Finding a good studio

IF GOD CAME DOWN TO EARTH AND DIED FOR OUR BENEFIT,
THE LEAST I CAN DO IS TO GIVE YOU A DECENT BASS DRUM SOUND !!!

or

FINDING A GOOD STUDIO

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OK - I'm a Christian, so shoot me!! But the way I see it is that no matter who comes through the door, you serve them and work with them for their benefit, regardless of whether the band is "You Am I" or the local school band of 14 year olds.

So how does a young band (or a middle aged band even) find a decent studio operated by some guy who is not going to be stoned, pissed, or meditating when he is supposed to be working for you?

Business is business - it is said that selling drugs is the same as selling fridges - same procedure. Use the same commonsense in choosing a studio as you would choosing a place to buy a fridge.

So what does "working for you" mean? It's up to the band to decide how much input they want from the other side of the glass window. All bands need help, at all levels, that's why U2 still have a producer after all these years, but some bands have a sound (e.g. U2, Simple Minds, Pet Shop Boys, Helmet) which comes from the players (e.g. the Edge's guitar sound) or from the arrangements (Simple Minds - starts simple and builds, builds, builds).

These bands have more of an inbuilt sound, so maybe if your band is like this you wouldn't want anybody messing with it too much. However, if you are inexperienced in the Studio, unfamiliar with how to get a great drum sound or guitar sound, not quite sure if the intro is any good, hate the ending (and always have) - holler for help!

Here's what I believe:

1. A clean studio is a good studio.
   
   
2. If you rang a studio did they help you out? I don't just quote an hourly rate - if it's a band and they say they've been together 3 months and want to do a CD, I would suggest that maybe they come in and demo the songs first and see if the songs and band are ready for spending lots of money on a CD.
   
   On the other hand, if a band wants to come in and do an 8 song demo for $100, I'm going to try and get more money out of them = more studio time, so I can make a decent 4 track demo rather than a bad 8 track demo.
   
   So if the guy on the other end of the phone is offering advice, that will generally mean he is trying to look after your interests, which puts him in the good guy class.
   
   
3. Does everything work properly? Before I had my own studio, I remember going into studio after studio. Their headphones were always faulty, in bad repair, with half a roll of gaff keeping them together, and there was always something on the desk that didn't work (apart from the engineer).
   
   Now that I do have my own studio with about 6 million leads I realise it's hard to keep 100% of things running at 100% efficiency 100% of the time - but I sure try. You only have to look around a studio to know if things are looked after. If the guy has pride in his gear and his studio he will have pride in his work.
   
   
4. Talk music not gizmos! Go and see the studio and talk to the guy - if he does 10 minutes of technical talk, quoting silly things like Hertz, sound to noise ratios, floor noise, reverse phasing - quickly run away.
   
   Although the technical side of things is important, it's more important when a band walks through the door to sort out the music and the logistics (style of songs, budget, purpose of recording etc.)
   
   I've found the more technical the talk, the less the person knows about actually getting a sound. I know a guy who can quote the model number of the mike, the year of the amp, the polarity of the guitar pick-ups, but he doesn't know what a good guitar sound is. More sadly these people think that knowledge = ability. Most 10 year old kids have more knowledge than Socrates had, so knowledge does not equal ability!!
   
   
5. Play some stuff - When an artist or a band comes in, I will always play something I've recorded in a similar style. Whatever the style of music you play, the guy should have something similar. If he doesn't, maybe you should go to someone who does, otherwise you could be guinea pigs for this guy's first recording of music with drums (for a silly example).
   
   However, listen to what is being played. If the vocals are clear, bass is fat and round, guitar is clean or grungy or good (whatever), drums are punchy with plenty of snare and kick, not dull and reverby; solos stand out well, and if things seem generally balanced it would seem that this studio could be for you. Don't be silly and judge the whole by the specific - e.g. "I didn't like the studio 'cause that 2nd song had too much chorus on the guitar" - he might have been instructed to do so by the previous band - he might hate it too.
   
   BUT watch out that you are not being played a $20,000 CD final product as an example of what your $200 demo is gonna sound like - ask for a similar price sample.
   
   
6. Meet the man - try and talk with the guy who is going to record you, not the guy who is trying to sell the studio time - he could be a dork but the engineer could be a great guy - or worse still - the opposite!!
   
   You will spend some time with him and the success of the session will heavily depend upon him, and your relationship with him - so meet him!!
   
   
7. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
   
   I remember this guy, let's call him Bill (even though his real name is Hector). I'd worked on a few of his songs, helped the arrangements along considerably, given extra time to get them just right, helped him get a great final vocal, thrown in a bit of extra time (again!!!) to get the mix just right - everything fine. A week later he screwed me for $10! Call me over-sensitive but I took it personally. I'd invested a few hundred bucks in free time for his music's benefit and he shafted me $10 in return - so the next booking included no free time - he paid for every minute.
   

MORAL - If a studio does the right thing by you - at least pay the bill to the cent. And I'd go further and say that a "thank you" card a couple of days later would probably result in a bit of generosity next session at invoice time. "You reap what you sow".

Finally, there are lots of studios, but only a few good ones. With a bit of time and logic you can spot the difference - take the time!!

Permission to reproduce this article is available to all,
as long as you include attribution to myself including contact details
and let me know where you have used the material.
Jeff Cripps
A# Sharp Recording Studio
Email: jeff@asharp.com.au
Phone: +612 9153 9988

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