Anchor Recordings

FAQs

We're new to recording. What do we need to know?

It's pretty simple really. Come prepared as musicians. Come prepared with whatever instruments and amps you may be using (which we will have already covered in our initial consultation). We can only edit and process so much. Most of making a good recording comes down to how you play your song, how your write it and how good the instruments and gear you are using sound.

Tune your guitars - have them serviced for intonation. Get new strings. Get new heads on your drums and tune your drums as best as possible (we'll do the rest hear). Make sure your amps and pedals are working and your cords are sounding good (although we have a lot of that stuff here). Just double check everything and go the extra mile - it will be worth it.

And of course... practice your butts off and know your songs!

What's the recording process consist of - what's it all about?

Recording basically consists of three steps (and maybe four if you're super serious).

1. Pre-production: This is if you're super serious and ready to make a killer recording. The cheapest way to do this is to record a demo version (usually yourselves) of all of your songs and present them to our engineers here at the studio so we can really know what we're getting into before we start. With this, we can plan easier and make any song or arrangement based changes before we actually start recording.
2. Tracking: This is the actual recording of the instruments and vocals, etc.
3. Mixing: This is where you set levels, effects, processing and put it all together.
4. Mastering: This is an absolutely necessary final stage that prepares your music for its final phase, whether that's CD, mp3, record or whatever.

We separate all of these phases because it is the professional thing to do and it is the best way to create a good, solid recording. Pre-production isn't absolutely necessary, but it can help a lot, so if you can do it - do it. We can do the pre-production here too, but if you have even a crappy recording device of your own, it's better than nothing and it's free that way.

Do you really make professional sounding recordings even at those cheap rates?

Yes we do. There are a couple of ways we've been able to under-price most studios and still offer professional services.

1. We didn't design our studio to look like a palace: We built it to sound good and do its job but didn't make it too pretty because we figured it was all about the sound in the first place and instead we could just pass that savings on to you. (Don't you think that was smarter? Are you really going to miss the red leather couch you'd have to pay $10/hr more for?)
2. We researched heavily to find the most advance technology that was truly professional in quality and yet affordable. We're not charging you for maintenance costs on old preamps, tape machines and mixers from the 60's and other obscure, over-priced gear. We use modern gear that records beautiful sounds and does so reliably and cheaply.
3. We built the studio in the owner's house. (This is also why you don't see a specific address on the website. We'll let you know our location when you let us know you're a serious musician.)
4. We've focused on purchasing recording-related equipment rather than instruments (although we do have a handful of instruments and amps available and can get others when needed).
5. We just don't make much money off of you. This is so true that we have other jobs to supplement our love for recording. That kind of sucks for us, but I doubt you mind!

Do you require deposits to book sessions?

Sometimes we do. It depends on the dates you want, the size of your project, etc. You will need to contact us regarding this. We are pretty easy to work with and reasonable on our requests.

Do you have drum replacement capability?

Yes - although we are not fans of using it, it is available for people with the need for it. We actually use Drumagog - the industry-leading drum replacement software program (far superior to built-in Pro Tools replacements) when we are replacing drum sounds.

How much does it cost to record X number of songs at your studio?

This is an extremely difficult question to answer in general because it will vary greatly depending upon factors such as: arrangement, the size of the band, playing skills, number of layers, purpose of the recording and other variables.

What I can say is that if you are under a budget we can almost certainly meet your budget requirements - it's as simple as that! There are always things that can be done to make that happen.

We offer free consultations, so the best thing to do is get in touch with us and we'll be able to give you a better ballpark range on price once we know your scenario and we'll be able to make a few recommendations to you. If you already have some studio experience you might have some idea on how long it's going to take you to record, so just refer to the pricing page for info on rates.

Just know that we've always got your back in getting you the best price possible. We know that price matters a lot for most musicians so it's something we focus on keeping low.

Do you charge by the song?

No, we don't. We've done everything we can to be flexible and cheap with our prices, offering all kinds of different options to keep-it-cheap and meet your needs, but we don't offer this option for a couple of reasons:

1. It's not professional - the fair and professional thing to do is for us to respect your artistic vision as a musician and for you to respect our time here as engineers who have invested a lot of $$$ in our studio. It's much better for us to make goals together, meet them and for everyone to be happy in the end. No rushed session - no one feeling ripped off or taken advantage of - end of story.
2. We don't use presets and pre-formulated ways for recording your music. Studio's that offer these types of rates almost always use these “pre-fabricated” techniques. We pride ourselves on addressing you as a unique artist and developing recordings based off of your personalized sound and requests so that you end up with a unique product with a sound all of its own. (Just listen to the recordings coming from studios offering by-the-song rates - they make everyone sound the same - always using the same setups and formulas! We love and support individuality! )

Are there any extra or hidden charges?

No. Check out our pricing page. It's all there in simple terms. If you're confused, just ask - we'll gladly explain it to you.

What kind of gear do you have at your studio?

We have a lot of gear. We specialize in recording-based gear and not instruments though (which is one of the reasons we are so cheap - we assumed 90% of you already have good instruments and wouldn't want to pay more per session so that a cool guitar could hang on the wall the whole time while you recorded with your own).

I don't want to make a list because it changes. We're always improving and sometimes borrowing gear to make our studio rock-solid. If you really must know, just ask us to tell you. We will. We'll also cover the gear that matters the most to you when you call us to setup a session and go through the initial consultation process.

Let us just say this - we are a digital studio using the #1 rated recording software (Sonar - NOT Pro Tools) and also have a lot of highly regarded plugins (those are computer-based processors if you didn't know). We have tons of industry standard outboard gear and microphones that get the job done.

Have we forgotten to answer a question? If so... just contact us by Myspace, email or phone and we'll get back to you, usually within 48 hours.