Prepararation for Mastering.

1 1. When using DAT, print your mixes hot, but not too hot.

1 2. Don’t compress you master mix too much: Do not compress /
1 7. limit the mix buss at all. It restricts me in the mastering process.
1 7. If you want to compress / limit the mix buss be careful. Give me
1 7. some headroom to work with. I CANNNOT UNDO COMPRESSION
1 7. AND LIMITING. If you can hear the compression / limiter work
1 7. you're processing too much. You can give me alternate mixes,
1 7. with mix buss compression / limiting and without.


1 3. Don’t trim your mixes: The mastering engineer cannot recover
1 4. lost material. I will do the fades and cleaning up.

1 4. Use caution when using DAT as master: Make sure all songs
1 4. have ID’s and are logged. Make sure you know what ID number
1 4. is the right version of the mix. Also record silence at least two
1 4. minutes into the DAT Tape, as a lot of errors normally take place
1 4. within the first 2 minutes.

1 5. Have a Backupcopy on another DAT Tape or CDR.

1 6. Have the order (sequencing) ready: It is a lot easier to match
1 4. the songs, when I do the fades and gaps between the songs,
1 4. if the order is ready, as each song influences the other songs
1 4. around it.

1 7. Bring a few reference CD’s to give me an idea of how you want
1 4. your music to sound. It will help if they are in the same genre.

1 8. If you bring the mixes on a CDR, save them as WAVE or AIFF
1 4. files and if possible in 24 bit and in 44.1Khz sample rate. WRITE
1 4. THE CD AT 1X SPEED!!!!! It will eliminate jitter and errors.

1 9. Make a list of the processing you want. You might feel that some
1 4. songs need more bass, brightness or editing.

110. Alternative Mixes: If you are unsure about the vocal balance in
110. the mix, make a few different mixes. One with Vocal up by 1 to
110. 2db, Vocal down by 1 to 2 db etc. or mix an instrumental and
110. put the vocals down alone and I will mix it during the mastering
110. session. This doesn’t only apply to vocals. It can also be used
110. for bass or guitar solos, or whatever you are unsure about.
110. Just ID and log the different mixes well.

111. Always allow more time: On average a 10 to 12 song cd will
110. take about 8 hours to master. I charge by the hour so know
110. your budget and always allow more time for unexpected things
110. that might come up. If you take a copy home and you want
110. changes to be made, like fades, gaps or sound, remember the
110. clock will be running.

112. Writing the final CD: I write the final cd in real time (1x speed).
110. This will eliminate a lot of errors and jitter during the cutting
110. process. Remember, if the cd is 70 minutes long it will take at
110. least 80 minutes to write the cd, because of PQ coding and
110. ISRC codes etc.

Also check out : What to expect from mastering