I can't afford to get my songs mastered...

[lutopia]

There needs to be less 'me' and more 'we' in this. Less about a band member foisting their rushed material on the public and more about giving away GREAT songs to fans and future fans. If the music is not GREAT, then what are you possibly sharing and why is it worth it?

Not to pick on this poster but his last comments sum up a perspective that is very irritating. "Great Art" is a matter of perspective. I wish more people would stop thinking so much about creating "Great Art" and just make some art. Let the listeners decide what they like.

As for the OP. I've tried to master my own stuff and it's hard. I'll join in with a few of the others and caution about finding a "discount" mastering house or even a pro who will give you a "deal". My experience is that the "pro" will do the job as quickly as possible and maybe not to your satisfaction.

If people are offering to give it a shot for free, then hell, what have you got to lose?

[Jay Reynolds]

My band is putting out an EP sometime soon, we're nearly done with recording it.
It's basically just going to be given away free to anyone who wants it, or maybe charge some nominal amount to sell it at gigs... it'll probably only be 100 copies or so, so the chances of making any money on it are non-existent.

So, considering the circumstances, paying for mastering is probably excessive, we've spent no money on anything else for it aside from CD-Rs, so we don't really want to start now.

Is it worth giving it a go myself? I know nothing, but I guess I could read up and give it my best shot. But all I ever hear from mastering engineers is that you definitely should never, ever even think about mastering something yourself.

Failing that, does anyone know a seriously dirt cheap place to get a quick and easy mastering job done who I can email the files to?

This post is a bit disjointed, I know, it's nearly 3.30am here and I really should've torn myself away from the computer hours ago...

Wow. The impatience of getting a recording out and saying "this is me playing" is a pretty urgent matter, isn't it?

There needs to be less 'me' and more 'we' in this. Less about a band member foisting their rushed material on the public and more about giving away GREAT songs to fans and future fans. If the music is not GREAT, then what are you possibly sharing and why is it worth it?

Are we talking about great music or great production? Can you have great music without great production?

[RefD]

My band is putting out an EP sometime soon, we're nearly done with recording it.
It's basically just going to be given away free to anyone who wants it, or maybe charge some nominal amount to sell it at gigs... it'll probably only be 100 copies or so, so the chances of making any money on it are non-existent.

So, considering the circumstances, paying for mastering is probably excessive, we've spent no money on anything else for it aside from CD-Rs, so we don't really want to start now.

Is it worth giving it a go myself? I know nothing, but I guess I could read up and give it my best shot. But all I ever hear from mastering engineers is that you definitely should never, ever even think about mastering something yourself.

Failing that, does anyone know a seriously dirt cheap place to get a quick and easy mastering job done who I can email the files to?

This post is a bit disjointed, I know, it's nearly 3.30am here and I really should've torn myself away from the computer hours ago...

Wow. The impatience of getting a recording out and saying "this is me playing" is a pretty urgent matter, isn't it?

There needs to be less 'me' and more 'we' in this. Less about a band member foisting their rushed material on the public and more about giving away GREAT songs to fans and future fans. If the music is not GREAT, then what are you possibly sharing and why is it worth it?

Are we talking about great music or great production? Can you have great music without great production?

yes.

[DrummerMan]

I just remembered that I used to have T-Racks when I was running on os 9, and I found that it did a pretty good job for the self mastering of things.

Is this still considered a good program?
Might be something to consider.

[caffiend2049]

I just remembered that I used to have T-Racks when I was running on os 9, and I found that it did a pretty good job for the self mastering of things.

Is this still considered a good program?
Might be something to consider.

Once upon an OS9, I also used T-racks and thought it provided a pretty decent environment for what I was trying to accomplish.
But...the OP has waveburner which is WAY more robust and full featured.
(and also pretty easy to get a handle on)

[masonpitzel]

Can you have great music without great production?

This can't be a serious question. Of course you can.

[Jay Reynolds]

Can you have great music without great production?

This can't be a serious question. Of course you can.

Its as serious as my sig.

[DrummerMan]

Its as serious as my sig.

By the way, I've been wondering, is that a real Ronson quote? where's it from. I'd actually looked for it online when you first put it up, but to no avail.

Only asking because it's fucking hilarious.

[Jay Reynolds]

It's from the Santogold vs. Diplo mixtape, Top Ranking:
http://www.amazon.com/Top-Ranking-Santo ... 469&sr=8-1
There's a skit called "Mark Ronson In The Studio". Freakin brilliant, both the skit and the mixtape.

[sparky]

insane. i was seriously going to post here just to ask where your sig came from. good thing i kept reading the thread.

[Mark Alan Miller]

For the record, my last post in this thread was not anti-home-mastering nor pro-"pro"-mastering - just simply a call to really, carefully, evaluate - on a case-by-case basis - what you're doing when "releasing" your works into the world. And to use whatever resources you have (however teensy or copious) to make sure you're doing all you can do at that moment.

And while the public in general may not consciously be able to identify the difference, all other things being equal, a better sounding recording tends to just sound better in more places, on more systems. So at least do whatever is within your means to get it there.

That's all I was saying.

[Professor T]

are you in Cardiff UK or Cardiff CA?

[Rolsen]

Limited experience, limited gear, limited time, limited money. If these things don?t stop us from recording ourselves in the first place, why would mastering be any different? You just got to be realistic about your intended use of the final product.

[Electricide]

Limited experience, limited gear, limited time, limited money. If these things don?t stop us from recording ourselves in the first place, why would mastering be any different? You just got to be realistic about your intended use of the final product.

you forgot about limited talent.

[@?,*???&?]

Limited experience, limited gear, limited time, limited money. If these things don?t stop us from recording ourselves in the first place, why would mastering be any different? You just got to be realistic about your intended use of the final product.

you forgot about limited talent.

I prefer to compress talent. Compression is more creative. Limiting is purely mechanical.