Music Production and Recording
My background and my approach to recording/producing
I did my first commercial recording way back in 1975, of Harbison Bond and Goddard, a DC area acoustic rock trio. We recorded at a bar, after closing, with a Tascam 1/4" 4-track. One cut, "Thank God it's Friday" was still a steady on WHFS in the mid 90's. I've recorded and produced a lot of music since then. The gear has gotten better, but what I learned in those 6am sessions in the Pour House Pub still holds: Recording and producing is, first, about getting the best possible performance, and you adapt the recording process to the performer, not the other way around.
An experienced producer, besides knowing how long it takes to do this or that and what session players are good at what, has to know about countless things, large and small, that can affect the performance. First on my list is the headphone mix. I work on that constantly. If we're using session players I make sure the charts are flawless. Also, everyone has a talkback mic, and it's always on. Especially during playback. Clear communication, keeping up the pace and keeping focus, even the lighting and the coffee. They're all the producer's concern. Of course, he has to know things like room acoustics and what mics to use where (a separate recording engineer is a rare luxury these days) but if it helps the performance he'll glue the mics to the ceiling or attach them to the guitar with electrical tape. (I've done both, to good effect.)
So... before any talk about gear or facilities, let me offer some examples of my work. Was some magic captured in these tracks? If so, consider me for your next project.
Examples of my work
You'll notice that these examples are all in the singer/songwriter-acoustic-folk-pop domain. That's the music I know best, from 30 years of performing, and I stick to what I know, just as you do.
Some notes on the cuts above and my part in making them: The Tom Prasada-Rao cuts are from his CD, "I Hear You Laughing," recorded in my old studio in Herndon. The Lea cuts are from her latest CD, "Great big World," recorded in my current studio in Arlington. The Lisa Taylor cut is from her 1st CD, "Sibling Rivalry," recorded in Herndon. The Sara Landymore cut is from her CD "Corner of the World," (Herndon). I did all the recording and mixing for all of them, but I had different degrees of responsibility for the music itself. Tom Prasada-Rao made all his own musical decisions. Sara Landymore didn't require any decisions. She just sat down and did twelve first takes, then had John Previti do a bunch of first takes. Lisa Taylor gave me sole production credit but she was actually more responsible for the music than I was. Lea's CD was a true collaboration. She had the last word, but she gave me a lot of latitude and trust. (In fact, many of the sessions happened while she was away on tour.)
Facilities and gear (I said I'd get to that...)
My studio has a comfortable control room and two isolation rooms, one quite "dead," with no parallel surfaces, and the other a bit more live but very sweet-sounding. Each room is big enough for three friendly horn players or one extravagant drummer.
I have a few good mics that I've found do the job: Neumann KM84i's for guitars & such, AKG C414 for vocals (although sometimes I use an old CAD Equitek E-200. Cheap, but a magic mic!) Crown PZM's for drum overheads and assorted other mics, including some specialized ones like Crown GLM 200's for mounting directly on acoustic guitars to record vocals and guitar at the same time. (Many people simply perform better that way. Mounting the mics on the guitar gives you more isolation and lets the player move around a bit. Like I said, you adapt the recording process to the performer....) A couple of Klark Teknik preamps, but otherwise I use the console preamps The console is a Yamaha O1v (a scaled down O2R) and it's mainly for routing.
Like most people these days, I record to disk and mix in the box. I use an Echo Layla interface, Steinberg Nuendo for tracking and mixing and WaveLab for mastering, with assorted Waves plugins. The ones I use most are the L2 Maximizer (AKA the "better-izer"), the IR-L convolution reverb and their linear EQ's. For monitors I use Event 20/20's. Those are near-field monitors, and the control room is mainly a one-listener setup. You can hear OK everywhere, but the sweet spot, with true EQ and image, is only at the console.
A few more words about gear:
The best thing you can say about a recording rig is that you don't think about it. I know my rig like an old shoe, which means I give full attention to the music. Also: you have to have a clean signal path and good mics, but it's all useless without a good ear. If you hire me to make your recording, it will be for my ear and my experience, not my equipment.
Remote Recording
If you need to record something that won't fit in the studio (like a choir) or a live performance, or music that requires the ambience of a stage or a real piano (like classical music) I may be able to help. I have a compact remote rig that I can set up in about an hour and that can record 8 digital tracks. I use the Yamaha O1v board and a Tascam DA-87 and my usual mics.(I don't use hard-disk recording for remotes.) Remote recording is tricky. A lot depends on the room and the results are hard to predict. If a remote is what you need, though, give me a call. If it's a job I can handle, I'll be happy to help. If I think I'll be over my head I'll say so and refer you to someone who specializes in remotes. (Those guys have tools I don't have, but they don't come cheap!) I can also do basic video, or coordinate with someone who does more advanced video. Remote recording sessions are usually followed up by mixing and mastering in the usual way in my studio.
How it works and what it costs
Usually we have an initial meeting to discuss your project, for which I don't charge. After that, if you decide to hire me, I charge for production work by the day or by the hour. Right now those rates are $300 and $45, respectively. A day, for this purpose, consists of 8 hours of work in a 10-hour period (2 hours for breaks, which you will need, believe me). My minimum session is 3 hours.
How much will the whole project cost? As one studio owner I know put it, that's like asking how much it costs to buy a car. I've had clients who track, mix and master a whole CD in one long day, and projects that have taken hundreds of hours over two years. If you have a budget I'll tell you what I think can realistically be done within that budget and do my level best to make it happen. I've done this enough that I'm usually close. Sometimes a client surprises me and works faster than I'd expected.
Production work includes running sessions, recording, mixing, mastering, burning CD-ROM's, playing bass, keys and guitar (where I feel competent to do those things) and singing backup vocals. It also includes preparing charts for a session. Generally I charge hour/day rates for work done while you are with me in the studio. Sometimes it makes sense for me to prepare charts on my own, and if I do I'll tell you beforehand how many hours it will take. I don't charge for media (CD-ROM's, either reference or final) or administrative tasks like e-mailing you a reference mp3 or making phone calls to session players.
Complex arranging tasks, beyond improvising harmonies and such, I do on my own, and on different terms. (See the Arranging page for details).
If you need session musicians, I'll be happy to call them and schedule a session, but I don't act as a contractor. (In other words, you pay the session musicians and I don't take a cut. It's simpler that way.)
One Last Demo: "One Way to Record a Song"
Here's a quick demo of how I put together one recent recording. Hope you enjoy it...