Digital Domain's Rates
and Estimates

All Rates in U.S. Dollars (USD)

The Mix Doctor

If you are interested in mixing or remixing with us, then check out The Mix Doctor.

Our mixing rate is $75 per hour, which is performed by superb mix engineers, specialists in your style of music, under Bob Katz's supervision.

Mixing Estimate

Mixing on a "per song" basis is usually not as economical for you as mixing several songs at once. The first song always takes longer than the second, because of setup and getting the initial sound. The third and further songs take even less time, until the time levels off. Two songs take far more time per song to mix than 10. The time spent also depends on the number of tracks and how well they are recorded or edited and how much work the mixing will take. Thus, to get a firm estimate, we need to hear your tracks and the shape they are in. But roughly speaking, it takes about 4-8 hours (average 6) to mix the first song for an "average song" with an average number of tracks (16-32 tracks). It takes less time proportionally to mix the next song, until we reach a "running average" of about 3-5 hours as the album goes on. So, a "typical" estimate for mixing a 10 song album is

6 x 75     =   470 (for the first song)

		
4 x 75 x 9 =  2700 (4 hours per song for the other 9 songs)

		
Estimate   = $3170 (for mixing 10 songs)
To get a better estimate, please tell us how your project was tracked and how you may have proceeded with your current mix, what platform and/or console you worked on, and what processes you may have already tried in your mix. Please fill in the request form and we'll set up an FTP password for you to send us a rough mix or tentative mix that you have been doing and this will help us to make an estimate. Even better, send us a session on a firewire drive or all the tracks via FTP, and we will evaluate your tracks and give you a quotation and a plan for the mixing. If you have a very fast internet connection and are working at a normal sample rate without a lot of tracks, you may be able to upload your session by ftp.

Mastering

Mastering with our chief engineer, Bob Katz, is $200/hour. Our mastering rates are very reasonable and geared to helping independent studios and labels achieve an incredible-quality master. Mastering an album can take as little as 3 hours and as much time as you and we deem necessary to get the quality of CD you are looking for. There is a natural point of diminishing returns, and for the vast majority of CDs we master, that is an average of 5-6 hours. Bob always keeps in close touch with you during the mastering, making sure you know what's happening, always discussing with you a given sonic approach to your music before proceeding with the time.

After the hourly-based mastering is done, the next step is to produce a reference or master, which can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours time, but is done at a flat rate. Bob "turns off the clock". Bob makes a reference CD for a flat rate of $25, a courtesy rate prior to the making of the master. You listen to the reference CD, and we can make any changes you may desire for the final master. When it is time to make the master, the CDR (or DDP) master is done at a flat rate of $200. Bob sets up all the processing gear, listens carefully while making the master, and prepares a PQ code list. The physical master is guaranteed, it is auditioned and error-tested. It will be replaced with no questions asked if the CD plant finds a problem with the mechanical media. (To date, with thousands of CD masters, there have been no problems, but it's nice to know we stand behind our work).

Mastering Estimates

Singles and Internet Mastering: If we send you a file over the internet there is no charge for the uploading or downloading process! The only charge is the mastering at $200 per hour, and typically a single takes an hour to do, at a total estimated cost of $200. And since we do not charge on a per song basis, it almost always takes less time to do the second song than the first, so two (or more) songs cost less per song than one! Of the last 10 singles that we mastered, one took 2 hours and the rest took an hour or less to master. Two songs usually took about 1.5 hours to master. If you need a physical master of the one song single, error checked and proofed and ready for replication, please add $100 for a master of a one-song single (this rate for the physical master holds for up to four songs).

Albums: There is no charge for any FTP uploading or downloading time. If you are planning on digital distribution of your material (i.e. Itunes) then your file is "ready to rumble." But if you are planning on CD Replication, you need a physical, error-checked master. If you do not need a physical, error checked master disk, then you can subtract the cost of the physical master and QC copy ($250) and shipping of the master from the typical cost estimates below.

Average Projects---about 5 hours:

5 x 200 =  1000 ("average estimate of time")
Master   =  200

		
Ref      =   25

		
QC copy  =   50

		
Subtotal =  275
Total    = 1275 (estimate for an "average" 10-song album)

Extreme Projects---some projects require considerable work (sonic problems, special assembly, intricate editing or mixing, etc.). Let's figure it out for 8 hours:

8 x 200     = 1600

		
sub (above) =  275
Total       = 1875 (estimate for an "extreme" 10-song album).

The range of typical "normal" CD-size projects has been from about $800-$1500, with some costing as much as $2000 or more. But the average (typical 10 song) CD project is around $1300 including all parts and labor. For a more exact estimate on your project, please fill in the form below and submit a mix for a free listen/eval via ftp.