BDA will record any style of music that can be played live and without a public address system. We specialize in what might be called "audio verite", where the goal is to make the listener feel like they're present at the performance. After finding the best room to suit a given musical ensemble, we record on location, live to Stereo, with no overdubs.
We've used this method to record everything from solo piano to chamber orchestras to jazz bands (including vocalists) to acoustic folk to power rock.
Yes. A number of our mastering clients have kept us in the loop during their mix process. Consulting with us prior to declaring mixes as "final" often makes for a better sounding finished disk, since some issues are better handled during the mix than they are in the mastering room. Some of these same clients have ended up consulting with us before or during the recording stage of their subsequent projects, realizing that some issues are better handled before getting to the mix room.
For the answer to this one, please read What is mastering? on our Articles page.
Our preferred file formats are .aif or .wav. These can be sent to us on CD-R, DVD-R, or by file transfer over the Internet. If your program is in another format, we can arrange to have it transferred at an additional cost.
If sending files on disc, set the burn speed on your disc recorder to the slowest speed available and use high quality blank disks. We've had good success with disks from Taiyo Yuden and Sony. Leave the disk free of any sort of paper or plastic labels.
Please submit digital files in their original wordlength and sample rate. We can perform any conversion that might be necessary for processing and/or the final master.
For best results, we suggest recording and mixing at a wordlength of 24 bits and a sample rate of 192 kHz (or 96 kHz if your converters do not do 192 kHz). Try to aim for peak levels of -6dbFS but don't worry if the peaks are lower. A maximum peak of -20 is not a problem with a 24 bit file, while -3 might not leave enough headroom. It is always a good idea to leave this kind of headroom for the mastering engineer to work with. Also, most digtal converters perform their best at around -6, so you end up with a better sounding mix than you would have at louder levels anyway. Final levels will be adjusted in the mastering room.
Sample rate conversion and dithering are also best left for the mastering stage of production. If you are mixing with a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation, i.e., with your computer), the end result will sound best if you mix at the same wordlength and sample rate as your multitrack.
"Normalization" is a process that changes the level of your audio files. It is often used to bring the peak level up to (or near) 0dbFS. This will most likely degrade the sound of your files and erase the headroom that will be needed in the mastering room. Level adjustments should be left for the mastering engineer.
Compression is a larger topic than can be properly answered on a FAQ page. It is discussed in the article called Declaring an end to the loudness wars.
The short answer is, if you like the sound of it, use compression on individual tracks in your mix. Leave any processes that effect the entire mix for the mastering room.
This varies with the particular track and project. Sometimes it is a good idea to leave fades (either in our out) for the mastering room, particularly if crossfades between tracks might be involved.
We create the premasters for your disk in the universally accepted DDP format. The DDP file set is delivered on DVD-R media, burned at slow speed, currently using the high quality disks made by Taiyo Yuden. To ensure the highest quality results, it is important that your replication plant of choice can work with a DDP file set. If the replicator prefers, we can forward the files directly to them via the Internet.
The glass master is created by the replication plant from the DDP file set created in the mastering room. Though the DDP set is often referred to as the "CD Master", technically it is the "PreMaster". You can think of the glass master as the first "mold" in a series the replication plant will create in order to arrive at a "stamper", which is what is used for the creation of the final "pressed" disks.
Just as burn speed is important in the creation of a CD-R, the best "pressed" disks result when the glass master is cut at real time speed (1x) It is a good idea to ensure your manufacturer of choice will burn the glass master at 1x.
We've mastered both with and without the client present. We've found that most folks can get bored sitting around for the hours it takes to create the final master. Also, many of our clients are not located near by, many being out of state or in another country. Since we're in frequent contact with the client during a project, most prefer to simply send us their mixes and listen to the results in their own environments on their own systems, with which they have the most familiarity. This has the additional benefit of saving them money since attended sessions invariably take longer.
We accept cash, check, or money order as payment. Payment in full is required for delivery of your finished Master.