How to submit your audio for replication

The Basics

The digital age has given rise to an entire generation that can now record, mix, assemble & pre-master their own CD records right from their own home. While the possibilities are endless, many artists are not aware of the positive impact a professional studio mastering session will have on their project. It is an expensive but worthwhile and highly recommended part of the process. However, your budget and your knowledge of mastering will dictate whether or not this happens.

So... Audio Mastering is the art of taking raw tracks and then digitally sequencing, sweetening the EQ and volume levels, checking balances from track to track and then placing them on a finished pre-mastered CD-R one off (or DAT tape) to give to the duplication house. This also serves double duty as a finished master that you can take home and listen! to your final versions before mass producing your album.

While you can literally spend thousands for this to happen, the frugal shopper can ask around and find "mid-level" mastering facilities that can usually accommodate budget albums and projects.

Standard "Red book" audio discs are defined as this:

Sample rate: 44.1 kHz
Channels: 2 (stereo)
Bits per sample, per channel: 16
Levels per sample: 65,536
Total data rate (Mb/s): 1.411

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CD-R "One-off" Masters

CD-Rs discs are now the standard for most users and preferred media format for sending CD plants your audio or data masters. Most advanced home computers now come standard with CD-R disc burners. CD-R discs can be sent directly to the LBR (laser writer at the CD plant). CD-R recordable discs can store up to 700 MB of music, files, multimedia songs - whatever you want!

Many manufacturers of CD-R discs make several models and quality varies widely. It is always a safe bet to buy and use name brand CD-Rs which are sold as their "premium" models. Never use discounted or unfamiliar 'no name' CD-Rs. Seek out a high end audio retailer that sell quality CD-Rs.

Your CD-ROM burner unit must be controlled by a software application via host computer. DO NOT USE STAND ALONE HOME STEREO CONSUMER BURNERS. Most software applications automatically utilize PQ indexing which is simply the song ID, file locations, or song duration etc. - just like a FAT (hard drive File Allocation Table). If your CD-ROM burner requires you to manually PUSH a button to create song ID points then chances are you are NOT using an acceptable CD-R burner.

Most Pro-Audio Recording Studios will have burners. Earthologycan PQ-encode DAT tapes and non-PMCDs (pre-mastered CDs) when required but accurate track timing cue sheets must be supplied.

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Program Indexing

The program on the master should be compiled in the correct CD running order. The pause between each track should be of the desired length and without any unwanted noises. We urge you to listen to your master tape or disc in its entirety before sending it for manufacture. Earthologymay be able to carry out corrections and amendments - but this service will incur additional charges and is not recommended.

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PQ Codes

PQ Coding: PQ codes provide location and timing of each track on the CD. The Compact disc contains a number of subcode areas and each area is named with a letter, from P to W. The key subcode areas are named P and Q. The mastering engineer performs PQ coding just before cutting the CD Master (CD-R one off).

How do you know you have successful PQ codes? Simply play the CD-R in a home stereo player (not your computer) and use your 'time display' button to see if it can read the song count backwards (eg: a song that is 3:26 in length will start counting down from 3:26 to 0:00 to indicate the end of the song). Also the 'time display' should indicate the TOTAL playing time of the CD. If your player does not have this display feature then seek out a higher-end player that does this. Also, use headphones to check your PQ codes vs. audio match. It is possible to make errors by placing the index at the wrong moment on the master since it does not affect the audible portion of the song. If you have a hidden track or your PQ codes differ from the artwork (CD jacket) please let us know by including notes with your master so we don't place your job on hold for fear of a mistake at our end.

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What about hidden tracks?

There are two types of ways to make a hidden track on your CD master.

Mode 1: The first (and more difficult) is hiding the track in the discs header file which renders the song invisible to CD players. The only way to hear this song is to start playing the beginning of song one on the disc and then rewind or scroll backwards into the - (minus) region of song one. If you keep rewinding it will eventually get to the beginning of your hidden track. There is no extra charge for us to replicate this feature. Earthologycan not tech support or assist you in any way to author this feature as it falls outside the normal Red Book guidelines. If you include this feature on your master, please make a note on your order forms (Audio order forms section 13) as well as a note placed inside the jewel case for our mastering engineers;

Master contains hidden track in header file:

(hidden) Song ID#1 ,"Oh Baby" , start -3:05 , end - 0:02
Song ID#1 , "Sha La La" , start 0:00 , end 4:12

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Mode 2: (easy) A hidden track can be as simple as leaving the credits off your artwork to act as a special bonus track. It can play normally with it's own ID point or it can be tagged onto the last song on the CD to make one long song. In any event, please make it obvious to us what you are trying to do. Having a song appear on your CD without visible credits on your liners notes or artwork is confusing and causes us to think something might be wrong with your artwork layouts. So please make notes on your order forms (Audio order forms section 13) as well as including additional notes with your master.

example of track listing notes:

Song ID#11 , "Moon in June" , start 35:17 , end 41:00
Song ID#12 , "This is the end" , start 41:02 , end 48:05 *

* note there is a 2 min. pause at 44:35. At 46:35 a non-credited track called "One more song" begins and will end at 48:05. The total duration of ID#12 is 06:03 which includes two songs.

Or-

Song ID#11 , "Moon in June" , start 35:17 , end 41:00
Song ID#12 , "This is the end" , start 41:02 , end 46:35
Song ID#13 , NOT CREDITED (hidden track) , start 46:35 , end 48:05.

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Playing Time of CDs

In the Red Book Philips recommends that the playing time of a Compact Disc should not exceed 74 minutes 44 seconds, although most newer CD players will play discs with longer playing time, sometimes up to 80 minutes. Compact Discs exceeding the recommended playing time of 78:00 may not play satisfactorily on some CD players. ie: if you go over 78:00 min you run the risk of the CD player stopping in the middle of your song.

Earthology will not guarantee the playing time of CDs that exceed 78:00 min/sec.

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Other notes about your master

Do I need tones on my master?

A finished pre-mastered CD-R or DAT does not need tones and is digitally transferred without alteration. The highest audio level is referenced to 0 db on a Sony-1630 system.

What about errors and glitches?
Earthology digitally transfers your master and tries to listen for errors. However, if an error or glitch is found on your finished CDs we will reference your original master. If it is the fault of our glass master and not your master we will rerun your order free of charge. CDs will not be replaced unless returned COD to us. No CDs may be returned without first obtaining an R.M.A. number
Does Earthologychange the sound of my recordings?
No! your master is your finished product and we will replicate it exactly as is.

What if I want some multimedia content at the end of my audio
This is not a problem but your product is then classified as multimedia CD-ROM and must contain TWO SESSIONS on a single pre-master. Please see Enhanced CD-ROM

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Tips & Suggestions for successful CDs
Get your studio recordings mastered by someone good! With the plethora of home computers out there it's easy for anyone (and their dog) to call themselves a mastering facility. Without a sound knowledge (pun intended) of EQ, compression, quantization errors and jitter, you may find yourself getting a CD that sounds worse than the original mix! A talented mastering engineer's job is to "sweeten" the mix, maximize levels with compression and EQ, and make sure your program is successfully transferred from DAT to CD.

Always ask the studio for a CD-R one-off. This will not only provide proof of accurate indexing of your songs but allow you one last listen to your mixes before you start the mass production process.

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What about DAT?

DAT (digital audio tape) at one point was the a studio standard for transferring your music to the CD plant. With the advent of the CD-R, this tape based format has become less and less popular. With DAT our engineers need to manually program your ID points on the final CD which is not as desirable as a final pre-mastered CD-R. We prefer your studio master to a CD-R final one off and not a DAT.

If you must send a DAT you need to provide a log sheet from the studio. The log sheet must look something very close to this:

Song Title Index Start ABS Duration Of Song End ABS
1. My Song 2:00 3:50 5:50
2. My Other Song 5:52 3:00 8:52

ABS = Absolute Time -this is the time code track on the DAT player. When you record your DAT a 'stamp' is placed onto the tape along with your music. You must play back your DAT after recording with the time counter set to ABS mode. Simply look at the time counter as it plays back and write down the information in a table as illustrated above.

Start your music at 2:00 -never start recording at the head. Leave 2 minutes of silence.

DAT recorders can also record Index or ID points but are very inaccurate. WE CAN NOT USE YOUR INDEX POINTS recorded into a DAT tape. A log sheet must always be used.

HIDDEN TRACKS at the end of your CD must be indicated on the index cue sheet. See example below:
Song Title Index Start ABS Duration Of Song End ABS
11. My 2nd to Last Song 45:00 3:50 48:50
12. My Last Song (includes non credited 'hidden' track) 48:52 10:00 58:52

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Earthology prefers CD-R masters to ensure an absolute clone of your material.

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MORE CD MANUFACTURING TIPS:

Choose an experienced graphic artist. There's nothing worse than getting a phone call from the CD plant telling you your provided paper inserts won't fit in the jewel box (ugh). Or, when your CDs do arrive, you find to your horror that the perfect shade of purple hair you've worked so hard to achieve is an off brown (ugghhh). Go with an experienced graphic designer!