I often get asked about mastering or more specifically where or how to book an affordable mastering session. The truth is that while many of us are able to get by applying some basic mastering to our mixes the majority of the time; when it comes to delivering a track to be pressed it really is better to get a bona fide mastering engineer to do the job.
Fast forward to the growing industry of so called "online mastering". Here's the concept. Mastering Studios offer a reduced rate job if you:
1) Book through their website
2) Upload the mixes online to their server
3) Let them get on with the job (You can't attend the session itself)
4) Receive the Master via a download or on a CD in the post
Simple, but with all the people out there how can you possibly know who to book? Well I have yet to actually try this out myself but I am keen to give it a go on some tracks soon. It is always preferable to attend a session but for most independent producers the cost of this is prohibitive. So forgoing this option the discounted rate seems attractive between £65 - £100 per track. Back to the choosing of a studio/engineer. Well in my opinion the safest route is to go with the established mastering houses who have a long history of providing commercial masters to the record industry. By using these facilities you are at least placing your tracks in the hands of those who provide this service day in day out and have worked with a wide variety of tracks. There may be some great people out there and if you know of any drop me a line but here is a list of UK based online mastering services offered by reputable facilities.
Good luck and let me know of your experiences in this area.
http://www.emasters.co.uk
http://www.imastering.co.uk
http://www.alchemysoho.com/emastering
http://www.masteringworld.com
