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[wildcowboys]

Hi there,
I am about to finish a hiphop record and I love the mastering jobs that Brian Gardner does on hiphop. The label does not have the budget to let him do the job though. so I was wondering if anyone here can recommend a mastering studio that is good at getting a similar sound at a "not so superstar" price!

suggestions welcome!

rock on!
Pat

[tom eaton]

Tell the label it will cost less to have Brian do it once than to have some other guy do three revisions to get it close to what they want.

Have you called in to see if Brian has someone he'd suggest...perhaps an assistant or 2nd that he feels can get you 90% of the way there for less?  

Many of these guys have very capable folks working alongside them, and are happy to see them get their own projects out the door.

-tom

[j.hall]

agreed.  call brian and ask about indie rates, if those are too high then ask if he has a 2nd that he feels comfortable booking a real gig for.

mastering is the worst place to cut corners....all that work you've done ahead of mastering...

[Bob Olhsson]

wildcowboys wrote on Fri, 13 January 2006 08:17

...The label does not have the budget to let him do the job though...

Hate to bring this up but that really brings into question if they have the budget to promote the record. Mastering is just about the cheapest part of the process.

[wildcowboys]

thanks guys!
well if this was a US released project I would totally agree, if they do not even want to spend much on mastering, they are not going to be able to promote the thing. however this is an album which is going to be released in a small european country, the promotion is going to be three people on the phone, working the press and the relevant radio stations...which is no more than 2 or three...so basically their budget for promotion is their time. the biggest expense was the recording and mixing of the album, but they do not have the money to spend a lot on mastering...

thanks for all your advice! I will try to contact the big b oys and ask how much it costs if one of their assistants does the job...does anyone have some contact info?

thanks again!
Pat

[Bobro]

wildcowboys wrote on Mon, 16 January 2006 10:12

well if this was a US released project I would totally agree, if they do not even want to spend much on mastering, they are not going to be able to promote the thing. however this is an album which is going to be released in a small european country, the promotion is going to be three people on the phone, working the press and the relevant radio stations...which is no more than 2 or three...so basically their budget for promotion is their time. the biggest expense was the recording and mixing of the album, but they do not have the money to spend a lot on mastering...

This is a realistic statement by the way, if Pat's small European country is anything like the one I live and work in. Promotion can actually be excellent for a project that really is so tightly budgeted at the onset- just knowing a couple of people can mean everything, and national television can be incredibly supportive of local music and culture in general. Or you can labor in obscurity for 30 years until they discover the French love you then you're a star, haha.

-Bobro