How to master for little/no $$
 

So you've downloaded a free recording program and captured your masterpiece, spending nothing in the process except the precious hours of your life.

Next comes the mastering stage. Whoa. That costs a pretty penny.

Or does it?

Are there free mastering programs floating around? Does one need a special disc drive? Can one cheat and master to a CDR to send to the duplcation house?

Has anyone sent files to any of these sites offering to master for cheap? Sounds awfully scammy to me. On the other hand, other places offer their services for two hundred bucks a song? Legit, maybe, but fuck me.

There's GOT to be a better way.

I guess I'm not totally sure what a "master" is, because I kinda just do a final mix of everything in adobe audition and call it a day. Obviously, there's going to be some failings in the eq and bass department, because .. uh .. it is recorded at a house and not a $10,000,000 recording studio .. but I don't think anyone gives a fuck about that anyway. A good song trascends technological limitations.

...

But no I can't help you.

No, you can't. This Robe album - the difference between this album making you a proper musician and this album making you one of the innumerable nobodies of music - it's entirely down to your self-defeating lack of appreciation of production. The Robe album is seriously awesome, but no fucker cares, because the production is not far away from shit.

Your call - either you're a person with a gift or you're the wanker with a talent.

My answer being - money = fans in mastering, assuming the product isn't shit.

Well, that particular album is purposely not recorded to the best degree anyway; it sounded too clean when we first were recording it, and we intentionally dirty up the sound a shitload before we release it. I've done some production work that sounds pretty good, I think. The hardest part is getting a good recording of drums... But generally I just line in everything directly into the mic port of a computer, spend a long time messing with equalizers and such, and I can get a bright, clean, "hi" sound. I just usually fuck with it a lot because that's not the sound that fits my music..

But yeah I appreciate good production. I still think a good song trascends any form of production, but sure. However you want something to sound.. if you just want it to sound amazing and.. hi-fi... then go get it mastered, sure.

did the shadow ring ever master their records?

master! master!

either way.

Mastering is good if you want it to sound professional, definitely.