FAQ & Session Preparation

It depends on how many songs you want to record, and on your playing and your standards. You don’t need to be a virtuoso for things to go quickly, only to like the way you sound. If you want to sound different from how you can play, you can waste a lot of time chasing it, so get your performances where you want them before you come in. I can usually get you set up and ready to record fairly quickly, so the performances dictate how long a session takes. In other words, it’s all on you.

Remember set-up time too: mics have to be placed, drums tuned, levels set and headphone mixes made. You might want to try different snares, guitars or amps, take breaks, eat, or listen back to each take. And everything still has to be mixed afterwards, then transferred to digital, which happens in real time.

Bring the instruments you normally play your songs on. If you aren’t happy with your gear, or don’t feel like hauling it, check the gear page: there’s enough here that you could walk in with almost nothing and make a record. Most guitarists prefer their own gear, and most drummers prefer the studio’s drums. If you don’t like your drums, don’t bring them; if you do, bring them. Either way, bring your own cymbals, sticks and kick pedal. Some drummers bring their own stands too.

Practice, practice, practice. Get your songs tight and work out any kinks. Stay in shape and keep feeling normal, whatever that means to you.

Vocalists, especially screamers: don’t practice so much that your voice is strained. Some people have good luck practicing a lot in the lead-up, then taking a day or two off before the vocal session.

Send me links to records you like as references. If you like a particular drum or guitar sound on a recording, share it so I know exactly what you’re going for.

In many ways it isn’t very different: tape is a storage medium, just like digital. The main differences are editing and the amount of storage. On tape, I can do punch-ins, track bounces and tape-cut edits, much like you would in a DAW, but they’re destructive: once you commit, what was recorded over is gone. That tends to streamline things, because you decide right then whether a take is a keeper.

No. There’s plenty of tape here that can be used and reused at no cost to you. Most bands don’t keep their tapes, but if you want to own them, you can buy them. Some people buy just their two-track mixdown tapes and send them out to be mastered straight off tape.

I mix down to ¼″ or ½″, your choice. Reels you keep are charged at the current market price of new tape. A reel holds about 16 or 32 minutes depending on the speed of the mix, so plan accordingly.

It’s best not to mix right after tracking. At the end of tracking, I make a rough mix that you can take home, listen to on your own time and make notes on, like “punchier kick in song 2” or “brighter guitars.” You might even decide to redo a vocal or add a tambourine. Hopefully all that’s left is blending and polishing.

I prefer attended mix sessions, so the band, or one or two members acting as spokespeople, can give input and approve mixes quickly. Some bands are very hands-on; others hang out in the other room until I have something to play them. Either way works, and I won’t print a mix until the band approves it.

For mixing rates, email me for a quote; see Contact & Booking.

Cash is always good, and I also take PayPal and Venmo. If you’ve booked several days in a row, payment is due at the end of the last day; if your days aren’t consecutive, payment is due at the end of each day. Mixes are released once the balance is paid in full.