DIY Mastering

Mr Fletch

Mr Fletch

aka KRONIX
VIP Junglist
Joined
Aug 6, 2009
Location
Essex, England
So, to cut a long story short, Fat Kid On Fire has messaged me, wanting to represent some of my dubstep work. For those of you who don't know, FKOF is a pretty huge deal in the world of deep dubstep. Anyway, they want some exclusive tracks from me, but want me to get them mastered before sending. Here's the problem........I'm really skint at the minute....like REALLY skint! I've just had to pay out £3,000 for a new boiler, I got my car insurance coming out next month and the tax for the motor too!

So, I normally do a home master on my tracks anyway if they aren't getting sent off somewhere, but I feel kinda nervous for this, as this is a really big deal, and I don't think I have the solid capabilities to do a pro sounding master. Can any of you point me in some kind of direction? whether it be some mastering pro tips, or someone from a studio that'll do a freebie? or discount or anything really?
 
dont do it yourself mate, i'm sure you know that already anyways, apart from requiring a decent amount of experience in mastering to do a good job, the whole point is to use a diffrent set of ears

as for the label wanting you to get them mastered - tbh thats a bit odd, and rings an alarm bell to me, find out what they are doing in terms of promotion, ie are they using a recognised distribution company? what exactly are they going to do to earn their % of the income from your track? are they offering you net or gross percentage? I know nothing about Fat Kid on Fire, but if they are that big, why dont they have their own mastering contracts set up? just because a label is big, doesnt mean they arnt out to look out for their own interests over yours

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a quick scan around google, and it seems they mostly do free releases? well if that is what you are after, then fair enough - there are plenty of mastering studios about, expect to pay £20-30 per track (standard digital mastering - analog studios can charge allot more), depending on the number you want. our mastering studio is down for the next 6 weeks, so i cant help ya there unless u arnt in a rush - if u aint in a rush, hit me up, i'l sort ya out a good deal :) (ours is analog btw, but we'l sort ya out ;) )
 
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Hey John.

Yeah basically Fat Kid On Fire are more of a promotional entity. They do have a label too, but the main part of FKOF is promotion. It's quite an elitist thing within the dubstep community. If you manage to get a track on their promotion then pretty much anyone who's anyone within deep dubstep will hear your stuff. A lot of big names in the game got signed and became who they are because of this place, so it's a pretty big deal for me. If I were to be signed by them then that's a different matter entirely, and I wouldn't be mastering anything.

And yeah, hit me up in a PM with ya mates rates lol
 
Im sure Paul Ashmore can help you out. the dude from audio animals. seems like a good chap! good luck anyways Fletch
 
Koven. is doing some digital mastering for 10 pounds atm to build a portfolio, you may wanna hit him up. Koven.s FB

as for diy, some others can help you out a lot more
 
I think the best plan is mix it as damn fine as you can and apply some limiting that will not stifle the mix/transients too much. If you are attempting it on the same speakers you mixed on you could compound problems if not identified. If you are largely happy with your mix then it should not need too much doing to it.

Without being too forward you can get top end mastering for less than £30.00 You can check my creds here:

http://www.masteringmastering.co.uk/masteringengineer.html

FWIW it seems pointless sending it to someone with less skill, experience and no better equipped than yourself. Then there is a case for DIY self finalizing, no doubt.

All the best with it.

cheers

SafeandSound Mastering
best mastering
 
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Paul at audio animals..... ^^^^^^^^ dont compremise your track by doing it yourself......£25 quid mate, sure'lly someone would lend you that...Be the best ££ you ever spent.
 
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