Audio mastering - FAQs
Please click on one of the questions below to jump to the answer:
How do I know if my material needs mastering? | How
long does mastering usually take?
Do I need to provide any information? | What formats can I have my master on?
Which formats are best for a master? | What is the difference between your mastering packages?
How do I know if my material needs mastering?
A difficult question! The main purpose of the mastering process is to provide you with a professional quality finished piece of audio. If you have recorded your own material, it may not stand up to the music you
hear on the radio. Reasons for this may vary. Generally, a lack-luster sound will be due to a lack of professional external processing such as multi-band compression, equalisation and also the mixer and speakers the music is mixed on.
Other reasons for mastering could be for restoration of old vinyl or tape or maybe compiling a master from several sources and/or formats. Under our mastering section we also offer services for mixing-down your pre-recorded tracks from .WAV or .AIFF
formats or converting your material into surround sound. If you aren't sure if you need mastering or not please contact us to discuss the matter further.
How long does mastering usually take?
Mastering is a bespoke service. Due to this fact, a project may take anything between one day and a week. In a straight-forward job such as balancing and equalising a 79 minute stereo album, it takes
about 4 - 5 hours. Services other than stereo mastering such as mix-down and surround sound tend to take 2 - 3 days to complete. For these more complex jobs we will award you a discount on the standard hourly rate if it's going to take over 10 hours
to complete. We will advise you of the time scale before any mastering work commences.
Do I need to provide any information?
As with all of the services we offer, we appreciate as much information as possible. It is important that you provide us with any timing information relevant to your material, such as track start and finish
times, edit points and track IDs. Please remember to
clearly label all tapes, vinyl and CDs that you send to us so that material is not mixed up. If there is any other information specific to your job we will advise you on
contact.
What formats can I have my master on?
Currently we can provide your master on several formats. These formats are - CD-R, DAT, Cassette, Minidisk or Exabyte. We are also hoping to offer your master on DVD-R and DLT in the near future for surround
sound projects.
Which formats are best for a master?
A good format for a master is one which lasts. We generally find that digital tape based formats are best for long term archiving. These tape formats come in the form of DAT (Digital Audio Tape) and Exabyte.
Exabyte is only an option if you are also having CDs pressed, this is the format sent to the CD plant for pressing. Some people prefer other formats for a master, as they would like to have something that they could listen to at home (not really
advised!). If you are unsure we can provide you with 2 or even 3 different formats for your master, this will be charged at standard cost. Please contact us if you are unsure of what format to have your master on.
What is the difference between your mastering packages?
FlipSide Productions offers several mastering packages. 'Stereo mastering' is intended for those people who have finished material that needs some kind of processing or editing to allow a finished
professional sound.
The 'mixdown facility' is for those who already have the facilities to record their own material, but require their material to be mixed down on a track-by-track basis into a stereo (or surround) master.
The 'Surround Sound Up-mix' facility is for those who wish for their already mastered stereo material to be processed up into a surround sound format.
The 'Surround Sound Mixdown facility' is similar to the 'Mixdown facility', in that we take you independent tracks and mix it into a surround sound format.
