Recording Studio Shopping Guide

Do you know what to look for in a recording studio? How do you make a decision about where to spend your hard-earned money?

Many individuals and bands simply go by word-of- mouth; a friend or another band that had a good experience at a place, and that's the way most studios keep going. At Wellspring, over 90 percent of our work is from referrals, and we really appreciate the confidence people have shown in us. For those who would like to evaluate Wellspring among other studios in the Boston studio market, we've prepared this guide to help you with your decision.

Since there are many aspects of what makes a studio the right place for you, and no two people have exactly the same priorities, we've laid out this guide by major features in studios. We'll try to offer some information about each category, and it's up to you to rank the features in a studio by what's important to you.

Cost | The Space | The People | The Vibe | The Gear | Mixdown | House Resources | Summary

Click here for a checklist you can print from your browser.

Cost:

What's the hourly rate?

Are there block rates ?

Lockout day rates?

How much do you save if you bring your own engineer? ( Does the studio allow this ?)

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The Space:

Is it big enough for everyone to work comfortably?

Is it laid out intelligently?

How close is the studio to you?

Accessible by public transit?

How's the parking?

Are there safety or security issues with the neighborhood?

Is the control room comfortable enough for the whole band?

How are the acoustics of the place?

Is it clean?

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The People:

How do they treat you?

Do they have experience with your kind of music?

Is there a good connection between you and the engineer you'll be working with?

Do you have a sense that they know what they're doing?

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The Vibe:

What's it feel like inside the place?

Do you have a sense that this is a creative place for you to spend a lot of emotional energy in?

Do you feel like you'll find choices or dead ends as you work on your project here?

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The Gear (breaks down into several categories):

Console: Top quality consoles include Neve, SSL, Neotek, Trident, API, DDA, Otari, some Ameks and some MCI's. Second tier consoles include Tascam, Soundcraft, Mackie,TAC, AMR, Yamaha.The console should be quiet, clean-sounding, clean in appearance (no cigarette ashes or dust on the top) at least twice as many channels as you're planning to record (to allow for effects returns and extra tape channels), should have a flexible, good sounding equalizer on each channel.

Microphones: After the engineer's ears, this is the most important part of a studio that will determine how you'll sound. Do they have tube microphones? (Especially useful if you're going to record digitally). How many? What brands? (older Neumanns and AKG's are especially desirable, but Manley, Rode, and other companies are making some good newer models). How about other modern condenser mics - they've got to have a U-87 or two, along with smaller condensers like the Neumann KM-84, AKG 451, or ATM 4051 (these are great for acoustic instruments and drum overheads, etc). They should have at least one good ribbon mic if you're recording horns, reed instruments, or guitar amps.

Tape format: Are they an analog (reel to reel tape) or a digital studio, or both? If they're a digital place, do they have back-up machines Can they record on a digital format ( to save money), and mix to analog ( to increase fatness). How many tracks do you think you'll need? Hint: you'll always need more than you think you do! In the analog world, Studer machines rule, though Otari and MCI make good decks as well. In the digital world , more companies are coming out with machines every month, but Alesis, Fostex and Studer ADATs, and the Tascam DA-88 are the most common digital decks. Digital decks have more problems than analog decks, so a studio should have at least one extra machine beyond what your project needs to insure that sessions run without interuptions.

Outboard Gear : Twenty years ago most studios had a reverb unit, a couple of compressors, and that was it. Now you almost need a college course to evaluate all the outboard gear options available, because the market has grown in 100 different ways. Here are some general categories of outboard gear and things to look for in a studio's collection. Mic Preamps: Almost as important as microphones in determining the "color" of the sounds you're recording. Outboard mic preamps by Neve, Siemens, API, Daking, Demeter, Calrec, Audix, and other manufacturers have tube or discrete circuits (and no integrated circuits or "chips"), and have a fatter, warmer sound than most console mic preamps. These preamps are expensive to buy these days (typically $1000 or more per channel), and especially prized if you're recording to digital tape. A studio with a number of outboard mic pre's can offer you more choices in how your vocals, drums, and other instruments sound. Compression: Makes your tracks smoother, fatter, and louder if used properly. It also can make the tracks lifeless and dull if abused. Good compressors, and many of them ( at least 10) are essential to a studio's ability to give you a great mix. Manufacturers to look for include Neve, Tube-Tech, Summit, Urei, Focusrite, RCA, LA Audio, Brookes Siren, and Aphex. If a studio only has a couple of DBX, Alesis, DOD, or Peavey compressors, run, don't walk away. Reverbs and Digital Effects: Add ambience and /or appealing spatial effects to your mix. Best models to look for include the Lexicon line ( especially the 480, 300, 80, 70 and 42 models); the TC Electronics M-5000, M-2000, and 2290; Eventide H3000 and H4000; Dynacord DRP-20; and Ensoniq DP-4 and DP-2 (slightly less cool than the other stuff). EQ: Equalization controls the bass, midrange, and treble levels on a track. Most good consoles have decent EQ's, though sometimes it's handy to reach for an outboard model to add that certain something to a track or the overall mix. Great EQ's include Neve, Tube-Tech, API, Focusrite,Calrec, Troisi, and GML. Good eq's include Rane, Ashley, Yamaha and Dbx. Gates: Gates are needed mainly for drums, and sometimes for guitar amps and tracks where you're trying eliminate extraneous noise sounds that you don't want on your tracks. A studio should have at least 6 channels of gates, and good makes include Aphex, Drawmer, Behringer, Symetrix, Ashley, and DBX.

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Mixdown:

After you've completed tracking your basic tracks to a multi-track deck, you need to blend all these sounds together, through the console, using the studio's outboard gear to the mixdown deck. Every good studio these days has a decent DAT machine ( Panasonic, Tascam, and Sony are good models), but many studios overlook the positive qualities of analog tape mixing. Mixing to analog, epecially 1/2" tape, significantly increases the fatness of the tracks. Dolby SR noise reduction is also a plus when you're mixing at slower tape speeds ( 15 ips or less). The best brands for mixdown decks include Studer, Ampex, and Otari. Good monitor speakers by Genelec, KRK, Westlake, Tannoy, Quested, B & W, and other makes will help you hear wat's really happening on the tracks. Every studio typically has a "real world" set of monitors, often Yamaha NS-10's, which sound lame compared to a $3000 pair of Genelecs, but you'll need to hear your mixes the way most of the world listens to music.

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House Resources:

What kinds of additional goods and services can the studio provide that will enhace your project? Do they have in-house musicians? Do they offer instruments you can use on your project? Amplifiers? Keyboards? Real piano, Rhodes, or Hammond B-3? Can they make individual CD's of your mixes? Do they handle graphic arts needs? Cassette and/or CD replication? Not all these resources will be things you'll need, but it's helpful to know if a studio can provide them if you do.

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Summary:

Try to get a clearer picture of what you're after in recording studio before booking time. The more you know about what you need , the better you can evaluate the merits of a studio. If you like use the checklist that follows this page to compare and contrast the studios you look at. We hope the above information is useful in getting you started, and hope that after checking around, you'll pick Wellspring to do your next project. Feel free to call us at (978) 369-2644 with comments and questions. Good hunting!

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