Crazy Daisy Productions: Audio Production Services

Crazy Daisy Productions: FAQ Page

Questions about:
  1. Mastering
  2. Mixing
  3. Editing
  4. Duplication
  5. Recording


Mastering FAQ

How much does Crazy Daisy Mastering cost?

Rates for our most common audio mastering services are provided on our Mastering Rates page. If you have an audio mastering need that is not covered by the options and rates described, please Contact Us and we will help you determine the best rate for your specific project.


Do I need to provide the mix session files for my mastering project?

No. For mastering work you only provide us with a single full stereo mixdown for each song, preferably in WAV or AIFF audio file format. The stereo mixdown from your mix session is the "master" output, which is what is used for "mastering". Providing your mix session files is only necessary if we are doing mixing work for you in addition to audio mastering.
The only exception is if you're purchasing our optional Vocal+Instrumental Mastering or Stems Mastering services, in which case you will need to provide multiple tracks for each song as required for these upgraded services.


How do I know if my mixes are ready for audio mastering?

We have several options and resources available to assist you with determining the preparedness of your mixes. We offer a free audio mastering sample so you can hear what your track will sound like after mastering. As a part of this service, we will notify you of any major mix issues or other technical issues we notice so they can be addressed, if desired, prior to submitting your material for a full service mastering. We also offer three levels of optional services that can be added to your audio mastering service, including a option to receive an analysis or your mix prior to mastering work, if you would like extra help. Visit our Mastering Rates page for more details.
If you're unsure about the differences between mixing and mastering, we provide some helpful information on our Do I Need Mixing Or Mastering? page.


How do I order Crazy Daisy Mastering for my album?

Simply fill out our Online Mastering Order Form and upload your tracks to us through our website. You can make your payment for mastering services online after filling out the order form and uploading your tracks. If you need assistance with placing the order or need to send your materials by mail please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.


Since I won't be there in-person, what assurances do I have that I will be satisfied with the results?

A VERY GOOD QUESTION!! Our job, first and foremost, is to make sure you are satisfied with the quality of your mastered tracks. There are many ways in which we help to ensure this. We upload mastered versions of your tracks to our web server and email you a link to them so you can download them and check them out as soon as they are all ready. If you feel anything could be adjusted to make it closer to the sound you want to achieve, just let us know and we will make adjustments as necessary. We don't generally charge any extra to make changes. After all, that's what you paid for and that's what we aim to achieve. This process allows for any tweaks that may need to be made in audio mastering to get it sounding just right for you. We also have a clearly written Service Guarantee at the bottom of our online mastering order form that states we will make a set of changes to the mastered tracks, if necessary, to get your sound right for you.

Of course, it's quite likely you're going to be very happy with the first mastered version as our success rate has proven. Check out some of our mastering samples from past clients or get a free sample from your own song and you'll see that we know our business. Also, we strive to maintain good, timely, professional communication with our clients and with anyone wishing to speak with us. If you have a question or concern, please Contact Us any time.


Can I request special features such as cross-fades, edits, etc.?

Yes! And most of these requests can be done at no additional charge, but be sure to Contact Us first to double-check your specific requests before placing your order. This will allow us to confirm they can be done and clarify any details with you prior to starting the mastering process.


What if I need my project rushed?

We offer a RUSH mastering service option for an additional fee. For more details, check out our mastering service options page.


Do you do audio mastering using separated parts or stems?

Some audio mastering facilities do mastering by utilizing a separation of basic elements of your mix. Since these elements must still be mixed together at some point, technically-speaking doing this kind of work is actually a post-production mixing process followed by a mastering process and, as such, costs more as more time is involved.
When you order mastering services from Crazy Daisy Productions you're ordering true mastering work, meaning work is done on the final stereo mixdown. That is what constitutes actual audio mastering work. Most of the time our clients have mixes that have been done well enough that standard mastering work is all they need to get fantastic sounding tracks.
However, we also recognize there are times when you know your mix could use a little extra help before it goes through the final audio mastering process. To help in these situations we offer both Vocal and Instrumental Separation Mixing and Stems Mastering as optional mastering service upgrade to help you obtain the best possible results for your tracks. More details are available on our Mastering Service Options page.


What payment methods do you accept?

We accept payments through Paypal or any major credit or debit card: Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express through our secure online purchase system at the completion of your Online Mastering Order.


Can I get a 'volume discount' if I submit a large number of tracks for mastering all at once?

YES!! You get a discount on mastering orders of multiple tracks. You also pay a lower price if you order mastering for both a full version and a performance or instrumental version of your track mastered at the same time. See our Mastering Service Options page for more details.


What media formats can I submit for audio mastering?

We strongly recommend stereo interleaved WAV or AIFF files at 16 or 24 bit depth and 44.1kHz or 48kHz sample rate for best audio quality. But you can also submit any other audio file format for mastering, or mail the project to us on CD, DVD, or USB Flash Drive.


How do I prepare my audio tracks for mastering?

For most mastering services assemble your best 2-channel stereo mixes as digital audio files preferrably in WAV or AIFF format ready to upload to us. Be sure that there is no clipping in your tracks (distortions due to levels surpassing the maximum limit of your recording system). If you're unsure, set the master output volume levels no higher than -6dB in your final stereo mixdown. See instructions for preparing your audio tracks for Audio Mastering for more helpful recommendations to ensure best possible results from mastering.


Are there any audio mastering samples available to hear?

Yes. Click here to hear audio mastering samples of songs before and after mastering by Crazy Daisy Mastering. We're always looking for more tracks to add to our mastering samples page. If you decide you would like to make one of your tracks available to us, and if we choose to use it, we will also include a link to your web page to help promote your music.


If I have a bad mix can I submit it for Crazy Daisy Mastering and get you to fix it up and make it sound good?

While we can likely help make it sound better, if you're sending us a poor sounding original track it's unlikely it will turn out as good as you'd like. There are many steps in the chain to making a really great sounding album. First, of course, you need good songs. Second, you need them performed and engineered by good musicians and producers. The equipment used and the studio recorded in must be high quality and the engineer must be experienced and knowledgeable for best results. Finally, the mixdown must be your best stereo mix. If you submit a great mixdown to Crazy Daisy Mastering, you will certainly be happy with the improvements to the volume levels, dynamics, fullness, punchiness, and other sweetening effects that Crazy Daisy Mastering provides. If you are sending a bad sounding mixdown, there is a good chance you still won't like it after it has been mastered either, although it will likely at least sound better than the original. For best results please be sure that every step of your song creation process has been completed to the best of your ability. Then you can be confident that the final mastered tracks will truly be the best they can be. Feel free to ask us about our Audio Mixing and Stems Mastering options to assist you if you're not confident in your mixing ability. You may be surprised at how economical it can be to get those final mixing touches applied to your songs and help you attain the sound you want.


Do I need to ask for my songs to be mastered in a special way to make them radio ready?

The Crazy Daisy Mastering system includes processes that set the volume level and dynamic range appropriate for radio play, as well as television and film soundtrack scores, and other media play, such as digital download and internet streaming.


What are ISRC codes and do I need them?

Answer from the usisrc.org web page: The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is the international identification system for sound recordings and music video recordings. Each code is a unique and permanent identifier for a specific recording, independent of the format on which it appears (CD, audio file, etc) or the rights holders involved. Only one ISRC should be issued to a track, and it can never represent more than one unique recording. ISRCs are widely used in digital commerce by download sites and collecting societies. This code can also be permanently encoded into a product as its digital fingerprint. Encoded ISRC provide the means to automatically identify recordings for royalty payments.
If you plan to have your material distributed digitally (iTunes, Spotify, etc.) then an ISRC code is required. For other situations it may not be necessary.
Many major national disc replication/duplication plants include digital distribution options for you as part of the duplication package, providing you with ISRC codes for the digital versions of your tracks that are submitted for online digital download sales. Also, many distribution services provide ISRC codes as part of the digital distribution package. Therefore you may not need to obtain ISRC codes prior to mastering. However, if you have ISRC codes that you would like added to your master tracks, include them in your mastering order form notes and we will encode them to the files for you so that the information will stay with the tracks.





Mixing FAQ


What programs do you use for mixing?

We can do mixing from sessions provided in: ProTools, Logic Pro, GarageBand, Reaper, Cubase, Studio One, Fruity Loops, Music Maker, Mixcraft, Sequel, and Audacity. If you have done recording or initial mixing work in any of these programs you can simply provide us with your mix session and we can open it up here to continue the work.


Can you do mixing on material mixed in a different program or mixed on a portable studio or raw recorded tracks with no mixing work done yet?

Yes. This sometimes requires a little preparation work on your part, but is very do-able. If you have tracks in a different mixing program then you need to create full song length tracks for us for each individual part, meaning you mix down each single track in the song independently, one at a time from your mixes, so that we have all the parts necessary to re-create your mixes here in one of the mixing platforms that we use. It's also a good idea to include a whole song mixdown as reference so we can double-check that everything came across correctly. If you have raw recorded tracks you can simply send them all to us as-is and we will mix them in one of our mixing programs. You can find out more about preparing your mix files to send to us at our mixing preparation instructions page.


How much does mixing cost?

The price is usually somewhere between $70-$100 per song. The cost of Mixing work varies greatly with each project. You can get a price quote by either utilizing our Free Mix Evaluation service or you can use our Rate Calculator to calculate the cost for your mixing project.


How does the process work with online mixing? How do I hear my mixed and mastered songs?

Shortly after you submit your order for online mixing and mastering services we will contact you with the expected completion date for your project (or for the first set of completed tracks if your project has many tracks in it). On or around that date you will receive an email from us with a link to download your mixed and mastered tracks for you to hear. If we have returned all your tracks to you in this email and everything meets with your approval you do not need to do anything more - they are ready for distribution, duplication, or broadcast. If you have many tracks in your project then you may only receive the first few completed tracks to review in the first download link and we will want to hear back from you that they are approved so that we know we can continue following the same methods and use those first several tracks as references while completing the rest of your mixing work.
If there is anything in the mixed and mastered tracks we send you that you feel needs adjusting please email or call to let us know and we will make the necessary adjustments for you as quickly as possible. You are allowed up to two adjustments to each song at no additional charge. It's our goal to not only make your songs sound great, but to also make sure they match your particular subjective musical tastes as the artist and this can sometimes mean making adjustments to the first few tracks we mix and master for you if you are a new client. Once we've received your approval on any revised work we will, of course, use those approved tracks as references for mixing and mastering any future work for you to ensure that you're receiving a great sounding mix that also meets your own personal and unique artistic aims.




Editing FAQ


Do you provide audio restoration services for poor recordings or degraded old recordings?

Feel free to contact us about your restoration situation, however we have stopped offering this service for the most part as we've found that quite often it is not possible to make a significant enough improvement in the sound for these situations and we feel there is not sufficient value for our customers.


Can you make a shortened or altered version of a pop song that I can use for my dance performance?

Yes. Simply provide us with you purchased digital audio file for the song you want edited and let us know what kinds of changes you're wanting, such as shortened to a particular length or have us remove a particular verse, and we will do the edit and return your revised audio file with the completed adjustment applied in a seamless way (no pops, clicks, or abrupt changes).





Do you offer CD Duplication?

We no longer offer CD Duplication as of January 1, 2019. However, for returning clients ONLY, if we duplicated CDs for you in the past we are still happy to provide additional duplicated copies of past CDs and/or work with you on any new duplication projects. We have decided to discontinue duplication services for new clients in order to focus more time and attention on editing, mixing, and mastering projects.





Can I schedule studio recording time at Crazy Daisy Productions studio?

Crazy Daisy Productions has stopped offering recording services in order to focus 100% on the mixing, mastering, editing and other post-production work. In some instances we still provide song production work and adding/replacing audio tracks with live studio musician recordings so feel free to contact us if you need anything recorded such as instrumental tracks, sounds, effects, etc. as we continue to provide these services for some projects.


Do you have studio musicians or vocalists who can add material to my song?

Yes, we do have access to studio musicians and vocalists who can record tracks to add to your song. Some examples are found on our Music and Voiceover Track Adding page. Send us the song you want material added to and a description of what you'd like to have provided and we can let you know if we can provide it and a price quote to hire the talent, record the tracks and mix them into your song accordingly. Contact Us for assistance.