Click a question below to see the answer (click back on your browser to return to the top):1. "I live in (fill in the blank) and you're in SF, how can we work together?"2. "I sent in a test song weeks ago and haven't heard back...why is this?"3. "How do I upload songs for mastering?"4. "Can I Use the mail instead of uploading?"5. "How do I upload songs for mixing AND mastering?"6. "How long will it take to complete?"7. "If I send you a song for a free sample or a paid project, will you own the rights to it?"8. "How much will it cost to finish my project?"9. "Can I preview the songs during the process?"10. "How does payment work?"11. "What's the capital of Turkey?"
"I live in (fill in the blank) and you're in SF, how can we work together?"
Most of our business is from outside the bay area, and some is even from outside the country. The combination of the Internet and our streamlined process makes working together on your project a breeze no matter where you live.
"I sent in a test song weeks ago and haven't heard back...why is this?"
1.Your upload may not have completed. 2. Your song file may have been too loud and maxed out already, in which case you should have received an email about it. 3. The email with the song attached may have ended up in your spam folder. Hotmail, Yahoo, Rocketmail, and AOL are notorious for this. Make sure and mark the email as "not spam" if this is the case. Most important of all:
Let us know if you haven't received your song within a week!
Preparing and uploading songs for Mastering
All we need is a rough stereo mixdown for each song. Make sure you tell your studio your songs are going to be mastered when they give them to you. You don't want them to apply any fades, compression, or limiting to maximize the volume - this is part of the mastering process. The mixes they give you (and you give us) should be low-volume "rough" mixes. This is very important. There is a chance that we can remaster your older work, but only if has not been pushed hard and already maxed out volume-wise.
If you're only mastering, you can upload a wav or aiff file (or many files as a zip file) through the internet. It's very convenient. The easiest way is to use our uploader.
Zipping your songs into one file
For multiple files select them all and right click. Then "create archive" or "zip" to zip them all into one file):
Be patient, it can take a while! Make sure and email us to let us know you have submitted your project.
Using the mail
First read the "preparing songs for mastering" section above. If you insist on using the mail, send 16 or preferably 24 bit rough wav or aiff song files on the data cd. A regular audio cd is ok if you have to. Please don't use any compression or normalization on the final song mixes. Please use the smallest possible padded envelope to send it. If it's just 1 cd in a case, you can put 5 or 6 stamps on it and use the regular mail. PLEASE PUT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS ON THE CD!!
Send to:
Last Drop
3191 16th St.
San Francisco, CA
94103
For Mixing AND mastering
You can also zip the files (see "Preparing and uploading songs for mastering" above) for each song up and upload them. For mixing multiple songs you can upload each one at a time, or send a data cd or DVD with the WAV or AIFF files for each song on it. Check the address in the answer above. Please label each instrument track correctly, and don't process, normalize, or maximize any of the tracks before sending them to us.
Please make sure they're all
EXACTLY the same length, so that they'll line up perfectly. They should all start at the same point if nothing else. You can "consolidate audio" in Pro Tools to make them the same length. Logic is the "merge" button above the arrange window. For example, if your song is 4 minutes long, then every instrument track of that song will also be 4 minutes long - even if it just has one small section of sound on it. This way we have no timing issues and we can work with your files no matter what program you used to record them. Just make sure the files that are mono are bounced out or consolidated as mono files. If you must, you can send an actual
Pro Tools or
Logic Pro session ( sorry no
Cubase) and we'll see what we can do for you. 24 bit files are best if possible.
"How long will it take to complete?"
We're usually very efficient here, so it shouldn't take long at all. If it gets very busy, we'll let you know the soonest we can have your project done. If you have a definite deadline, please let us know asap and we'll make it happen for you. Note, mastering can finished relatively quickly, but mixing can take some time. Definitely expect at least a week for a mixing and mastering project.
"If I send you a song for a free sample or a paid project, will you own the rights to it?"
No, we will never own the rights to anything we work on for our artists. We will also never use your songs for any reason whatsoever. They will be deleted from our database, so make sure you make copies! If you'd like, you're welcome to send a legal document for us to sign - one stating that you will retain all ownership of your music. It's not necessary, but if it makes you feel better we'll be happy to sign it for you. Send to the address listed above.
"How much will it cost to finish my project?"
We usually will already know what it will cost and will let you know right away beforehand. Please note that songs over 7 minutes in length will require an addition charge, as well as songs that need to be split into separate songs. There is a $15 master disc fee, and $5 for standard mail. You can also choose to save these costs if you just have your songs delivered digitally.
"Can I preview the songs during the process?"
Yes, we will get good solid mixes done and send you the mp3s to preview. We can make any changes needed at that point.
"How does payment work?"
Paypal is by far the preferred method of payment. It's the fastest way to complete your project and get it back to you right away. You can pay right away with a credit or debit card. Just let us know and we'll send you an invoice or request for payment. Half of the total is required up front. When we're done with the songs, we'll send snippets of each one so that you know they're finished. Then we'll wait for the other half of the payment.
If you'd like to speed the whole process up, you're welcome to send the full payment up front. If you use a credit or debit card through paypal the funds go through right away. Echecks, on the other hand, can take up to 9 days to clear. If you're in a rush to get your project back keep that in mind.
Through paypal you can "send money" to:
We'll also be happy to send you an invoice which will make this all easier.
Click Below: 
If you have to,
you may pay by check. Make check out to "Nathan Allen".
Send to:
Last Drop
3191 16th St.
San Francisco, CA
94103
When payment is received and has cleared, we'll send the master CD and finished high quality wavs and mp3s to you.
"What's the capital of Turkey?"
Ankara. And no, we didn't look it up.
