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My route into and through audio engineering was circuitous. I cut
my chops with/under Rob Dennis at the Recording Institute of
Detroit. I owned and operated a dedicated (commercial) mastering
studio as “The Digital Sunspot” for 10 years. After working with
Allee Willis on her “Bubbles
and Cheesecake” project, I got “noticed” and was made an offer I
couldn’t refuse. I have Authority, Autonomy, “Job” and Income
security. I also can not reveal specifics.
It’s a pleasure and personally gratifying to work with talented
artists. I keep a personal studio open as The Digital Sunspot as a
hobby so I can choose to master a CD now and then (or not, as I have
certainly turned down projects). Money isn’t a motivating factor,
but I expect compensation for my time. It is my “free time” I give
up to master CDs these days.
Mastering a project usually works like this:
1) Most projects from new clients start with my Edemo. Once
the client is happy with the "sound" of the Edemo, it is used as a
guide to master the rest of the CD.
1) I receive the mixes via my secure file transfer site, and any
information about the project (track names, CD title, etc.).
2) If I have any questions about the mixes or project, I ask for
more information.
3) I master the songs, and once the mastering fee is made, I post
the mastered versions to my secure file transfer site.
4) The client downloads and listens to the mastered songs.
5) After listening to the mastered songs, any adjustments the client wants are made.
Revisions/adjustments are typically small, and rarely more than one
revision is necessary.
6) Final versions of the songs are posted online for review and
approval.
7) Most clients burn their own Master CD from the files I supply.
If requested, I will burn and send a set of CDs to the client.
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