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Q) I have heard of [a duplication
company] offering "single glass masters" as a production based sonic
improvement - with an extra $200 charge. Is it worth it? -Big Al
If they're referring to single-speed (1X) glass masters, any
duplication plant around offers that, and you should request it
when you send in your mastered product. The problem is that many CD
plants today use a network system, and so the whole transfer process is
evolving. Ask them to be sure if they offer 1X, because it does
sound better.
High-speed glass mastering (at the plant) saves them money and allows
them to lower the cost to the consumer. DDP masters (Disc
Description Protocol) is a yellow book data CDR, and that's what we
prefer to send to the plant. That takes the issue of errors
associated with audio CDRs out of the picture to a degree, and many
record companies prefer this as standard. We recommend this
format, and we can include all of your ISRC codes, UPC codes, CD text
and more.
Q) I was considering using the company
[another big replication company]. They have a mastering service in the
California Bay Area. Would you recommend them as mastering
professionals? -Gary
Without hearing their mastering to compare it with the
outstanding results of Bob Ludwig, Stephen Marcussen, Doug Sax, Ted
Jensen, myself
and others, I can't fully give you an answer. My opinion is that cd
brokers are primarily in the business of duplication, graphics and
printing. If you ask them to do your mastering, they structure their
rates so you have options as to how much enhancement they'll do.
Then the question is who, in fact, will do your mastering? What kind of
music do they do best? What kind of tone and levels do they think is
appropriate? How many years of experience, and what name artists have
they already done? Will they speak with you personally and provide you
with a reference disc so that you can approve their work?
A few of my clients learned their lesson when they sent their master
straight to a cd broker without mastering. In the old days of vinyl,
there wasn't a choice. You had to master that record or you didn't get
any records! Now with the option to just send your mixes on dat
or cdr, you must be sure to ask your broker "Will the sound of my cd
compete with the majors?"
A non-compressed standard mix from DAT will straight-transfer to CD at
about 3 to 6dB softer than current commercial cds. This won't
be a surprise to you if you've already made cd copies straight from
your mixes. The truth is that this is a better level for the purposes
of ending up with a terrific mastered end product. Cd levels that are too hot aren't an advantage.
Trap: Most cd brokers know
you are on a budget. If they told you that you should have your music
mastered first, they know that you could be spending anywhere from $500
- $3,500 for this process. While good cd brokers want you to be happy
with your product, they also don't want you to be discouraged by
additional costs... so you must determine if they are fully explaining
all possible steps to get your cd to sound it's best.
It's worth the time and money to have an expert do the final refinement
process to your cd master. Yes, it's more money. So is going back and
doing it over after getting all those manufactured cds that just don't
sound like the majors.... Below are two brokers that I feel give
excellent service - when in doubt, get a second opinion.
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