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Introduction:
Firstly, please phone us so we can discuss exactly what you want to
achieve during your recording session. Don't worry if you're not
sure or have never done this before - we'll gladly discuss
and explain all the possibilities and guide you through it
all.
We'll spend as much time as you need for this part of
the process, free of charge, and you're most welcome to
visit the studio, join us for a glass or two, and chat about
what you want to achieve. We're not embarrassed to state
that many of the musicians we record are "first time,
independent artists" - so don't worry if this is all new to
you.
Ultimately
we'll be able to send you a formal quotation for the
estimated cost of your proposed project. And you're more
than welcome to visit the studio at any time to chat about
it all and check it suits your requirements. Once you're
happy, and if you decide to go ahead and pay your deposit,
we'll book some dates and you can start preparing for your
recording session.
Preparation:
The biggest issue for most musicians is the cost of
recording their CD, EP or DVD. There's one basic rule that
determines this - studio time costs money. The less time you
spend in the studio, the cheaper the project is. So the more
practice and preparation you can do in advance, the cheaper
it's going to be once you get into the studio.
Two examples:
One solo artist was so well prepared that we recorded 4
songs in 2 hours ($190 of studio time, plus mixing and
mastering). Another client spent two days (107 takes and
$1,380 of studio time) trying to nail the vocal line for one
song.
What to
bring:
In addition to all your instruments, associated
equipment, lyric sheets etc. you should also bring...
- Your favourite food and drinks. Recording takes a surprising amount of
energy. There are two lunch-bars, a bottle-shop and a 24hr Shell nearby,
but you may not want to waste time with that.
- Example CD's of the kind of music you like or the kind of sound you'd
like to achieve.
- Spare guitar strings, batteries etc. We do keep spares, but probably not
your favourites.
- Towel and bathers. We have shower facilities and a heated pool in summer
- great for freshening up.
Technical Stuff:
If you're not technically-minded, don't bother with this
part - that's what you're paying us for. We have the very
best recording equipment, as used by the all the best
studios around the world,
and many years of experience using it all. But
if you do have a technical interest, please check out our
equipment web-page, or give us a
call and drop by for a closer inspection.
Facilities:
Our studios and control room are fully air-conditioned. There's a reception area with cappuccino machine, kettle
and tea-making facilities, microwave and fridge (amply
stocked!) and shower facilities. We also have an
outdoor/night-time entertaining area with BBQ, and a large
heated swimming pool available in summer. Our admin office
has fax,
photocopying and printing facilities - useful if you quickly
need to copy a few lyric sheets.
Environment:
We are fortunate to be located in 5 acres of natural WA
bushland, mostly Jarrah, Tuart and Banksia trees. In
springtime we are surrounded by thousands of native
wildflowers, including Kangaroo Paws, Cat Paws, Donkey
Orchids, Spider Orchids, Cowslip Orchids, Jug Orchids, Swan
River Myrtle and many others.
All our water is supplied from
rainwater tanks (makes a great cup of tea), our hot water
is solar heated, and our swimming pool is filled from
rainwater tanks and is also solar heated. Our waste water is
biodegradably recycled before returning to where it came
from. We do our best to have a minimal impact on the
environment. It is a superbly relaxing and calming
place, ideal for creativity and the production of
great music. |
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STEP 1 - RECORDING:
When you first arrive at the studio, we'll probably spend the first
hour or two setting up any instruments or equipment you
bring, positioning microphones, setting recording levels, and
checking that the sound
we're getting is what you want. This is a critical part of
the process, so don't panic if it takes longer than you
might expect. The next stage is to start recording, and this
can take many forms depending on what kind of music you
play, and how you want it done (see
Multi-tracking vs. Ensemble Recording below).
STEP 2 -
MIXING:
Once all of the recording is done, the next stage is to
mix and balance all the recorded tracks to
produce a "final mix" for each song. This is done
by our sound engineer, typically sometime over the next few
days, in a quiet environment with no-one else around. We will then invite you back to the
studio to review the mixes and give your approval. Sometimes this
is a very quick and simple process; on other occasions it
may take a number of iterations to get exactly the sound and
production that you want. But one thing you can be sure of -
we involve you at every stage of the process to ensure you
get the sound you want, and that you're happy
with the final result.
STEP 3 -
MASTERING:
Once each of your recordings has been mixed to your
satisfaction, the next stage is
mastering. In the case of a CD or EP, this is
the very
detailed process of doing final sound balancing and
processing to ensure that the CD or EP flows properly from
track to track, that each track sounds well balanced
compared with the next, and that each track is "commercially
ready" for presenting to the world. In the case of MP3s and
other formats for web/download, most of the same
requirements apply. There are also some obscure
technical things done at this stage such as generating PQ
code sheets for CD replication and the insertion of ISRC
codes for tracking royalty payments etc. But
we handle all of this so there's no need to worry about it.
At the end of
mastering, we give you a Gold Archival "master" CD or DVD,
ready for duplication or replication, plus one or more
"production copies" for general listening, plus
professionally rendered versions in MP3 or other formats for
web distribution and streaming. You also get PQ code sheets
which are required for professional duplication or
replication, and can assign ISRC
codes for each track as part of the mastering process if
you wish.
STEP 4 -
DISK DUPLICATION / REPLICATION:
This is where you get multiple copies of your CD or DVD
produced. Duplication is typically done for small
quantities; replication is where a glass master is
manufactured from the Gold Master we supply you and is
typically only economical for quantities >500. We use
DiskBank for our own duplication requirements, but there
are others offering similar services so you might want to
shop around.
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Multi-tracking vs.
Ensemble Recording:
For more then 40 years, the ability to "multi-track"
in recording studios has significantly improved the
sound quality of music recordings. Multi-tracking is
where each instrument or voice is recorded
separately, one at a time, providing excellent
separation between each instrument and enabling
beautifully clear and dynamic mixes. Multi-tracking
typically involves recording a guide track first
(for example a rough guitar and vocal track in time
to a click-track or metronome) and then, one at a
time, each instrument or vocal is recorded while
listening to the previously recorded tracks through
headphones and playing in time to them.
At Studio Innovations we of
course offer this capability and it's probably the norm for
most modern music recordings. But for many musicians,
especially those who normally play in a band or ensemble,
multi-tracking may produce a great sound but may lose much
of the dynamics and interactive creativity that occurs when
you play as a group. We have an increasing number of clients
(from rock bands to classical and world-music ensembles) who prefer to
record while playing as a group, maintaining that "live",
interactive and spontaneous sound of the ensemble, and then
overlay perhaps a final vocal track and other lead tracks
afterwards. What makes "ensemble recording" work really well
at Studio Innovations is because of the
multi-channels of individual monitoring mixes we can provide
- everyone gets their own personalised mix through their
headphones.
So, we can do whatever combination of "ensemble" or
"multi-track" recording you need, but please discuss this
with us beforehand so we can plan the recording session
accordingly and ensure we do it exactly the way you want. |
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