Dynamic Sound Service is a custom built mastering studio recently relocated between Chicago and Detroit in Kalamazoo, MI. We work closely with our clients to get the most out of their mix and create a master that clearly translates your work in the best light possible, making it ready for distribution and or duplication.

Within this website you will find information on our services, processes, rates, and how to prep your material. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out. Every project starts with a phone call, text, or email…

206.335.3637

blake@dynamicsoundservice.com

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AUDIO MASTERING

Mastering is the final step in the audio production process before duplication and distribution. It’s the last chance to give the album that final ”professional polish”. The mastering engineer provides an unbiased/fresh pair of ears and their experience to bring your project to its full potential. Once mastered, your project will sound fuller, richer, louder, and become a cohesive unit that translates more consistently from one playback system to another.

Includes audio leveling, dynamics, and equalization adjustments; noise removal; fades/crossfades; and track sequencing & spacing. Mastered material can be used to generate a CD Master, Mp3s/digital files intended for internet distribution, or a vinyl pre-master.

RATES

This information is intended to give you an estimate of costs. Please feel free to contact me and I can get you an personalized quote based on the length of material, quantity of songs, desired formats, etc of your unique project. Some clients have 1.5 minutes songs… others have a few 17min songs – so all of this is taken into account when creating a quote.

Unattended Sessions (files are uploaded or mailed-in):

• Aprox $75 per song or….
• Aprox $550 per album….  Again it totally depends on your unique project.

-Masters are delivered in sequenced AIFF or WAV format over the internet.

-Vinyl Pre-Masters, DDPs, Redbook Audio CDs, MP3s are also available.

        -Revisions are built into the rate… we are done once you are happy.

PAYMENT

50% deposit is required to book/begin any project. The remaining balance is due upon approval of the masters.
We can accept Paypal, Venmo, Credit Cards via Square, and Cash.

Selected Discography

Some of the Artists I have worked with..

• 45th St Brass
• Anders Manga
• Bloody Hammers
• Bored Man Overboard
• Bronson Arm
• By Sunlight
• ChameleonsVOX
• Drab Majesty
• Dragon Trees
• Dream Demon
• Emily Donohue
• Floored Faces
• Fucked & Bound
• Haunted Horses
• He Whose Ox Is Gored
• Human Leather
• Jass Singh
• Jessica Roki Kilroy
• King Dude
• Lazertuth
• Low Red Land
• Mary Charlotte-Young (Magic Girl)
• Meridian Arc
• Mr Airplane Man
• No Better
• No Mightier Creatures
• Noonmoon
• Noise-A-Tron
• Pollens
• Pterodactyl Plains
• Reader
• Seattle Jazz Underground
• Serial Hawk
• Softkill
• Stella Crest
• The Ex-Optimists
• The Great Goddamn
• The Jane Austin Argument
• Tom Dickens
• Trapped Within Burning Machinery

Some of the Labels…

• • Atomic Action Records
  • Black Voodoo Records
  • Cercle Social Records
  • Chain Letter Collective
  • House of Watts
  • Light In The Attic Records
  • Napalm Records
  • No Sleep Records
  • Not Just Religious Music
  • Off White House Records
  • Profound Lore Records
  • Sink Hole Texas Inc
  • Spartan Records
  • Sympathy For The Record Industry
  • Void Assault Records
  • Whaling City Sound Records

Some of the Sounds…

206.335.3637

blake@dynamicsoundservice.com

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RECORDING / MIXING ENGINEERS

Robert Cheek – Seattle, WA

Brandon Eggleston – Portland, OR

Matt Olson – Missoula, MT

VIDEOGRAPHY / VIDEO PRODUCTION

J. Wesley Ludeker – Hemlock Media Co.

DUPLICATION | MANUFACTURING

Disc Makers – CD duplication

Gotta Groove Records – Vinyl

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Flying Eye Design, WA

PUBLISHING / COPYRIGHT / OTHER

ASCAP – Publishing

BMI – Publishing

ISRC – International Sound Recording Code

Harry Fox Agency – Mechanical Licensing

MP3 REGISTRATION

Gracenote – Compact Disc Data Base

iTunes – FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

HOW DO I GET YOU MY MATERIAL?

• You can upload your files here : CLIENT UPLOAD
• Dropbox, retransfer, and Google Drive also work great.

WHAT KIND OF FILES SHOULD I SEND?

• 24 bit AIFF or WAV stereo files are preferred – I can work with 16, 20, 24, or 32 bit files.
• Sampling rates of 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k, 96k, 176.4k, or 192k.
• Please keep them consistent 🙂
• PRO TIP * Traditional Stereo files are the standard… but I also LOVE to have access to an instrumental and vocal stem if applicable. This allows more flexibility when mastering. The vocals are a critical element in most songs and if I have access to the 2 above mentioned stems we will have room to play with. These stems are also VERY important archival elements for you as an artist. When being approached by a production company that wants to sync your music to TV, Movies, ADS etc…. they almost always want those 2 stems.
• **If you are working “in the box” send me files with the same sampling rate you have been working in. If you have been recording files at 48k, send me stereo mixes in 48k, and I can handle the conversions. If you have tracked in 16 bit, it is appropriate to mix down in 24 bit.

ANY MIXING GUIDLINES?

• Pay particular attention to sibilance on your vocal tracks. An appropriately dialed de-esser can be a serious game changer and is best applied during the mixing phase – pre reverb. Its reduces unwanted “SSSSSoundSSSS, hiSSSSSeSSS, etSSSSSSSetera”
• Avoid using a compressor or limiter on the mix buss to make the mix “louder”.  I have specialized tools and processes to do this. If you have a compressor on the mix bus to achieve a tonal vibe – be subtle and remember less is more.
• Leave headroom in the mix for me to work with. A general guideline would be to shoot for an RMS level of -14dbs and try to keep your peaks below -3dbs. But really just have the transient peaks under 0dbfs.
• Leave a few seconds of silence before and plenty after the song. I can trim extra silence… conversely its difficult to sculpt the fade out of an amputated cymbal wash.
• Your goal should be a mix that sounds clean, balanced, and transparent.

HOW DO UNATTENDED SESSIONS WORK?

• You can send me your song here (CLIENT UPLOAD) , via dropbox, google drive or wetransfer. You can ZIP your files in one folder or send them uncompressed one by one. – 24 Bit WAV or AIFF stereo interleave or L/R files are preferred.
• 50% of the mastering fees are due upon booking/beginning a project. The remaining balance is due upon approval of your masters.
• I will give you an ETA and keep in touch while working on your project. I will send you a batch of “masters for your approval” to listen to. If adjustments or revisions are desired I perform them at no extra cost to you. We aren’t finished until you are happy. Don’t be afraid to ask me questions at any point of the process… I want you to be well informed.

I WANT TO PRESS VINYL…  AND WHAT IS A “VINYL PRE-MASTER”?

• Do NOT use masters that were created for CD, Digital Downloads, Streaming, etc… for a vinyl release. It may be physically possible – but I can guarantee it won’t sound good. If you plan on releasing a vinyl record you are going to need a specialized set of masters. That is a service I provide… and LOVE DOING 🙂
• There are a number of steps in creating a vinyl record including Audio Mastering – Transferring/Lacquer Cutting –  Electroplating/Stamping – Pressing. I focus on and specialize in the 1st step of that process. I create the Vinyl “Pre-Masters” that the transfer/cutting engineer uses to make lacquers from. Over the years I have garnered a variety of relationships with other engineers and facilities who specialize in other phases of the process. I would be MORE than happy to talk with you about what you need and make recommendations based on your budget and timeline.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me! I love to talk about music and mastering 🙂

Blake 206.335.3637

blake@dynamicsoundservice.com