Helping Hands

Giving More Than The Music

I had the pleasure a couple of years ago to produce an album with Italy's top rock/pop group, MOMO Family. Fede, Daniel, and Marco came to Atlanta from Florence, Italy in the Fall of 2007 and spent the next two months at Groove Tunes Studios recording 14 songs of amazing music. One of the songs on their CD "Tomorrow" was conceived out of love for their fellow man and, in particular, for the children of the world. Taking their message a step further, MOMO has recently released a video for the World Food Program (WFP), a branch of the United Nations.

Terri Brumit is a mother of twin sons who are currently stationed in Afghanistan along with their father. All three are in the Special Forces. Terri has asked me to produce an album of original songs she has written. All the songs are dedicated to troops who are risking their lives overseas so that we can live our lives peacefully at home. Going the extra mile, Terri recently flew to Washington DC to personally hand out copies of her latest single "Still a Warrior" to injured soldiers at Walter Reed and Bethesda Hospitals. Check out her very special song here: https://www.terribrumit.com/Page_2.html

MOMO and Terri Brumit are just two examples of musicians who have their hearts in the right place. Sometimes it's more than making recordings just to make a buck or two. Sometimes it's special.

Visit www.groovetunes.com to find out more about Groove Tunes Studios.

The final steps...

Critiquing and Tweaking.

When your engineer is finished with your mixes he will invite you back to the studio to listen to his creations. This is probably the most exciting part of the entire process. It certainly is for me. You will not believe how great you sound! I will typically give my clients a CD of my mixes to take home to listen to. I recommend living with the mixes for several days and to listen to them on various playback systems, including your car stereo and home stereo. Listen through good quality headphones if you can as this is an excellent way to hear all the intricacies and detail inside of the mixes. For best quality listening be sure to listen to the mixes on CD players rather than through mp3 playback devices. (Most people don't realize that mp3's are about one-tenth the resolution of wav files that are what you hear on CDs.)

In a few days you will have formed some opinions about the mixes. Make a list of the items that bother you. Typical items might be “I want the vocals a bit louder on the last line of the first chorus”, or, “I want less reverb on the electric guitar”, etc. These sorts of comments are common. Then call your engineer and schedule a day and time for a mix “tweaking” session. I ususally make the tweaks while the client is physically present at the studio. Once the tweaking is finished, you will have “final mixes”!

Mastering.

Once the final mixes are done, your work with the recording studio is complete, with one possible exception. You may want to get your songs mastered. Mastering is a process that I liken to applying varnish and polish to a newly constructed piece of furniture, or more simply, "putting the icing on the cake". Technically, the mastering process typically applies more compression and fine-tunes the equalization (EQ) of the final mix. Mastering does not change the mix; it merely refines the overall sound. If you are just recording a demo and do not expect to market your music for sale then mastering may not be necessary. However, if you do plan to duplicate your songs for wide distribution or sale, or if you ever plan to have your music played on the radio, you should get your songs mastered. Mastering is best performed by a mastering engineer who is separate from and not affiliated with the studio that recorded and mixed your songs. The main benefit of having someone other than your recording engineer perform the mastering is that it allows for a second set of fresh and unbiased ears listen to and fine tune the overall sound. It’s a fairly quick and inexpensive process, but it’s a step you wouldn’t dare skip if you’re thinking about selling your product. The mastering process is highly specialized, so you want somebody who’s been doing it a long time. One of the most reputable mastering engineers in Atlanta, and the person that I use most, is Rodney Mills at Rodney Mills Masterhouse, www.rodneymills.com. Your recording studio engineer will need to prepare a data CD of your final mixes, which are used by the mastering engineer to master your songs. The mastering engineer’s deliverable to you will be a “master” audio CD of your music.

Duplicating.

If you’re planning to make several copies of your CD then you will need to find a duplication house such as Discmakers www.discmakers.com. Large, established duplicators like Discmakers are highly dependable. They can also help you create the graphic art design for your CD package. Keep in mind that the more copies you order the cheaper the cost per CD. Send them a copy of your master CD along with any other info you want to appear on the jacket: photos, artist names, song list, lyrics, writer’s and musician’s credits, recording studio and mastering studio credits, and special thanks or acknowledgements. They will assign a project manager to your job who will take good care of you throughout the duplication process until you receive your shipment of boxes filled with your glorious new CDs. Welcome to one of the happiest days of your life!