CD Audio Mastering
Great rates • superb quality • quick turnaround • free sample!
Shamblin Sound can perform CD Audio Mastering on your music recordings so that
they sound much louder and fuller, just like a major label CD! And also optimize
the equalization so that it's more compatible with current standards and will
fit right in when compared to major label recordings of the same type. All major
labels perform CD Audio Mastering on all of their music before being released
and if you skip this process, your CD will only sound about half as loud,
clear, and full. Music that has not had CD Audio Mastering done to it -
or done poorly - is the last to be played by radios stations, due to such
vast volume discrepancies, distortion, and other problems.
With 35 years experience and top of the line ProTools HD gear, coupled with five grand in Mastering
software, Shamblin Sound can perform CD Audio Mastering on your project so that it's ready to take
to duplication, and radio airplay!
Shamblin Sound was one of three CD Audio Mastering facilities chosen to
submit a quality-bid on a project produced by Grammy and Dove Award winning
multiple Gold and Platinum Record producer Gary Paxton in Nashville, TN for
Contemporary Christian artist Greg Crowe that was released globally. One CD
Audio Mastering house was in Nashville, one in L.A., and the third was Shamblin
Sound. When all the votes were in, Shamblin Sound's CD Audio Mastering won the
quality-bid!
Shamblin Sound is now offering this same high-quality service to you direct
via the internet, with online CD Audio Mastering, and at awesome prices! And
if you aren't satisfied with the mix you have, and you have the multi-track
masters, we can mix, tune vocals, tweak timing issues, and master your songs
simultaneously for the ultimate in sonic perfection!
Try before you buy! Shamblin Sound will send you a sample of our CD Audio
Mastering on one of your songs, free! If you like it, just send us $20 by
PayPal (or a money order by mail) and we'll send you the whole song in an
uncompressed .wav file . . it's that simple!
Or for an even better deal, we'll perform CD Audio Mastering on your entire
CD at once for just $200 !! (That's less than ten bucks a song!) You can
either upload your songs to our server via the internet, or send us a
high-quality CD of your project by mail. We will do a few sample songs for
you to demonstrate our CD Audio Mastering capabilities, and then upload them
to our server and send you the link to download them (or send you a proof
CD by mail). If you like what you hear, you can pay through PayPal with
the added convenience of using a credit card if you would like (or send us
a money order by mail). We will then perform CD Audio Mastering on your
whole project, then upload it to our server for you to download and burn
right on your own computer! (Or send you a master CD by mail.) It's easy,
fast, and economical!
Contact us using the contact form, or email/call us right away if you are
interested, and we will send you an upload link for your very own free CD
Audio Mastering sample!
Important Notes:
- Be SURE that your audio files are close to the red on the master volume, but not "clipped out" IN the red, or else the mastering process will make the minor distortion this causes into major distortion. The mastering process brings out small details way back in the mix that are initially not that noticeable, good AND bad . . so for best results, keep your tracks clean and free from any clipping/distortion. If your mix-down system shows waveforms on-screen, zoom in as far as you can on the final mix and look at the tops of the waveforms to make sure they don't look like mountains with the tops removed! Also, be careful that any compression, e.q., etc. processors you may be using are not clipping out in the red as well. Clipping is the #1 problem encountered during the CD Audio Mastering process, and will always result in either unnecessary delays for re-mixing, or a distorted final product that sounds "trashy." And once it's done, it cannot be undone (except to re-mix the song down again and bring the levels down to just under the red). Simply reducing the track levels during the CD Audio Mastering process on a clipped-out track does NOT remove the distortion! It is permanently a part of the audio, so avoid it at all costs. Optimum levels are just before the red, not IN the red, especially on digital gear which is not somewhat-forgiving like analog gear is.
- The mastering process tends to make the treble frequencies a little hotter and brighter, so for best results, don't make them too bright before sending them off for mastering. Sure, we can turn the treble down during the CD Audio Mastering process, but this will not produce quite as good of a result as if you do it beforehand during the mixing process, before mastering. If you are not sure about "how much is too much" on this, play a few songs from major-label artists on your mix-down system beforehand in order to get a reference; then mix your tracks down so as to have the treble e.q. slightly less than the major-artists' CD because here again, the mastering process increases the treble frequencies a bit, and all major-label releases have been mastered. Following these guidelines will give you the best results in the end, after the CD Audio Mastering is completed.
- If you are going to make a copy of your CD to send to us for CD Audio Mastering, be sure to set your CD burning program to the SLOWEST speed available (no faster than 4x). This will prevent any appreciable quality loss. High-speed copies should not be sent in for CD Audio Mastering, as this causes the error count to be greatly multiplied and may cause noticeable audio artifacts to come forward during the CD Audio Mastering process. If you are going to upload them to our server straight from your slow-speed-burned master CD (or computer-generated .wav file), disregard this, because this only applies to burning CD's.
CD Audio Mastering Samples from Shamblin Sound
Blues Sample, Before