Mastering Question and Answers

Q. What is mastering?
A. Mastering can be simply transferring a cassette tape to a digital format. But mastering for a project is much more complex and expensive (average price is $150 per hour). Mastering is a very specialized field that should only be handled by professionals that focus on that service. The process includes finalizing eq settings, spatialization, compression, id tags, PQ codes, spacing and most importantly creating a consistency so your project sounds like a complete piece of work.

CAUTION: Be careful, many people say they do "mastering" and have no concept of the complexity involved. Mastering is not buying an “all-in-one box” or using a piece of software on your computer. Mastering involves very expensive mastering equalizers, compressors, digital limiters, converters, etc. It is a lifetime study and art form in itself.

Q. Is mastering really necessary?
A. Demos and tapes can get by without mastering, but we will not release or distribute a compact disc under our name that has not been properly mastered. Mastering greatly increases airplay quality.

Q. What format do you want my mixes on?
A. We can accept your mixes on a variety of formats. They include, CDR, DAT, ADAT, DA-88 (DA-38), data discs (SDII files, wave files, and aiff files). We can also accept ½” and ¼” analog. These analog tapes may have an additional charge. Please contact us, via the form to the right, or by email if you have a format you are unsure of.

Q. I want to master my recording, so how should I prepare it to send to you?

Test your master .  Make sure your master plays in several players. You want to make sure what you are sending us to work on is the best it can be.

Handle with care.   Scratches and fingerprints damage your disc.  Although it may still play in your drive, there can be errors that are not correctable by us.  Always pick up your discs by the edges, and use Jewel cases rather than paper or plastic sleeves.

Always use the best possible media.   It does not pay to save a few cents on cheaper media.  As of this writing, we see the fewest problems on discs from Mitsui and Taiyo Yuden.  We see the most problems with blue dye.  However different media may work best in different burners. Make sure if you are sending dat tape use a quality brand, and never use a dat tape over 90 minutes.

Use CD-R, not CD-RW media .  CD-rewritable media generally has a higher error rate than write once media.  Also, use your CD-R only once – do not write additional sessions to the disc.

Never send your only copy .  Always keep a safety.  Discs may be damaged in transit. We also like to have the original, first generation media. There is a common misconception that a digital copy is an exact ‘clone’. Often, this is not the case which is why we prefer the original copy if possible.