1 post tagged “faq”
why is a flatrate better than per hour charging ? >>> labels and artists themselves usually have budgets for things to do, so we find everybody to be comfortable with something that can be calcualted, e.g. fixed prices. as per hour charging often ends in tears, moneywise, our fair flatrates are a "no surprise" guaranty for all.
send music on cd-audio or cd-rom ? >>> since our system runs on windows xp, it's best delivering your audio and data on iso compatible cd-rom or dvd-r. just make sure you're not burning data in the appropriate apple HFS format and chose ISO/JOLIET! wave and aiff pcm-files are both welcome. it's best to send your recordings on a quality cd-rom or dvd-r for error free results since cd-rom offers an extra level of error-correction. further advantage of rom over cd-audio is that cd-audio can only be read in frames what makes it inaccurate for reading starts + ends by a few ms offset and audio can be chopped off.
what about samplerate, bit-depth, dither ? >>> to give you a good and short advice on this: send the original unaltered recording with the samplerate it was recorded with when mixing digital and export/bounce/record at a high bit-depth (24bit/32bit). if you're recording from an analog console capture the audio with the highest samplerate and bit-depth that works for you. for audiophile projects a good analog like recording samplerate is 96khz and at least 24bit. the mastering process itself is taking place at 96khz/32bitfloat, apogee UV-22 HR or CRANESONG analog dithering is applied there as the very last step of mastering after downsampling to the destination samplerate with the most prestine samplerate converters available. please don't use dithering or noiseshaping yourself and provide the full bit-range instead.
your word on using peak limiters and compressors on the mix ? >>> if you're using a peak-limiter on the mixbus please take care that peaks are never or only very ocassionally. using a nice compressor on the mix can be a wonderfull thing for the overall tone you're looking for but don't hit it hard, i would suggest only 1-2db of compression but most of the time less will do. we're taking care of bringing you the glue, tone + loudness you want and what is advisable.
what is a upc/ean code and do i need it ? >>> also called the barcode, it's usually provided by your distributor or label if you're not registered for yourself. the code identifies the producer/manufacturer of a product, in our case the whole cd album, and CAN be required for e.g. importing products to USA, or for diverse registration systems. as a rule of thumb: if you got one then communicate it to us to be coded on the cd master. (13 digits)
what is a ISRC code and do i need it ? >>> this is of interest for lables as this code identifies each single audio track as well as the label, year and number. you must be registered to use and it is advised to give every released track it's unique isrc code. the code is written into the pq coding system of a cd and is important for radio-play/ broadcasters for accounting and collecting license fees. (12 digits+letters)
how long does it take to get our stuff mastered ? >>> well, that one depends on the size of the project, but for a regular complete cd mastering it usually takes a week. i'm known for being able to work on even the thightest schedule but since labels often miscalculate the time mastering takes (is it ready tomorrow then...?) it's just cool for everybody, the label, the artist, the me and the music to have some time buffer and be relaxed
