to earn money to eat and then found that I was being majorly undercut this way.

-How long have you been charging these rates for business?
-How long have you been into engineering/mastering etc?
-Kit list would be cool, whats the room set up like?

Sorry If I seem rude but yeah

Yeah, I understand what you're saying. We've been doing the mastering service for around 6 months (however, we both hold four year degress in audio so have been mixing and mastering for longer than 6 months). We're personally not trying to undercut the "competition," rather we're just trying to build a client base. We charge that amount because 1) we haven't been doing this for 15 years like others have, and 2) we're looking more at the bedroom producers, people who want to get their stuff mastered but don't have the cash for the bigger studios.

We both went to college for audio/sound and we're in the same boat as most other engineers. We've got student loans, rent to pay, etc. Not trying to make it a sob story, but we're in the same boat as most other freelancers. Trying to hustle and get some experience and work.

Obviously you have choices. Shop around. If you don't feel comfortable having us master your stuff, then there's a lot of great studios/mastering houses around that would probably do a great job.

As for our rooms...

Both of our rooms (Sanjays in California, I'm in Illinois) are treated the best you can treat an apartment bedroom: some acoustical foam, a couple bass traps. Again, this is part of the reason we don't charge a lot. We don't have the gear nor the amazing rooms that some studios have.

[dav.id]

it sounds pretty good all this info and the prices, but maybe I'm stupid but I can't find any samples on the site, from tracks that you guys already have masterd.
so I can hear the difference between original and masterd....

?

[lowpass]

Okay cool, I understand you're trying to build a client base and everything. But there's got to be better ways of doing it than charging less than everyone else, (other ME's aiming at the same market of bedroom producers), I know quite a few guys have been doing 1 freebie track, or doing the track and then doing an A/B so the client can tell the difference.

I'm just a little pissed because this happens in other areas of engineering where people want to get the work / experience so they charge stupid rates or do it for free. Bands/Pubs take advantage of this because they don't want to pay for something they can get for free and it leaves other people out of work.

-Were you doing audio before sound school?
-How many years total have you been mixing/mastering?
-What did you do before mastering? or was it straight from sound school?

also kudos on the car test, if a track passes that then all is good

[jjbutler88]

Do you have any A/B comparisons of tunes before and after you master them? Probably the last hoop you would have to jump through before people start getting on this awesome price

[dav.id]

Do you have any A/B comparisons of tunes before and after you master them? Probably the last hoop you would have to jump through before people start getting on this awesome price

this

[yellowhighlighter]

Okay cool, I understand you're trying to build a client base and everything. But there's got to be better ways of doing it than charging less than everyone else, (other ME's aiming at the same market of bedroom producers), I know quite a few guys have been doing 1 freebie track, or doing the track and then doing an A/B so the client can tell the difference.

I'm just a little pissed because this happens in other areas of engineering where people want to get the work / experience so they charge stupid rates or do it for free. Bands/Pubs take advantage of this because they don't want to pay for something they can get for free and it leaves other people out of work.

-Were you doing audio before sound school?
-How many years total have you been mixing/mastering?
-We have a kitlist but what's the room set-up like?

also kudos on the car test, if a track passes that then all is good

OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM READING THIS.

similar story. this dude was undercutting me selling cheap soapbar hash. he was hitting up the local schools and i was losing around 150 a week which was not on. so i ratted the motherfucker out to the po-po.

[hurlingdervish]

I'm just a little pissed because this happens in other areas of engineering where people want to get the work / experience so they charge stupid rates or do it for free. Bands/Pubs take advantage of this because they don't want to pay for something they can get for free and it leaves other people out of work.

chill man people can charge and pay whatever they want. If they want better mastering they'll find better mastering and probably pay more.

[owlbeat]

-Were you doing audio before sound school?
-How many years total have you been mixing/mastering?
-What did you do before mastering? or was it straight from sound school?

I understand what you're saying, totally. It's a really tough field to get into.

I was in hardcore punk bands before school, recording and running sound for DIY shows I did. I've been running sound since I was 16 (24 in a few days here), so I was doing audio for some time before college.

Sanjay actually has two Bachelor's: one in Linguistics and one in Audio. The Linguistics program he did relied heavily on computer audio, so he got into recording that way. He did a lot of bedroom guitar/drum work and decided he wanted to learn more.

I personally have been mixing, recording, and mastering for five years at this point.

I was studying to become a Computer Network guy (CCNA, A+ certs, etc) and hated it so much. I've always liked playing music and I decided instead of going to school for proper music, I'd rather go to school and learn all the behind-the-scenes stuff since I had been doing it anyway.

I did a few internships while in college for sound: one at a live sound company in Northern California and the other at a post-production studio that focused heavily on video-game sound. Other than that, my school had a ton of world class studios, so I was recording, mixing, and mastering non-stop for the duration of my program.

Sanjay and I started the site, Askasoundguy.com, because we needed something to supplement our hilariously low incomes. We're going to AES this fall in NYC to promote the site and interview people.

[lowpass]

Okay Cool I thought for a second you guys had just picked up an m-box and decided you were gonna make it as ME's,

Good luck to you, there's plenty of good tracks on this forum and I'm sure some people will be jumping at the chance to get their tracks mastered at that price.

Sorry for coming off as a total prick, I'm not trying to attack you guys or your business (hell I aint even heard what you guys can do) so I'll wait till some people send some business you're way and I hear from them,

best of luck,

peace

[owlbeat]

Samples are up, check the top!

[Littlefoot]

I was in hardcore punk bands before school, recording and running sound for DIY shows I did. I've been running sound since I was 16 (24 in a few days here), so I was doing audio for some time before college.

Where did you do shows?

also: Do you do ALL your processing in T Racks?