The recording session is the first of the three main phases of a project. We believe that to have a high-quality recording, you have to start with quality equipment (and, of course, a litttle talent between the chair and the console doesn't hurt, either). We use only top quality microphones, mic pre amps, and a mix of analog and digital gear that we have come to trust. Our studio has two 24-track recorders (no ADATs!) for up to 48 tracks of quality audio recording.

Before you arrive, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse. And when you do come, come prepared! Anything that we have to "fix in the mix" costs time, and tends to compromise quality - and not everything can be fixed! Talk to us before you come for some hints and tips on how to make your session successful.

You are welcome to bring your own engineers along for recording or mixing, or you can use our in-house engineering. With more than twenty-five years of experience in music (writing, playing and engineering), we have worked with every major music genre.

After we've laid down the raw tracks, we move into the mix phase. During mix, we will go through each track, set its volume and position in the stereo field, and possibly add some equalization and compression to bring out the sound of the instrument. This is also where we add effects (reverb, delay, etc) to produce a consistent (or not, if you prefer) ambience. This work varies based on the instruments, the type of music, and your own individual playing style. If you have a favorite sound or technique, please let us know - we want this to be your project, and not a mass-produced copy of every other band.

The final step in the process is mastering. For most projects, you will want to engage a separate facility to handle the mastering. This allows you to have a different set of ears (and a different set of speakers) listen to your project, and add the final tweaks to make it ready for release. We do provide mastering, most often with our digital system, but if you prefer the analog feel, we also have the high-end mastering gear for that.

In the mastering step we take a stereo mix and make subtle changes, such as a final equalization and compression, bringing up the sound levels to commercial CD standards, and possibly adding some analog processing to warm up the sound. When that is complete, we burn two masters - a redbook CD (one that plays on nearly every consumer CD player) for you to take to a duplicating facility, and a high-resolution digital CD (one that plays on our mastering unit) for archives or for remastering. We will maintain 24 track and 2 track masters for two years, or deliver them to you upon request. Alternate formats for masters are available, but there will be a fee for the format change.

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