Help Choosing a Recording Studio

[saustindavis]

I need some opinions on a couple of studios that my band is thinking about recording at. I know it might be difficult without actually going to the place, but if you can listen to some of the samples and check out their pics and offer some advice, that would be awesome. The place I am really interested in is Link Removed. He works with a lot of local rock bands and has some great recordings. He is willing to track, mix twice, and master 3 songs for $450. I got a really good vibe from him on the phone, plus he wants to hear us live to get a better idea of our sound to keep in mind while recording/mixing. Our guitarist likes http://www.perfechterproductions.com/. We visited his place, and he has some decent gear and decent demos, but mostly does hip-hop (he called himself the white Dr. Dre...) with a few other styles thrown in. One of the major turn offs for me was the mattress foam in the iso booth and lack of acoustic treatment in the mixing room. We are also interested in [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] and maybe http://www.facebook.com/RainbowTroutStudios. If you have a few minutes to check out the links and tell me what you think, that would be awesome. Thanks guys!

BTW, we do instrumental rock similar to Foo Fighters, Incubus, Coldplay, etc. (but w/o vocals obviously...).

 

[Clearwave]

I need some opinions on a couple of studios that my band is thinking about recording at. I know it might be difficult without actually going to the place, but if you can listen to some of the samples and check out their pics and offer some advice, that would be awesome. The place I am really interested in is Link Removed. He works with a lot of local rock bands and has some great recordings. He is willing to track, mix twice, and master 3 songs for $450. I got a really good vibe from him on the phone, plus he wants to hear us live to get a better idea of our sound to keep in mind while recording/mixing. Our guitarist likes Perfechter Productions. We visited his place, and he has some decent gear and decent demos, but mostly does hip-hop (he called himself the white Dr. Dre...) with a few other styles thrown in. One of t he major turn offs for me was the mattress foam in the iso booth and lack of acoustic treatment in the mixing room. We are also interested in Link Removed and maybe Rainbow Trout Studios | Facebook. If you have a few minutes to check out the links and tell me what you think, that would be awesome. Thanks guys!

BTW, we do instrumental rock similar to Foo Fighters, Incubus, Coldplay, etc. (but w/o vocals obviously...).

Keep in mind, engineers/producers make great records not the the building. Find an engineer that has done work you like (most of them will be working at a studio). Meet with him and talk about your project, make sure he is the one that will be working on your project.

Have a great time! sounds fun!

 

[craig.p]

Keep in mind, engineers/producers make great records not the the building.

Yep, there it is in a nutshell. 90% of the "make or break" in your effort's output will be determined at mixdown, assuming the tracks were at least competently recorded, and recorded "dry."

Make sure you choose someone who understands what you want your final product to sound like. It can often help to point your candidates to productions that already exist. For example, in the country vein, if you're looking for a congested mix, you could offer up Miranda Lambert's Gunpowder and Lead; if you're looking for a more-traditional, pristine mix -- with lots of separation -- you could point to almost anything producer Pete Anderson has done, especially back when he was associated with Dwight Yoakam. (Just two examples.)

 

[saustindavis]

Hmmm. I guess I see what you're saying about getting a quality recording from the engineer, not the building, but at the same time I noticed several things that, even as an amateur, seemed wrong. The mattress foam in the iso room was a major no-no to me because that like using a band-aid to cover a gushing wound. Proper tuning would include bass traps, dispersion panels, etc. and he didn't have any of that in his control room or his iso room. I understand that you can get decent mixes out of rooms like that, but it takes a lot of post processing, and money, to get it there as opposed to doing it right at the source. Maybe I should post this on homerecording.com and see what they have to say.

 

[TBrett]

Hmmm. I guess I see what you're saying about getting a quality recording from the engineer, not the building, but at the same time I noticed several things that, even as an amateur, seemed wrong. The mattress foam in the iso room was a major no-no to me because that like using a band-aid to cover a gushing wound. Proper tuning would include bass traps, dispersion panels, etc. and he didn't have any of that in his control room or his iso room. I understand that you can get decent mixes out of rooms like that, but it takes a lot of post processing, and money, to get it there as opposed to doing it right at the source. Maybe I should post this on homerecording.com and see what they have to say.

Based on your observations so far, I'd say trust your gut.