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What you need to get ready!
Recording studios operate in what is known as the service industry. This means that when you rent the use of our facilities and personnel, they are there to serve you. We work for you, not the other way around. So Rule No. 1 is: don't be intimidated by the surroundings or atmosphere of the hi-tech environment. You take care of the creation of the music and we'll make sure it gets recorded properly. Our goal is to help you realize your artistic "vision," the way you hear it in your head, as closely as possible. If you have a special request we will do our best to accommodate you.
Some types of services cost extra. There are additional charges for the rental of the Baldwin grand piano, to cover tuning costs ,and any equipment not normally on the premises such as extra samplers, keys, or exotic special effects gear; or if an extra engineer or technician is required.
Being sure that you know what you will be doing during your studio time will keep you from having unplanned extra costs. You don't have to know all the technical stuff to do good work at a studio today. However, a basic understanding of the recording process and the types of things that are possible at which stages of the recording are a big help if you want to avoid wasting time and therefore money! There is a saying that "Time Is Money" and that certainly couldn't be more true than in the recording studio where you pay by the hour. So after you're musically and mentally prepared, secure your booking date with us.
Studio Musicians
Studio musicians are available through us or by private contract. The actual rate is determined by the individual player contracted; however, most of them charge somewhere between $20.00 to $40.00 per hour with a two hour minimum per session.
Other services we can provide are composition, session production, and mobile digital recording.
Roll of the Producer
At most sessions there is one person who has the final word concerning the music. For example, a producer can decide the tempo of the song, which take of a particular performance is the "keeper," what the general sound of each instrument should be, how the instruments are best combined during mixing, and with what kind of effects. It is the producerÙs job to oversee the recording project as a whole including the setting of budgets and devising a plan-of-attack to produce the recording within the time and financial constraints.
Hiring a producer can greatly enhance the quality of your project because he/she functions as an objective, fresh set of ears. The producer's job is to constantly evaluate the recorded performances with respect to how they fit together to create the best, most creative, end product. The producer is supposed to work with "big picture" in mind at all times, taking the information given to him by the performers as to what their overall intentions are with their music, and using that knowledge to create the final master tape. Refraze can provide producers for hire on selected projects.
There is a difference between an engineer and a producer. Your engineer is not expected to produce your project. If you would like one of our engineers to produce your project, you must discuss the production of the project with the engineer and make sure he/she is agreeable to such a situation. Our engineers have the right to add a producers fee. Rates will be discussed and agreed upon before the project begins.
Load-in & Set-upLoad-in is done through the door at the far end of the building. Refraze has many musical instruments available to you. We have congas, bongos, assorted hand percussion, several snare drums and cymbals, and guitar and bass amps.
If you are an electric guitar player we recommend that you bring your guitar and amplifier to the session as, in our opinion, the instrument of "electric guitar" really consists of a guitar and amp working together to create the sound. So there's no guarantee that you will be able to get "your sound" on just any amp. Bass players, however, do not need to bring their speaker cabinet as they are most likely taken "direct" into the mixing console and heard through the headphones.
Keyboardists should bring their keyboards and keyboard stand. We also have a wide variety of synthesized and sampled sounds available for use.
Drummers need to bring their own sets. Do remember that the microphones will be very close to each drum and the smallest rattles and buzzes sound extremely loud on tape! Make sure the heads are free of dents, are reasonably new, and are all of the same head style i.e. coated, pinstripe, oil filled etc. We give you roughly 1/2 hour of free setup time.
Studio Hints & Tips
* Don't be intimidated.Be comfortable and stay loose. You can't create while you're uncomfortable.
* Know what your project is and isn't. Is it an album, or a demo? If it's a demo then make sure you know what you are trying to demonstrate and plan accordingly. If you are demonstrating a song then make sure the vocal is well sung, up front in the mix; don't worry about a million keyboard overdubs or having the hottest guitar solo ever. In short, use some common sense and don't get bogged down on details which are not critical to the presentation of the song.
* Make sure your instruments are in good shape. Guitars should be able to play chords in tune up and down the neck, no matter which fret you are on. Put new strings on your guitar two days before the session so they have a chance to stretch out. Make sure you tune the guitar several times in those two days so that they get used to being at correct pitch. Check your 12th fret notes vs. harmonics and adjust your bridges accordingly.
* Basses should have new strings and drums should have new heads on snare and tom toms. Make sure the bass drum pedal does not squeak or rattle noisily when played.
* Don't bring people to the session who are not directly involved with the project. They will just serve as a distraction and will end up costing you money in the long run.
* If you have a home studio of any type, use it! Do your entire project (or as much as you can) on your 4-track at home. Doing this will uncover a lot of unforeseen problems and will provide a good starting point for the engineer to hear where you are coming from when you get to the session.
* Know your music completely. The more prepared you can be, the more work you'll get done for the least amount of dollars. The studio is a very expensive rehearsal hall. Do your rehearsing at home. You can do a lot of recording in very few hours if you don't waste time by listening to playbacks of takes that are obviously not "keepers."
* Know your background vocals cold. Over the years we have seen many projects that are proceeding right on schedule get bogged down during background vocal recording. If you have people singing background vocals who do not sing any lead vocals at all, then special attention should be given to this area during rehearsal. The problem is this: what sounds perfectly acceptable on the gig through the stage monitors is all of a sudden exposed to the intense scrutiny of the recording studio. A lot of times things that always sounded fine now sound pretty ragged. The most common problem areas are intonation (singing in tune) and ensemble (singing as a unit instead of 3 or 4 individuals). Pay particular attention to group cut-offs at the end of long held notes. Designate someone (usually the lead singer) to direct the cutoffs via a hand or some other visual signal.
* If you will be working with synthesizers on your session, bring the owners manual; unless you are completely familiar with the all MIDI functions. Know what synth sound you are going to use for which part and make sure you know where they can be found in your synthesizer. You should be very familiar with the steps to assign your sounds to the various audio outputs, and how to turn off any reverb or other effects in the board. Making a list of these things before you get to the studio can mean big time savings.
