Sight 16 Studios: Question and Answer

Here's the most common questions I receive about the studio. I've attempted to answer them as best I could.

1. How long will my project take to record? I really can't tell. It all depends on playability, source quality and how much production the client wants . Some people have cranked out several songs in one day, while others may only concentrate on one.

2. What is the difference between your studio and others I see in the phone book? I've been recording now for most of my adult life. My education and experience allows me to understand the basic fundamentals of recording, rather than hiding behind plug-ins or amp modeling. It all boils down to the person behind the mixing board. If you've got great ears and some good players to record, you can get some great sounding music. I had a friend once that recorded his whole album on eight tracks of ADAT and it sounded far better than anything recorded at some of the higher priced, more advanced studios. "Latest technology" is no excuse for achieving a good recording.

Another other thing is personal preference. Some people just really like the way things sound at my place. Find the studio that works best for your music and personality.

3. Why did you start recording in the first place? I honestly started recording because I was tired of paying other people for an end result that I didn't think was worth the money I spent. Word of mouth spread and I started recording other bands, in addition to my own.

4. Do you do this for a living? Yes. A few years ago the demand grew large enough that I couldn't ignore the option of doing this full time. I love the interaction between bands and myself especially when it's music I really enjoy.

5. Have you ever won any awards for your Engineering? Sight 16 Studios and the band Blind Dryve took home a NMMA award for "Best Rock/Metal Composition" in 2008. Sight 16 also won in this category in 2007 with the band Left Brain. I've also had several nominations for "Best Rock/Alternative", "Best Arrangement", "Best Western" and "Best Traditional Hispanic".

6. What kind of music do you listen to? I listen to a pretty wide range of music, everthing from Classical to Metal. If you don't listen to it, how can you record it?

7. Do you make CD artwork and printing? I do a lot of graphic design and web site construction, but I don't usually print CD art. I have a ton of connections for printing and pressing CDs. Most of the time I just Engineer and Master.

8. My songs have many tempo and meter changes. Can I still use a click track/metronome? Yes, you can use a click track. I can create an unlimited amount of tempo and meter changes, creating a "map" of your songs.

9. Why are your rates so low? When I was first interested in recording my own music, I could never find a studio that was somewhere in between the "major" studios and some guy with a 4-track. It was either the best you could afford - or a pile of crap (generally speaking). I felt that if I gave musicians a place to go that gave them a high quality product, that did not cost an arm and a leg, it would be a success for both me and the musicians.

10. What is Mastering? If you want your music to have maximum impact for radio release, or if you want to be able to compete with major record label releases, it is vital that you do not miss this important step in the recording process. Mastering can help your music sound louder, bigger, smoother, cleaner, more 3-dimensional, and generally more exciting.

11. My friend tells me never to record with a click track, because it will sound too stale. Maybe. I use a click track as a guide for the drummer to give him/her reference to time. Think of it like walking your dog with a leash, he can still run around - but only so far away from you. Some songs do not work with a click track, but if you want to add structure to your songs and not have them speed up or slow down erratically, I suggest a click.

12. How many tracks can I record? This is limited to how many real-time effects are placed on each track. Generally speaking, you can record anywhere between 30-40 tracks before things start slowing down. Most of my projects run around 25-30 tracks.

All for now... more later.