Sight 16 Studios: Rates and Services

Listed below is the recording process (for bands) that I prefer to follow.

When you're done here, you might want to check out my POLICIES page.

Tempo Mapping:

I'm a huge fan of tempo mapping and recording the material to a click track or metronome. The tempo map process adds a level of professionalism and consistency to your material found in many National releases. First, the client any myself will get together and create a tempo map of the material to record. Any number of tempo or meter changes can be created for each song. A scratch track is recorded to the click track at this time. The scratch track can be guitar, bass or vocal tracks used to help identify the parts of the songs. When the tempo map is completed, it is then burned to a CD so that the drummer can practice to the material before even stepping foot in the studio.

Drum Tracking:

When the drummer has had enough time to practice with the click and scratch tracks, it's time to start recording the drums. We'll set up the kit, get it mic'ed up and shoot the drummer the previously recorded material through isolation headphones. The drummer now has the click track to help keep a time reference and he also has the scratch tracks to tell him where he is during the different parts of the song. At this time everyone can really concentrate on the drum takes.

Drum Triggering/Sampling:

If acoustic drums are not your thing, or maybe you would just like a few more options, MIDI mapping and drums loops or drum triggering are a specialty at Sight 16 Studios. You can easily build your own custom sounding drum kit and have the ability to edit each and every drum hit without re-recording your entire song. I can transform any drum kit into a MIDI (electronic) kit in no time flat. The newest drum sounds are available through the Roland TD-20 Module. Contact me for more details.

Guitar/Bass/Vocals and other Instrument Tracking:

Once the drum tracks have been completed, the guitar, bass, vocals or other instruments are then recorded. The clients have access to the house amp modeling or tube-based preamps and power amps if they choose.

Editing:

Once all the tracking has been completed, we'll edit all the instruments and clean up all starts and stops and eliminate any excess noise.

Mixing:

Mixing takes all the instruments and "mixes" them together. Individual EQ, Compression or Effects are added at this time, as well as volume level adjustment and stereo field placement.

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. This is completed subsequent to mixing.

Sound Re-Enforcement:

In addition to studio recording, Sight 16 also provides live sound re-enforcement. I currently can provide sound for bands that would perform a medium to medium/large size venues (maximum of about 500 persons).

Here's a brief summary of equipment:

Mackie 32x8 channel mixer

Snake

Alesis Midiverb

Alesis MEQ30 Equalizers

DBX Compressors/Limiters

Alesis 3630 Compressors

Four (4) 18" Subwoofers -(4000 Watts Capacity)

Two (2) 18" Mains with two (2) Horns each (1000 Watts Capacity)

Two (2) 15" Monitors with Horns (300 Watts Capacity)

Sennheiser/Shure Drum Microphones

AKG D112 Kick Drum Microphones

Condenser Overheads

AKG Vocal Microphones

Stands

Call or email for a custom price quote for your event.

PA Rental is the base price, then additional hourly Engineering costs apply.

CD Enhancement/Flash Presentations:

Ever consider putting some live footage or videos on your audio CD to make enhanced CDs?

Need a training video put together that's far more exciting than any Powerpoint presentation? Flash -Based video can really make an impact for band press packs, real estate or business promotion.

How about voice-over work or book on tape? It can happen here as well. Call for custom quotes.

Hourly Recording Rates:

Tracking, Mixing and Mastering with House Engineer start at $45.00/hr.

These rate applies for 1 hour or 100 hours (makes things much easier).

Reference CDs:

Reference CDs burned during tracking for general reference are $2.00 each. Buy me a stack of CDs before you start tracking and I'll call it even.

Master CD:

Additional high-quality CDs at the completion of your project, burned to red book standard for duplication are $15.00 each.

Drum Tuning/Head Replacement/Guitar Intonation/Spare Parts:

Maybe your drummer doesn't know much about tuning and just wants to hit things, or your guitar player has left his guitar out in the sun too many times. I will replace your heads and tune your drums, or "fix" your guitars for a small additional fee (unless my roles are clearly defined during the initial interview with the client).

Additional Stuff:

Analog tape, LP or reel to reel transfers are also available.