WHICH PATH TAKEN…

WILL IT BE A DEMO OR FULL BLOWN PROJECT?

THIS IS THE FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION TO ASK.  IT WILL DICTATE HOW EVERYTHING IS APPROACHED.

SHOULD YOU SEEK TO MAKE A “DEMO”, THEN IT IS REALIZED THE DESIRE WOULD BE MORE A ‘QUICK & DIRTY' - GET THREE SONGS DOWN AND WE’RE WHERE WE WANT TO BE’ ATTITUDE.  IN THAT CASE, WE ARRANGE ALL THE BAND TO RECORD AT ONCE, MICING EACH PIECE AND ROUTING TO MULTITRACK, MAYBE EVEN CUTTING THE VOCALS AT THE SAME TIME.  THIS IS AS CLOSE TO A ‘LIVE’ RECORDING MINUS THE VENUE AND CROWD AS YOU CAN GET!  EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE AS ONE, PLUS YOU STILL CAN OVER-DUB IF YOU SO WISH.  FROM THERE, WE START THE MIX-DOWN OF THE MUSIC WE HAVE.  GENERALLY SPEAKING, A 10 HOUR BLOCK OF TIME SHOULD GET THE DEMO COMPLETED.  IN THIS SCENARIO, THE DRUMMER IS ASKED TO SET UP THE KIT THE DAY/NITE BEFORE AND WILL BE GIVEN A FREE ½ HOUR ‘MIC CHECK TIME’ BEFORE THE SESSION CLOCK BEGINS.

IF THE BAND IS TIGHT, THEN THERE’S A CHANGE TO TRACK ADDITIONAL MUSIC THAT MAY BE ON THE DEMO.  A FAIR ‘RULE OF THUMB’ IN THIS SITUATION IS:  HALF THE TIME FOR RECORDING/TRACKING ALL THE SONGS. NEXT, A QUARTER OF THE TIME FOR MIXING (NORNALLY, ONCE THE FIRST TRACK IS EQed, PROCESSED, ETC., THE REMAINING SEVERAL WILL QUICKLY FALL INTO PLACE). AND THE LAST QUARTER OF TIME IS FOR MASTERING TO DISC.

BY NOW, SOME WILL BE THINKING “I KNOW WE CAN BEAT THAT AMOUNT OF TIME AND GET MORE DONE THAN THAT. BESIDES, WE’VE REALLY WORKED LONG AND HARD ON GETTING THIS MUSIC READY FOR THE STUDIO”. 

LET ME LET YOU IN ON AN INDUSTRY SECRET; TIME MOVES FASTER IN THE STUDIO THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD.  IT’S A FACT!  WE HAVE WATCHED BOOKED TIME FLY SO FAST; SOME BAND MEMBERS CAN’T BELIEVE THEY ONLY GOT TO LESS THAN HALF THE SONGS THEY WANTED TO START WORKING ON.

SO WHAT DOES THAT SAY TO THE MUSICIANS THAT WANT TO COME IN AND DO A FULL BLOWN CD OR DVD PROJECT?  IT JUST REENFORCES THE IMPORTANCE OF PRE-SESSION PREPARATION.  KNOW YOUR MUSIC INSIDE & OUT. 

FOR THOSE THAT DECIDE TO WORK ON A ‘COMPLETE ALBUM PROJECT’, THEN I COMMEND YOU.  WE ARE LOOKING AT A MAJOR UNDERTAKING.  I SAY THAT NOT TO WART ANYONE AWAY.  BUT JUST TO REMIND YOU THAT THIS TYPE OF PROJECT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED SOMETHING THAT MAY BE WORKED ON OVER THE COURSE OF SEVERAL WEEKS OR EVEN MONTHS. YOU CANNOT AND SHOULD NOT BELIEVE YOU CAN BOOK AMPLE TIME AND FINISH THE PROJECT IN A MATTER OF DAYS.  REGARDING ON THE CLOCK: AT THE FIRST SESSION THAT INCORPORATES DRUMS, THE DRUMMER WILL BE ASKED TO GET INTO THE STUDIO AHEAD OF TIME TO BOTH SET UP THE KIT AND THEN BE GIVEN UP TO 1/2 HOUR OF ‘DIALING-IN’ THE DRUMS BEFORE THE SESSION CLOCK STARTS. BETWEEN FULL HOUR COUNTS, ALL STUDIO TIME WILL BE DIVIDED UP  BY THE  NEXT QUARTER-HOUR (STOP AT 2:49, THAT’S 3:00).

OUR STANDARD HOURLY RATE IS $55.00 PER HOUR EITHER RECORDING OR MIXING DOWN.  WE OFFER BLOCK RATES IN TWO FORMS: 10 HOUR BLOCKS AT $45.00 PER HOUR AND 20 HOUR BLOCKS AT $40.00 PER HOUR.  ALL BLOCK RATES MUST BE PAID AT START OF SESSION.  TO MAINTAIN THE SAME RATE, ONCE THE BLOCK HAS EXPIERED, THE NEW BLOCK MUST BE PAID FOR, BEFORE CONTINUING FARTHER.  IF FUNDING IS LIMITED, THEN STANDARD RATES WILL APPLY.  FOR ANY OFFLINE WORK OR MASTERING IS PERFORMED, THE RATE IS $40.00 PER HOUR, UNLESS YOU PURCHASED A FULL 20 HOUR BLOCK, THEN IT IS ONLY $35.00 PER HOUR..  THIS INCLUDES DISC BACK-UPS PLUS THE MATERIAL COST.

THE BIGGEST FAILING I’VE ENCOUNTERED OVER THE YEARS IS SOMETIMES THE DIFFERENCE OF ‘THAT’S A GOOD ENOUGH TAKE’ TO ‘I CAN DO IT BETTER’.  AS AN ENGINEER OR PRODUCER, WE ARE LIMITED IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF ‘WAS THAT THE BEST PERFORMANCE YOU CAN GIVE?’  YOU AND YOU ALONE HAVE TO MAKE THAT FINAL DECISION AT ANY GIVEN POINT IN THE RECORDING OF THE PROJECT. WE WILL TRY TO PUSH YOU TO GET THE BEST...BUT IT'S ALWAYS YOUR FINAL CALL.

THIS IS OFTEN WHAT SEPERATES THE PRO FROM THE SEMI-PRO, AND CAN MAKE OR BREAK HOW WELL IT’S RECEIVED OR GOES OVER WITH THE A&R PEOPLE AND PUBLIC.

WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU TREAT EACH AND EVERY TRACK OF THE MULTITRACK (EACH INSTRUMENT/VOICE) AS IF IT HAD TO STAND ON IT’S OWN.  ALL TOO OFTEN, A BAD OR LESS THAN OUTSTANDING TRACK, CAN PULL DOWN THE WHOLE SONG.  AND USUALLY, WHEN IT IS REALIZED JUST HOW UNDERACHIEVED THAT ONE PART IS, WE ARE IN THE MIXING STAGE!  THIS LEAVES THE CHOICE OF GOING BACK IN AND RETRACKING THAT ONE TRACK, OR JUST LIVING WITH THE MISTAKE.  ONE THAT WILL REAR ITS UGLY HEAD EACH TIME YOU PLAY IT.  CATCH A POOR TRACK EARLY, IT SAVES!

PLEASE CONSIDER, WHATEVER YOU BUDGET TOWARD THE RECORDING/MIXING/MASTERING OF YOUR PROJECT…BUDGET JUST A FEW HUNDRED DOLLARS MORE!

THAT SOUNDS VERY SELF-SERVING DOESN’T IT?  AND YES, WE WILL BE GLAD THAT YOU SPENT MORE TIME (AND THEREFORE) MONEY WITH OUR FACILITY.  BUT THE HONEST TRUTH IS, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD DISC AND A GREAT DISC IS OFTEN, A MATTER OF THAT LITTLE BIT MORE OF EFFORT PUT INTO THE PROJECT.  BE IT THE EXCITING SOUND OF THE DRUM KIT ONCE IT KICKS IN, OR THE EMOTION HEARD IN THE LEAD VOCAL IN THAT ONE SONG.  THOSE ARE THE ELEMENTS THAT MAKE A NAME FOR AN ARTIST. 

WE FULLY REALIZE YOU AREN’T   BEING UNDERWRITTEN BY A RECORD LABEL, AND THIS IS MONEY OUT YOUR POCKET.  YOU WILL SEE, WE GIVE YOU OUR 100% EFFORT TO GET THE WORK DONE AT HAND.  WE MAKE YOU OUR TOP PRIORTY! 

WE PRIDE OURSELVES IN LIMITING THE NUMBER OF PROJECTS WE GET INVOLVED IN PER YEAR.  THIS IS BECAUSE WE HAVE A ‘STURDY BASE’ OF MOBILE-WORK CLIENTS THAT CAUSES US TO SHUT DOWN THE FACILITY FOUR TIMES A YEAR. THIS IS DONE SO WE CAN FOCUS ONLY ON THEM!   SINCE WE ARE IN THIS FORTUNITE POSITION, WE HONESTLY LOOK FOR CLIENTS THAT ARE SERIOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO ACCOMPLISH, AND LOOK FORWARD TO HELPING THEM REACH THAT GOAL.

NOW REGARDING YOUR PROJECT, IT IS A GOOD RULE TO REALIZE THE TIME YOU SPEND TO CREATE THE TRACKS WILL MOSTLY LIKELY BE THE SAME YOU WILL NEED TO MIX AND THEN HAVE MASTERED!  THAT IS, IF YOU CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN THE QUALITY YOU FIRST CAME HERE TO RECEIVE.  IN THE MIXING SESSION, I HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMEND WE BRING YOUR TRACKS UP TO A VERY DEFINED, BUT 'ROUGH MIX' POINT.  THEN WE TAKE THE TIME TO DOWNSAMPLE AND MAKE YOU A CD THAT YOU AND THE OTHER MEMBERS INVOLVED CAN STUDY AND PLAY ACROSS AT LEAST A HALF DOZEN DIFFERENT PLAYBACK SYSTEMS, SO YOU REALLY HEAR HOW IT TRANSLATES IN THE REAL WORLD. AND THAT IS MOST IMPORTANT....HOW IT SOUNDS OUTSIDE OF A PROFESSIONAL CONTROL ROOM. GO AHEAD, RUN IT THRU THE MUD AS MOST PLAYBACK SYSTEMS DIFFER FROM EACH OTHER! PLUS   THIS THEN GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE NOTES AND COME BACK FOR THE FINAL MIX DOWN KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT TO CHANGE IN THE MIX.   THIS IS WHEN EVERY LITTLE DETAIL IS IRONED OUT, AND THE SOUND IS EXACTLY THE WAY YOU WANTED IT.   THIS AGAIN IS WHY EARLIER I MENTIONED REALIZING EXTRA MONEY SPENT NOW WILL GIVE YOU THE PROJECT YOU WORKED SO HARD TO PRODUCE!

IN ST. LOUIS, YOU HAVE A LOT OF CHOICES OF STUDIO’S; FROM THE HOME BEDROOM PROJECT TO THE MAJOR SOUNDSTAGE ENVORIMENT. WHEN YOU CONSIDER WHICH STUDIO TO WORK THROUGH, PLEASE CONSIDER OUR IDEALOGY, ABILITY, EQUIPMENT AND COMMITMENT, WHEN YOU SELECT.  THANK YOU.