BEST MASTERING FORMAT FAQ

(This is the "QUICK START" Mastering Format FAQ. We also have our Detailed Mastering FAQ, section, as well as our in-depth Mastering Blog, which discusses every aspect of mastering and what goes into it, including dithering curve and EQ comparisons, and all kinds of other audio geek stuff. My Studio Secrets blog that discusses some of my stories of recording and/our touring with the bands I've worked with has moved to my personal website.

Q: How Long Does Mastering Take?

A: Albums consisting of 10-12 songs typically takes, at minimum 5-6 hours. A good amount of time to get the tweaks and changes you hope for, is about 8-10 hours. To get surgical with your sounds, spacing, eq's, compression, air, space, and all those other things that you obsessed over while recording your music, it can take up to 12-14 hours.

A lot of the time spent mastering, is spent making transfers, copies, rocessing the actual DDP file (far different than the 16-bit Red Book CD most fake mastering houses send you off with), and organizing tracks and critical data. What this means is that 1 song can take 2-3 hours, where an entire album could take 5-6 hours. The focus, of course, should be on quality, though. With mastering, and far more than ever, you get what you pay for. Yes, there are studios that offer mastering for $199.99 per album, but we are not them, nor will we ever be. You will get a $199.99 product as a result.

Q: What format do our mixes need to be in?

A: Formats for the maters are simply in as HIGH a resolution as possible, and WITHOUT any sort of MAXIMIXER or MASTER MIX COMPRESSION on them. In fact, you can try to aim your final mixes to average about -3db on the meters, and -6 db is still acceptable (and even -10db is FAR more acceptable than any clipping whatsoever). Whatever you do, do NOT let the left or the right meter peak, even once during a mix, if at all possible; leave the volume to the experts!

Also, do not change the resolution when going to final mix either. If you recorded at 24-bit and 98K, then mix down to 24-bit and 96K, so as little dithering and converting happen.

That being said, we really discourage bringing in 1/2" Tape Masters! - There are so many differences in machines, not everyone understands proper bias as well as test tone formats, so, since no mastering engineer has ever been able to consistently tell the difference between a mix recorded directly onto 1/2" tape at 30 ips, and a mix bounced to a stereo 24-bit / 96K, and then transferred to 1/2" tape, leave that to us as well. If you decide it's needed (but at least read my article on "How Digital Gets That Analog Sound Better than Analog" for arguments against it), then we can use our extremely finely tuned 1/2" ATR machine that's been modded and tweaked by Mark Spitz here, then transferring back to digital through our crystal clear converters here.

So, our favorite formats going from FAVORITE to LEAST FAVORITE are as follows:

1. 24-bit multiple mono WAV
2. 24-bit stereo interleaved WAV
3. 24-bit AIFF (any stereo format)
4. Any other 24-bit format
5 30 ips 1/2" tape (but not in all cases)
6. 15 ips 1/2" tape
7. 16-bit WAV multiple mono
8. 16-bit WAV stereo interleaved
9. 16-bit AIFF
10. Any other 16-bit format

An unacceptable format is a CD that will play in a CD player! Make sure you bring in a CD, DVD, or EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE that has your mixes in a raw DATA format (like WAV or AIFF files). In other words, Red Book CD's will make it difficult for us to do anything with.

Also, you can often bring your original Pro Tools mixes in as well, and we can convert them to 24-bit, 96K for mastering. But, we need to know the plug-ins you used ahead of time to see if we've got the same ones. We are seeing more and more bands give us mixes of the music on 1 submix track in Pro Tools, and the Vocals on another submix. Just let us know what you prefer, but honestly, any final in 24-bit stereo will give us plenty to work with...as technology increases, I think it's easier to get obsessed with the details of resolution, and although it's important, it won't make or break your record; the overall mix and music itself will!.

Q: Do we need to be there for mastering?

A: No, not at all! Many bands simply send of a hard disk or a data disk with their mixes on it, and give us an idea of what they're looking for. We then master on out time, within the allotted time, and send the final product off to you. You of course are free to comment, make notes, and offer any needed changes. We go back in, fix, and repeat. Many bands send the material in advance, and then come in for just a few hours for the "final tweaks" and listening. It's really up to each band and their location as well as preference..