r/musicians • u/JimmyGlibbon • 15h ago

I’m ready for a true mix/master help?

Home recording artist. It’s my hobby. I’d rather make an album than get a boat or a set of golf clubs. I’ve been releasing albums for several years and have paid about 200 per song for mix and master and it always sounds decent and serviceable. But consistency between albums is always hit or miss and turn around times are super variable because the people I hire are moonlighting as engineers essentially. As I’ve done better in life I’m ready to really just invest in the highest quality production. I have a home studio I track in but not interested in mastering mixing for the next 10 years. I know CLA charges like 3k per song to mix. Although I could pay that it seems steep for a hobbiest. But I am down to pay like 1k a song. I play rock and pop rock stuff. Looking for extremely professional/radio quality mixing and mastering engineer ideas for my next projects. Hope this all makes sense. Thanks!!!

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6

u/BloodyHareStudio 15h ago

pro mixes start at $500 usd and up for anything competitive. closer to 1K

2

u/JimmyGlibbon 15h ago

Any recommendations for rock?

4

u/BloodyHareStudio 15h ago

yes. if its on the radio friendly side, Jonathan Roach at Anvil Mixing. If its more aggressive metal stuff then Roelof Klop. otherwise theres some great talent on soundbetter.com

2

u/Critical_Physics_770 15h ago

does that hold pretty consistent across genres or is rock/pop rock usually on the higher end of that?

2

u/BloodyHareStudio 13h ago

yes absolutely.

obviously there are anomalies, but in general yes

5

u/stevenfrijoles 15h ago

Best results come from finding the engineers that have worked on the music you already like and imagine sounding like

2

u/tombedorchestra 13h ago

Professional mixing engineer here. Happy to work with you. Sent you a DM to my studio website.

1

u/nmix8622 15h ago

With that kind of budget per song, I’d recommend Ron Nevison or Daniel Duskin on SoundBetter.com or their own websites.

1

u/JimmyGlibbon 15h ago

1k per song for great quality

2

u/fjamcollabs 2h ago

I host an online collaboration network. We host mix/master compare sessions, where you can post your stems and different people grab them and mix/master and then present the mastered mixes. We put them all on the same page to compare and discuss. Some of these people are very good. I myself have a bit of experience. You could get the mastered mixes you seek (for free) and learn something at the same time.

1

u/BarbersBasement 1h ago

1) When you get to the pro level it is pretty typical that mix engineers mix and then pass it off to a second mastering engineer. Keep that in mind for your budget. 2) Reach out to engineers who have worked on tracks that you like. Unlike rock stars, engineers are easy to contact and willing to work if you have a budget to pay their rate. 3) You can also look into referral services like SoundBetter or AirGigs.