A unique, brand-new remote digital mastering service offered by the legendary Capitol Studios in Hollywood, CA Capitol Beacon is designed and operated to allow artists, composers, musicians and producers access to the historical brand’s experience, facilities and mentorship.
Beacon’s core mission is to aid in the continuing development of the art and science of recording and to invite a wider audience into the historic Capitol Studios. Using the Capitol Beacon mastering service, clients are able to enter the virtual doors to Capitol Studios and benefit from its legendary heritage, experience, facilities and engineers.
Capitol Beacon’s official mission statement is grounded in a desire to help artists achieve more than simply sonic excellence. Included on their website (http://capitolbeacon.com) is the following: “The wisdom and knowledge that have been honed throughout our recording history and the equipment we house here can all help steward that deep emotional connection between your fans and your music.”
The Capitol Mastering team brings to each project years of expertise working with hundreds of top artists. The list includes Norah Jones, the Decemberists, Demi Lovato, Snoop Dogg, LeAnn Rimes, D’Angelo, T-Bone Burnett, Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus and REM who have all benefited from the legendary equipment still used every day, including our world renowned Echo Chambers, Fairchild 670’s and the custom-built Capitol 5511 Compressor which is unique to their facility.
The process is simple: when Capitol receives a track, they assign a mastering engineer based on his/her experience with the genre. The client is given a one-time “iteration,” or opportunity to communicate directly with the assigned engineer during the mastering process—to make any specific sonic corrections, adjustments, etc. Interaction with the facility’s experienced personnel is part of the Capitol Beacon service, designed to keep the client informed and involved.
The fee, as posted on the website, is a very affordable $100 per track. Capitol Beacon is making its initial social media push on Facebook (http://facebook.com/capitolbeacon) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ capitolbeacon).
“Capitol Beacon provides the same engineers and equipment that is offered to those artists and producers working in our four main mastering rooms,” studio head Drew Waters says, “with the biggest difference being that, to maintain maximum efficiency and a low cost, the session is unattended and the client is given a single opportunity to interact with his/her engineer. Anyone in the U.S. can use our FTP, and our turnaround time is only ten business days. For us, it’s an opportunity to provide our services to underrepresented markets of independent artists and producers who want the kind of experience and sound quality Capitol offers but who live far from L.A. and are working on a budget that doesn’t allow for lengthy attended mastering sessions.”
Capitol Beacon provides fast, effective communication about how the project is progressing, with an email sent to the client after every step of the process—successful upload, when the sessions are scheduled, when the work is completed, etc. There are auto notifications, but clients can also speak with real people to make sure things are on track.
“We understand the importance of sonic details, so at the time of original submission we offer the opportunity to add preferences,” Studio Project Manager Ursula Kneller says, “The communication between client and engineer after the initial work is done is to ensure that all client specifications have been followed correctly. Our goal is to always honor the artist’s vision. While we have the privilege of providing these services, artists across the country now legitimately have the Capitol Mastering stamp on their recordings.”
Waters adds, “The measure of our success will be when an artist who lives a thousand miles away listens to the finished master and hears a sound that fully realizes her vision for the labor of love that is her music.”
Contact Capitol Beacon, 323-871-5003, onlinemastering@ capitolbeacon.com
