Mastering by Fanu

fanu

fanu

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 22, 2011
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When you need pro-level mixing and mastering, get in touch: fanusamurai@gmail.com
• Rates: fanumusic.com/mastering/
• Reviews: see 120+ reviews: https://www.facebook.com/fanumastering/reviews/

I claim expertise in and mostly work with "beats music" (hip hop, bass music, electronic as in house, techno, etc.), having made those styles since 1992, earning international acclaim for the work. I can guarantee satisfaction or you'll get a full refund. In the past 4 years, I've probably mastered around two thousand (2,000) songs and had approx. 5 non-happy clients.
I work with Genelec 8350 (room-calibrated) and Audeze LCD-X in the comfort of my own home, which is also my studio, as music is a 24/7 lifestyle for me. I run a business in Finland (EU). In my work, I only use audio signal processing tools of the highest degree (UAD, Slate Digital, Melda, Izotope, etc.)


PRICING/INFO
▪️MASTERING: €47 / song (normal turnaround 3–7 days – contact for rush rate)
▪️STEM MASTERING Mastering from up to 8 tracks of the song. €90 / song
▪️MIXING+MASTERING from individual tracks €100 and up – contact for a quote
▪️mix + master + video: The song is mixed and mastered from tracks/stems, and an explanatory video documenting the process is made. Email for a quote.
▪️general audio engineering / consultation / audio restoration: email for a quote.
▪️mix/master critique (with no mixing/mastering): €50
▪️constructive criticism on a song: €50

Batch discounts for albums.
[VAT is added for EU customers]

(Just as any legal business, I am required by law to add VAT to the prices if 1) you are a client in the EU and 2) are not VAT-registered)
 
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I am extremely happy and proud to say Universal Audio are now supporting my company.
This means all engineering (mixing and mastering) done by yours truly will be using the whole range of all available UAD plugins.
This means even more analog sweetness in the chain. I have been a fan of UAD for a good while, so I am beyond stoked about this.

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Also, Sonarworks hooked me up with their room calibration system and headphone correction plugin...things are getting even better.
It's fairly busy here TBH! Waiting time usually 4-5 days.
Current pricing: http://fanumusic.com/mastering/


 
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This is an excerpt from a paper for TC Electronics relating to loudness, perception of transients, etc (at http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/2040040/mobile-test-paper-2013.pdf).
This is quite shocking: simply, younger generation don't know as much about transients in music as the older generation because they're more used to music that's been smashed (heavily compressed and limited for the sake of loudness), which means its transients aren't that punchy anymore.

Let's not get crazy with the loudness.

Mastering By Fanu is proud to provide you with punchy AND (reasonably) loud masters that sure as heck aren't compressed lifeless.
(PLR = peak-to-loudness ratio, where higher PLR indicates more dynamic material, modern music being lower on that scale)
 

TOO LOUD IS TOO LOUD (can you hear me?!)

A good bad example here in terms of super-loud and squashed music that just sounds lifeless and does not hit as hard as the producer or mastering engineer probably intended.
The whole song's ridiculous, and what's worse, that kind of music does sell, gets a lot of plays etc.
The Youtube video has got over 13 million plays.
Can you imagine that teaching the younger generation how they want their music to sound?
Recently read some paper by TC Electronics that said that according to a study conducted by them, the younger generation is not as able to "hear" transients as much as older generations.
(the paper is at http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/2040040/mobile-test-paper-2013.pdf)

And that's what people want. Every now and then I get mixing/mastering a client who wants an extra loud mix/master. I often provide a more level-sensible version, but they don't listen to or appreciate how much better it sounds – they keep saying "Push it up!" until the level matches with that of some of their ridiculously loud reference track. If only they knew they are not really "gaining" as much with their music that way as they'd like to think. It's just the chase for the loudness often set by producers who can't even respect punchy music.
If you listen to this song *level-matched* and compare it to, say, nineties hip hop or jungle, and you'll realize they'll hit your face and chest with their beats and bass WAY harder than Purple Lamborghini, which'll sound super lifeless in level-matched comparison.
 
fanu said:
transients aren't that punchy anymore.

Let's not get crazy with the loudness.)
Click to expand...

Hey man really love your music, but can you tell me more about transients ? I thought you can here plenty of transients getting drunk down the park... musical transients ? I hear them singing a lot :teeth:

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CURRENT PRICING (VAT is added in EU)
• mastering 1–4 songs: €44 per song (turnaround time 1–3 days)
• mastering 5 songs or more: €40 per song
• quick delivery: €55 per song (turnaround time 24 hours)
[batch discounts always for albums / 4+ songs – case-specific]
• mixing+mastering a song from stems (aka “stem mastering”):
€45 per hour (max €100)
• mastering for vinyl: €5 additional charge per song
• revisions: no charge
• mixdown/production advice: hourly consultation rate of €45. This is to help you improve your mix. Total price is based on time spent listening and documenting improvements.
• various audio work (cleaning up recordings, denoising, declicking, repairing audio, etc.): €45 per hour

Demand is high, so current waiting time varies between 4–7 days.
 
P.S.: I can guarantee satisfaction or you'll get a full refund. In the past 4 years, I've probably mastered around two thousand (2,000) songs and had approx. 5 non-happy clients.
 
UPDATED PRICING:
• mastering: €45 per song
• mixing + mastering from stems: €45 hourly rate
Batch discounts for albums.
[VAT is added for EU customers]

Been trying to find the right, fair, and simple pricing structure for everything.
As for mastering, I'm dropping the "stepped pricing" altogether just to keep it affordable as well as simple. Batch discounts (albums etc.) do apply and can be negotiated on a per-case basis.
As for mixing and mastering* from tracks, I'm going back to an hourly rate on mixing+mastering from tracks. I find this is the only fair and simple way to do it, as there's always so many variables at play. I've tried to keep a fixed pricing and also limit the amount of stems, but that drives some clients away and just makes it a bit difficult sometimes (e.g., the amount it takes varies so much depending on the quality of tracks), to be honest.
I'm also dropping the track limit, and charging by the hour, keeping it simple and fair for everybody.
Should you have any questions, just contact me at fanusamurai@gmail.com.

(* = I don't "only" mix…what you get is a fully finished product that will not need further mastering)
 
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(Some) tools of the trade.
Another mixing + mastering project from tracks for a client tackled (drum and bass).

Some trusted plugins here:
• Massey Tapehead is my favorite "beef-it-up-izer"…use it on wimpy drumsounds every time to give them a bit of girth. Also great in reducing excessive highs.
• iZotope Neutron transient designer is unbeatable in shaping the "shape" and tone of a drumsound…make it snappier or less so, brighter, longer, etc…love it.
• Oeksound Soothe is my number one tool in taming harsh resonances. And it makes it so dang easy for you. Use it on vox, harsh drums, sax, guitars…everything. Love the Delta mode, so you can hear exactly what you're taking out.
• Slate Digital LLC goodies are all honey for the ears. I could not do without Revival, which is the best high exciter there is. Definitely the sound of crisp contemporary electronic music right there. Love the EQs, too, and I often high-shelf things with the Custom EQ, which sounds really dope.
• Universal Audio Shadow Hills mastering compressor is my fave master leveler; great for keeping level in check if there's a section in a song that gets a bit too loud, for example.
• Izotope Ozone 7. The Swiss army knife of mastering. I find its low exciter indispensable. Definitely helps you to take a step away from the digital thinness to a warmer, fuller tone. Do not overlook low-mid exciter…it's often what separates a thin mix from a full one. Touch it a bit on every mix/master. Also love its limiter. If it doesn't do the job, you know it's your mix to blame. I find its IRC III mode the best, and I don't use the other modes.
• UAD Massenburg is always on the master, carving out some excess crud in low mids.

I do use other tools, but here's a few of the ones I use in every project, be it a mix or a master for a client – or my own song.

Book your mixing/mastering today: email fanusamurai@gmail.com, and let's take your sound where it needs to be.
 

Mixing plugin checkout #1: Wavesfactory Trackspacer.

A dynamic sidechain plugin that cuts out from the desired signal the frequencies of the source signal. A helpful mixing tool. Showing how Trackspacer can be used to make room in a mix.

Was working on this mix and needed to something about vox/guitar clash and Trackspacer helped me a bit.
 
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A quick thought relating to mixing KICKS.

One thing I do in my work a lot is fix kicks.
Often, the song is a bass music track and the kick has a bit of a subby tail and the bassline is very rich in subs.
That means we have a problem.

For a kick to be powerful, it should ideally be fairly short. There are no rules, but this is a guideline I tend to stick to.
A kick with a subby tail + a sub bassline = "farting" in limiting.
Something has to be done. That something is often gating the kick to get the subby tail out and making it clean, short, and punchy. Maybe a little sidechain to the bass to make sure they don't clash.

Another misconception seems to be that for a kick to be nicely present in the mix, it has to have a lot of sub, while actually, a lot of what we perceive about the kick is above subs.
I love making the sub fat but enhancing the "body" of the kick so it nicely stands out in the mix.

In a nutshell…you can't have a long-ish subby kick and a subby bass. One has to go OR some interplay between them that leaves nice space for both, removing the clashing, has to be created.
 
Would high passing the kick around 60-100hz (depending on the key of the bass n kick) + side chaining slightly help clean problems like this up?

Ive experimented w sidechaining my bass' sub freqs w the kick as the input signal using alloy's multiband compressor alongside controlling the length of the kick'@ tail using the volume envelope in Logics Ultrabeat.. amidoingitright?

Also thanks for your years of videos/posts, ive learned loads from you Fanu!
 
xiris said:
Would high passing the kick around 60-100hz (depending on the key of the bass n kick) + side chaining slightly help clean problems like this up?

Ive experimented w sidechaining my bass' sub freqs w the kick as the input signal using alloy's multiband compressor alongside controlling the length of the kick'@ tail using the volume envelope in Logics Ultrabeat.. amidoingitright?

Also thanks for your years of videos/posts, ive learned loads from you Fanu!
Click to expand...

Basically just make sure they're not peaking around the same frequency – and if they do, you're going to need some sidechaining, or else it'll fart in limiting.
That's often a problem that the producer doesn't even realize if he doesn't limit the song and sends it to mastering.
If that's not fixed, the result always has to be less than ideal in some ways, often less loud than commercial songs.
 
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