Mastering for Cassette Duplication
We perform two types of cassette duplication at A to Z Audio:

1. In-cartridge; for small runs.
This entails copying the contents of a previously recorded cassette directly to blank cassettes at 16x speed, suitable for voice or non-critical music. We also do high quality real-time duplication on our KABA systems.
No mastering is required.

2. Digital bin loop; for larger runs and highest possible quality.
Your audio program is loaded from specially formatted audio CDs onto a hard drive configured so that side A will play back normally, and side B will play back in reverse to enable both sides to be recorded at the same time, at 16x speed, directly onto bulk cassette tape, with an inaudible cue tone separating each program. A cassette loader which senses the cue tone then loads the tape into empty cassette shells.

We can prepare a digibin duplication master for you (see pricing below), or you may choose to supply us with a duplication-ready master. To forgo remastering costs, your supplied master MUST adhere to these guidelines:

1. A standard audio CD/CD-R (44.1 KHz/ 16-bit).
Wav, aiff, or any other formats NOT burned as an AUDIO CD are not acceptable and will have to be converted and you will be charged for remastering.

2. One CD track per cassette side.
This doesn't mean you can't have more than one song on each side; rather, it means all of the songs you want on Side A must be contained within CD Track One, and all of the songs you want on Side B must be contained within CD Track Two. For programs that will not fit on a single CD, you may supply 2 CDs - one for each side, so long as they each only contain one track. If you have only one side, or if you want the same program on both sides, one CD track will suffice. The price will be the same whether side B is blank or not.

3. 1 second of silence at the beginning AND end of each CD track.
This does not count the typical silent pause between tracks on a normal CD. It must be contained within the audio portion of the track. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing a split-second of program material at the beginning and/or end of each side. Simply copy and paste 1 second of silence at the beginning and end of each file representing Sides A and B before assembling the CD.

4. A program free of excessive digital distortion and extreme low-to-low midrange energy.
Excessively hot, clipped, and/or distorted masters tend to get exaggerated by the digibin duplication process. This doesn't result in the pleasant, warm distortion regularly associated with tape saturation... it ends up sounding grainy and grating. Also, extreme low-end/bass eats up a lot of headroom and usually results in a quieter-sounding cassette. Many programs with exaggerated energy in the low-mids (250 Hz-600 Hz) have been known to overload cassette tape. Please consider letting us remaster your material if there are any concerns. We want to make your release the hottest, best sounding product possible without compromising the integrity of your original material.
Call us with any further questions.

Mastering Fees (90130):
$5.00 + .10 per minute: Burn master from prepared files
$5.00 + .20 per minute: Burn master from individual tracks
ADD, if applicable:
.20 per minute for correcting files (reformat, reorder tracks, add silence, etc.)
.20 per minute for downloading files from internet

We also offer CD mastering, video editing, DVD authoring, and format conversion capabilities as well. Please call Matthew Gross at 440-333-0040 for guidelines, format preferences, and further information.