Hermetech Mastering

Hey all,

By way of an interesting introduction, I'd like to offer one free track mastered for any WATMM member.

You can find out more details about myself, my mastering philosophy, my analogue gear, and my previous clients on my web site here:

http://hermetechmastering.com

If you'd like to hear some examples of my work, there is a compilation album of tracks I have mastered, "Peppermint Sine Waves", and the "It-Theka" EP by Pawnsphinx, both available for free download in MP3 and high quality FLAC formats, here:

http://hermetechmastering.com/examples

All the best,

Gregg

can you master this?

http://soundcloud.com/nevenen/barn-blaster-5000

I've always wondered what my crappy songs would sound like mastered by a professional.

How does this work exactly?

Can you master this for me please? http://soundcloud.com/gerfeso/cabbage

Or is it not that simple?

  On 12/7/2010 at 3:06 AM, hahathhat said:

can you master this?

 

http://soundcloud.com/nevenen/barn-blaster-5000

lol no offense but that seems like a lot of work lol.

He should do mine first :P

I'll gladly master anything for anyone, but I'll only do one track for free. So the idea is that you'd consider me for future mastering work if you are happy with what I do. Therefore, I'd recommend you only ask me to master something that you feel is truly worthy of being mastered. ;)

Paid work takes priority, and it might take me a few days to get it back to you. But yes, I'll do it.

The only stipulation I have is that you send it to me at the best quality you have it. I'd really rather not try and master something from an .mp3 file.

First come, first served...

... Another stipulation should be that the track cannot already have limiting/mastering compression on the entire mix. From the looks of those and most watmmers soundcloud tracks they seem to have some type of limiting on the mix.

(its not even close to desirable to do mastering on a track that's already been limited but if you do it's much much more difficult to make a big improvement on it at that point)

How do we send it to you? I have a 43MB wave file that should do.

Thanks for all the interest and PM's so far.

I need to be able to:

A) Access the file. The best way is to send me a link at gregg@hermetechmastering.com Most people like to use those free uploading services such as SendSpace etc. If you just send me a link to your SoundCloud page, with a track that is not even downloadable, there's not a lot I can do. If you just send me a link to your SoundCloud page, with a track that is only downloadable in .mp3 format, I am not really interested. "Mastering an .mp3 file" is pretty much a contradiction in terms.

B) Have the file in at least CD quality (16 bit 44.1kHz) .wav or aif. 24/96 is even better.

C) What BFC said above (about leaving any limiter off the two-buss) is also helpful, as there is not a lot I can do with a slammed file. It's nice if there are no digital overs.

If you can fulfil all those criteria, I'll master the files, first come first served.

Again, if you are serious, there is a lot more info about this on my web site, specifically on this page:

Submissions

I am really looking forward to working on some of your music!

Gregg

i am serious when i say my tracks have no master. they are free like the wind...

hey babaluma, welcome to watmm!

good thread. :)

Best "welcome" thread I've seen!

Nice to see Gregg getting a warm welcome, 'cause he's cool.

Thanks for the warm welcome guys, and to those who have taken up my mastering offer so far! Please keep them coming!

All the best,

Gregg

I'll send u a wav tonight. I am VERY curious as I am putting together an album atm and would gladly invest in your services if it seems to make a big diff.

  On 12/8/2010 at 12:03 AM, sneaksta303 said:

I'll send u a wav tonight. I am VERY curious as I am putting together an album atm and would gladly invest in your services if it seems to make a big diff.

50 dollars a track?

YGPM

  On 12/8/2010 at 12:49 AM, yek said:

  On 12/8/2010 at 12:03 AM, sneaksta303 said:

I'll send u a wav tonight. I am VERY curious as I am putting together an album atm and would gladly invest in your services if it seems to make a big diff.

50 dollars a track?

  Quote

•A single track is US $50 all inclusive.

•More than a single track is charged at a rate of US $5 per minute of audio, plus a US $25 setup fee. Therefore a 15 minute EP would cost US $100, and a 55 minute album US $300.

Seems reasonable, especially if I can pull off a hard copy release.

$300 for a professional quality master of an LP is good reasonable deal.

  On 12/8/2010 at 3:43 AM, Blanket Fort Collapse said:

$300 for a professional quality master of an LP is good reasonable deal.

it's extremely cheap in fact! shouldn't it be like.. 4 times that price for a professional mastererer...

Yeah that's what I'm sayin.

oh ok. i guess if yer really serious about your music this is a good thing.

This sounds absolutely awesome. By far the best 'i'm new' thread i've ever seen.

Thanks once again for the warm welcome. I have received four tracks so far, one has been mastered and returned, and I'll get to one more (A/D's) this evening.

I have been mastering my own and friend's music for over ten years, but I only started doing it professionally around a year ago. As such, I am pretty much a newbie in the game, and have tried to set my prices low enough to be competitive with my peers, offering value for money, whilst still making it worth my while for the time and effort I spend doing it. I am not really interested in trying to compete with A) the "yeah mate, tenner and i'll run it through my crack of L2", or B) Greg Calbi, Bernie Grundman, Bob Katz etc.

A part of my business plan is to keep my prices artificially low for the first couple of years, until I can get a good body of work, professional experience, and a happy client list behind me. I need to make a name for myself. Hence scouring the net offering to master tracks for people for free. The experience this gives me, being able to work on diverse genres of music, is invaluable to me. I feel I've achieved a lot in my first year.

Next year I'm looking to upgrade my monitors to ATCs, invest in some very high end AD/DA conversion (Forssell), and purchase a custom Crookwood mastering console. After that I might raise my prices slightly.

Feel free to ask any questions!

Gregg

  On 12/7/2010 at 9:29 PM, slightlydrybeans said:

good thread. :)

Best "welcome" thread I've seen!

  On 12/8/2010 at 7:13 AM, Sprigg said:

This sounds absolutely awesome. By far the best 'i'm new' thread i've ever seen.

you unoriginal twat!

:D watmm love

how's it going in the mastering biz, now that people do ableton trax with 2^10 sidechains per?

  On 12/8/2010 at 4:25 PM, hahathhat said:

how's it going in the mastering biz, now that people do ableton trax with 2^10 sidechains per?

Pretty good, I have to say!

I've mastered seven albums and close to a hundred tracks this year, and only a very small percentage of them have been over crushed. I usually just ask for a version without the two bus processing, and the client is usually much happier with the increased dynamic range and punch of the final master without all the limiting occurring.