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Baking tapes

Many, if not all analog tapes pre-1990 are now in a state known as “shedding oxide”. This means that your old masters are coming apart at the seams. The glue that holds the oxide on to the tape is full of moisture and the tapes are literally falling apart.
This has nothing to do with how many times they were used, more that it was a mistake in the chemistry by the tape manufactures as they struggled to find glue that would work. These tapes cannot be played without risking the head of our machines and the music on the tapes themselves.

The previous glue used in tape manufacture from the fifties and sixties was made from a component of whale oil, so when the replacements were introduced in the early seventies and onwards, unfortunately nobody could check how long they would last until they started falling to pieces. This is now the case, and your old tapes will invariably be in trouble.

If you have a classic tape that you need re-mastered you must process it first in a process known as “baking”. This will make the tape stable and stop it falling apart for 1 month or so while it is transferred onto another format. This process is as scary as it sounds. The tapes are place in an oven and cooked for a few hours and it is not something you want to try at home.

We have purchased a laboratory thermal hydrating oven, so we now have the best, safest and most stringent way to offer this tape baking service in-house. This service is available to Turtlerock clients only and is only available for the master tapes we are re-mastering.

This is our main source of business and what we do the most of. Clients can expect to leave with a PMCD Master, a Safety Copy and as many CD-R References as there are clients at the session (usually 2 References are made at the end of the session).

Vinyl mastering takes a great deal of experience and as Rick was the head mastering engineer at festival (cutting literally thousands of records) during the height of vinyl manufacturing, our experience is unparalleled in this area.

We work in conjunction with The Vinyl Factory here in Sydney to make sure your vinyl dreams are made into a reality. 

Rates for preparing vinyl masters with Rick O’Neil only at $AU300 per hour inc. GST.

Digital dubbing transfers and editing is charged at $AU125 per hour inc. GST

Turtlerock can compile, transfer and restore your masters from any format. Often clients will bring in masters several weeks before doing a "box set" so we can get the tracks in shape and in order for the actual session with Rick.

We also compile run of the mill CD compilations - please contact us if you have a bulk job that needs to be done. Note: We may move our price around (in your favour) if it makes sense for us to do so.

Turtlerock accepts audio in the following formats:

CD-R
DAT
1/2" 2 Track Tape
1/4" 2 Track Tape
AIFF, WAV or SDII Data files at 16/24-Bit 44.1/48/96kHz stored on CD-R, DVD-R, or MAC- compatible Hard Drive.
Cassette (if you must)

Note: We do not really want to restore your music from vinyl pressings - after so many years of working with master tapes, having to go back to the vinyl as the only master is a drag - we urge you to "find" your masters.

At Turtlerock we have a variety of different services; therefore the rates may vary from job to job. As always, if you’re unsure of anything it’s best to ring us and discuss your needs and we will provide you with a quote that will suit you and your budget.

We also understand that it’s the little acts that need the most help and they are also the acts with the least money. So we guarantee to look after everybody who comes to us for mastering, and this means everybody, the big acts with the big bucks and small acts spending next week’s rent. We know it’s the little acts that grow into our biggest clients.

We have a huge list of artists that Rick O’Neil has mastered when they were doing their first recordings so you can be assured we are on your side; (Kylie, You am I, Diesel, Screaming Jets, Baby Animals, Delta, Alex Lloyd, Youth Group, etc etc)

Analog Stereo Mastering with Rick O’Neil
$AU300 per hour inc. GST

Analog Stereo Mastering with Robin Gist or Michael Carpenter
$AU166 per hour inc. GST

Digital dubbing transfers and editing
$AU125 per hour inc. GST

Because of the recent increase in work load, Rick O'Neil is only available to work on the projects that really want him to do the job personally. We realise this is the majority of our clients but there are just not enough hours in a working week to make this possible. Our other engineers are very talented and more than capable of doing any job that comes to us, which is why Rick has selected them to be part of the Turtlerock team in the first place. Of course if you're an unsigned artist struggling to make the rent then obviously Michael or Robin are cheaper options while still keeping the 'Turtlerock Tone'.

We do not offer a "bogus" unsigned artist rate.

The reality is that 80% of the work we do comes from independent unsigned artists and we are not afraid to put that in print! We're not afraid because that is the current state of the music industry, and any mastering house that leads you to believe that they are doing you "a favour " by lowering their standard rate must either be misleading you about the real rates or their engineers are getting paid less than they are worth! (hardly motivation for doing their best job).

We do not offer seemingly lower rates because you are unsigned and then extend the time it takes to do the job to get the money back.

Our rates are consistent whether you are Madonna or The Maybenots, that is to say every client we have gets our total attention to detail every time, not just when the money feels right.

Turtlerock does not and will not ever feel like that high profile platinum-coloured US mastering house often described as "a hospital with gold records on the wall" whether we end up offering e-mastering or not.

The bottom line with this rant is we are here to help. So if it really gets down to money whether you come to see us, then perhaps let us know - nobody is getting rich around here - one more job at a bit of a discount won’t kill us :)

At Turtlerock we do not charge booking fees and usually a phone call is all it takes to book us.

We then request that you send us an email with all your contact details and the agreed session time as a confirmation of the session.

If you cancel the session we require 1 weeks notice or we charge a cancellation fee of 1/2 the expected session price.

For overseas or interstate artists we require you to book the session with us and then make sure we receive the masters the day before the session at the latest.