demos - mastered or unmastered?

CullenMiller · Post by **CullenMiller** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 2:07 am

when you send in your demo to a label should you send it in mastered or unmastered? why?

Celltek · Post by **Celltek** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:25 am

CullenMiller wrote:when you send in your demo to a label should you send it in mastered or unmastered? why?

Mastering is costly business so why invest your money if you dont know the track will get released?

dsat · Post by **dsat** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:49 am

most labels will take care of that
you can always apply some limiting just for listening
but when the music has to be cut, you prob have to send them unmastered wave files with enough headroom

ChrisM · Post by **ChrisM** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 10:55 am

unmastered 320kbps mp3s are fine, mastering is fairly expensive most labels will sort it before releasing. I have heard of at least one label releasing unmastered mp3s before, in this case I would strongly refuse to release with the label as mastering tends to breathe life into the track

patrick bateman · Post by **patrick bateman** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:04 am

As the other guys are writing, don't use too much time on this.
Put on a limiter/vintage warmer to make it sound a bit better, but in the end you'll have to take it off before the label sends it off to mastering anyway.

Good luck.

Gummo · Post by **Gummo** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 11:23 am

With a demo you are probably trying to impress a label, so IMO it's best if you actually DO spend some time for a "rough master", even if it's not going to be used -- adding a randomly picked limiter preset or something like that is probably going to just ruin the dynamics of a track and make it sound WORSE.

patrick bateman · Post by **patrick bateman** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:08 pm

Gummo wrote:With a demo you are probably trying to impress a label, so IMO it's best if you actually DO spend some time for a "rough master", even if it's not going to be used -- adding a randomly picked limiter preset or something like that is probably going to just ruin the dynamics of a track and make it sound WORSE.

I don't agree.

Atheory · Post by **Atheory** » Fri Feb 06, 2009 12:47 pm

Gummo wrote:With a demo you are probably trying to impress a label, so IMO it's best if you actually DO spend some time for a "rough master", even if it's not going to be used -- adding a randomly picked limiter preset or something like that is probably going to just ruin the dynamics of a track and make it sound WORSE.

well, it will make it sound louder as for worse/better, who knows? depends on hows its mixed really

demos - mastered or unmastered?

demos - mastered or unmastered?

Re: demos - mastered or unmastered?