Recording Studios

Groovy Mover

What in your opinion makes a good recording studio - apart from good equipment - what added touches make it a more enjoyable experience?

polarbelly

a sound eh.... sound engineer

McGonagles

Originally posted by polarbelly
a sound engineer

Engine Ear?

Seriously, someone sitting at the desk, who knows every fader and
every patch lead like the proverbial back of his/her hand, and can take
often conflicting instructions from band members ("more guitar!" "No,
more vocals!") and finish the sessions with something that sounds
acceptable to whoever is paying the bill.

If the band is paying the bill, then there won't be Some Record Company Git
sitting there, waffling on about how the mix needs to be more radio friendly.

However, if the bill is being paid for by a major label, you may (depending
on the terms of your contract) be required to compromise your artistic
integrity. This has resulted in a lot of bands breaking up, and in very few
Record Company Gits getting fired.

Technical problems should never be a problem for anyone but the tape op
(or studio manager or whoever is able to fix it), and definitely shouldn't be
a reason for interrupting the creative flow. If you're paying good money,
you deserve at least that much competence!

More important than how many impressive-looking 19-inch rackmount
effects units, and how much soundproof glazing there is, is how well you
can work in the environment and with the staff. You might be better off
recording on a laptop, in a spare bedroom with a friend who happens to
understand what you are trying to do, than in the same studio where your
fave album of all time was recorded, but with some arrogant git who just
knows that you don't deserve to be there.

Mastering is also important, especially if you want to get on the radio
and not sound like sh**e alongside a track from your fave album of all time.

Groovy Mover

thanks for that

would you say most bands know exactly what they are looking for before they go into a studio or do you think they appreciate a good engineer's advice?

so basically how good the engineer is and how well he works with the band is the most important thing.

McGonagle - you mentioned 'environment' - what is a comfortable environment in a studio or do the staff create this?

nonemoreblack

I would whole heartedly recommend krecording (a mobile set up) basically find yourself a comfortable place to set up and record and he will bring his gear in.

The 66e, Ellison 9, Jessica Insane and Alphastates have all used this set up and it worked well. He (Andy) is probably the most patient and understanding engineer I have worked with and he is costantly upgrading his gear..its a pro tools set up but he has LOADS of plug ins and some decent mikes.

I think his site is www.krecording.com

www.krecording.com I hope that works!?

Arthur Peanut

Try JAM Studios in Kells, Meath. It's owned by martin Quinn who plays guitar with Turn and has played with Brendan Perry. It's the most comfortable setting you could get for the price. A nice size control room and lots of equipment , Martin is great to work with he'll work with you to get the sound you are looking for and although he's impartial he is a musician and is brilliant at advising on what to add or reduce. Give him a call at 046 9240005. I think they have a web site too could be http://homepage.eircom.net/~mquinn/ there's probably a link from Turn's site.

An example of the touches include

-Tea and bickies in the morning while they set up the drums
-It's in the country side so you can go out for a walk for a break
-Martin has an incredible amount of guitars particularly vintage teles and a great guitar set up
-His brothers are involved in the studio too one's a pianist and the others a professional drummer
-If you like the idea there's a hostel nearby so you can book a few days and stay in kells, check out the Chaser pub and go on the beer
-It starts at €25 per hour

memaeve

Originally posted by nonemoreblack
He (Andy) is probably the most patient and understanding engineer

Very patient indeed....:D
xm

polarbelly

i'd also recommend andy, we've been doing our latest thingum with him, and its been a really really good experience

engineers are really improtant obviously but any engineer should know their own set up, for me just having a nice person working for you is really important, too many dick heads out there...

would you say most bands know exactly what they are looking for before they go into a studio or do you think they appreciate a good engineer's advice?

i'd get as many of your ideas down before going into the studio, but defo listen to the engineer, try and leave some time for messin around with overdubs and stuff too, its about fun at the end of the day.... sorry thats football

Daylight

Very good point. Can't stress enough the importance of being prepared before you go in. Nothing worse than pissing about trying half thought out ideas as you slowly watch your time and money drip away. Obviously there's always room for improvisation in the studio and no matter how prepared you are it will always sound different when you actually put it down but pre-production is the key.
Also, no matter how good the producer/engineer is, some people just click and some don't. You'll find out pretty quickly if you work well together and if it ain't broke etc...

McGonagles

Originally posted by Groovy Mover
would you say most bands know exactly what they are looking for before they go into a studio or do you think they appreciate a good engineer's advice?

Depends on how experienced the band is.
A good engineer will be able to suss it out, and any decent studio manager
will ask before any sessions take place.

so basically how good the engineer is and how well he works with the band is the most important thing.

I would say that's more important than the framed photos and whatever
on the walls - no point in being able to say "Hey, this is the chair that Bono
wrote such-and-such a song in", if the engineer is treating you like an idiot
and telling you that you don't know what you're talking about - he knows best.

Or if you brought a mix CD of What We Want This To End Up Sounding Like,
and the engineer wants you to try some crazy idea he just came up with, like
recording all the guitar solos backwards with too much reverb, and ignores
what you want.

McGonagle - you mentioned 'environment' - what is a comfortable environment in a studio or do the staff create this?

I meant the space you work in - both physical and mental.

You could have perfect soundproofing and lighting, a really understanding
engineer, a fast-moving tape op, but if the studio is charging you for coffee,
tea, strings and sticks, you are going to worry about running out of money,
and won't be concentrating on the music.

McGonagles

Good to see specific studios getting mentioned.
Some really useful advice there too - nice one!

I have heard great things about Black Box in France (the guy who runs
it used to tape op for Steve Albini), but you would want to be pretty
experienced (and organised) to record in a different country.

Same goes for EAR in Chicago (Albini's studio) - Berkeley said they
wanted an "accident" to happen to the tapes so they could go back again!

Having said that, it's better to use a local studio if you can, as that keeps
jobs in the country, supports the local economy, etc...

Wir_Sind_Helden

Stear clear of Track-Mix studios.... Not very Professional...