Eight Tips For Choosing the Right Recording Studio

While it'd seem like choosing the proper recording studio in your undertaking is a honest method of finding the Phoenix recording studio with the quality price, there may be lots greater to it than that! Your first step is to consider your challenge. What kind of sound are you going for? Do you want to track stay at the floor (anyone playing without delay), or one tool at a time? How many songs, what number of overdubs, and so forth.

Next, you'll need to assemble a listing of studios to check out. There are numerous precise sources for Phoenix and the metro place. Search Kudzu.Com, Google.Com, and AZPunk.Com has as top list, as nicely. Be open to possibilities, you are no longer always attempting to find the cheapest recording studio in Arizona! The question of price is probably first to your thoughts, even though, and on the give up of the day, it's going to in all likelihood be a finding out thing. So, with that during thoughts, we will take a look at the options, as they relate to the price you will pay on your recording challenge.

1. Check Out The Gear (But Don't Believe The Hype!)

Most studio websites display their gear, with a equipment list. There's a purpose! For a savvy manufacturer, knowing what gear is on hand can be important. The price of renting extra preamps, compressors, or microphones will effect the cost of the task. Finding a studio this is well-ready can hold these rental fees lower. A properly-geared up studio has extra money invested in tools, though, so their rates could be better.

What equipment do you actually need on your undertaking?

If you are making plans to report your band 'live' within the studio (recording the drums,bass,guitars, and scratch vocals concurrently) you need a studio with sufficient mics, preamps, cables, and inputs to their recording machine to address that load. Many smaller studios charge a decrease hourly price, but can only music some sources right away. This means that obtaining your fundamentals down will take 4-8x as long. So that'll fee more than you might suppose.

2. Check Out The Space

If you're making plans to music drums, you will need to look the drum room. If the owner has spent the cash to build a facility, with a bit of luck, they have got constructed a first rate drum/major room. I'd be searching out a very good reverb decay (someplace around 1.5-2 seconds to decay to silence) and high ceilings. The BBC recommends tracking in rooms over 1500 cubic toes, and I generally tend to agree. The room should sound good, if it's far too useless, you will need to use reverb consequences, if it is too stay, it's going to make for some unfocused sounding tracks.

3. Check Out The Guy (or Girl!)

While it might be cool to paintings with a younger youngster who likes your track, and he in all likelihood charges a low hourly rate, be prepared to spend lots longer getting sounds,and a lot longer all through mixdown. On the other hand, using an older man with tons of revel in, but who is not certainly into what you are doing may additionally bring about a product that just would not seize what you're going for. Try to evaluate the engineer's tastes, and whether he's familiar together with your kind of music. Hearing some paintings he is completed inside the past will assist lots in evaluating whether he's an awesome fit, as will talking to him and seeing in case you gel in my view.

Four. Check Out The Vibe

If you are looking at recording studios, try to visit them in character if viable. See what the region looks like, what it smells like. Does it look like a place you may be cozy? Do they have smooth bathrooms? A Kitchen? A living room for the band contributors to sit back in at the same time as your vocalist is tracking his parts? What approximately parking? The vibe in the region will decide, along side the engineer, your consolation level, which influences your performances. If you're not feeling secure, plan on spending a piece longer tracking, a few greater takes to get warmed up, and so forth. Keep in mind that building and maintaining a superb room expenses plenty, the quotes will replicate that.

Five. What's The Reel Deal?

Some studios charge for a grasp CD of your tracks, they will price for hard force space, or you could need to provide or pay for tape, etc. These commonly are not big costs, though you may effortlessly spend $500-$a thousand for 2" tape in case you're monitoring an album (extra than that if you want multiple takes, or do not want to record over vintage work!)

6. How Do We Pay?

While maximum industrial studios take credit score playing cards, exams, cash, and so on, many small studios do not, as they're working as pastimes, not companies. You need to be privy to that earlier than showing up, as matters can get a touch awkward whilst you whip out the old Visa card and the engineer says "Cash Only,please!"

7. What Is The Schedule Like?

Ask about upcoming to be had dates, many studios will ask for some weeks to more than one months improve notice of a date. Also, find out the coverage on deposits. Many studios require 50% to preserve a date. If you need to reschedule, accomplish that with forty eight or greater hours observe, or you may give up a few or all of your deposit.

Eight. Do They Offer a Guarantee?

Not too many studios provide money-lower back guarantees that I've visible, but it's worth asking. At the least, they will provide a unfastened remix/tweak if the mix doesn't translate while you get to your own home stereo.

The Verdict

You will need to discover a area that you are feeling comfortable in, with the right tools to seize your imaginative and prescient in a quick quantity of time. You need to paintings with an engineer which you like,who knows your tune,and has been doing this long sufficient to get it finished fast and successfully. And the price shouldn't encompass hidden expenses that capture you off defend. There are many studios in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Scottsdale, and the encompassing areas. You owe it to yourself to go searching and suppose difficult about the options. Don't simply use the first studio you take a look at, and take into account that appearances may be deceiving. Working with the right engineer trumps most, if no longer all tools issues.

Good success, and recall to have a laugh!