FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. Can my band record live?
A. Absolutely. We can record 16 tracks simultaneously, and 256 tracks in total. Separate tracking usually is a better way to go, but we can record live.
Q. How long will it take?
A. This is the most common question any studio is asked. It's a simple question, with a less-simple answer. It depends on a number of factors:
1. How good you need the recording to sound. Obviously you want it to sound good, but are you looking for a decent demo, or a professional recording? We can make it sound as polished as you need it to sound, but we will not break your budget making it sound as polished as WE want it to sound. It's YOUR record.
2. How tight the band is to begin with. We can make any band sound tight, but the rougher the performance, the longer it will take to fix.
3. How many songs we'll be recording.
4. How many different instruments and voices we'll be recording.
5. The punctuality and reliability of each member of the band.
Q. I'm a solo artist, but I want my recording to have more instruments. Do you use session musicians?
A. Absolutely. The DC area is full of tremendous musicians in all genres. They can be hired as session musicians when needed. Or we can use virtual instruments, samples, MIDI, etc, rather than hiring session players.
Q. I don't know how I want my song to sound. Can you give me some direction?
A. Absolutely. We've worked with a number of different genres, and will be able to hear and discuss where the song feels like it wants to go. Cletus has won a number of Songwriting Awards in various genres, as well as the Wammie Award for Songwriter of the Year.
Q. What should I bring?
A. Your song(s), your instrument(s), lyric/chord sheets, any food you'll want to eat (there's a kitchen with fridge, microwave, and oven here, as well as a number of take-out restaurants nearby), a flash drive to bring home WAV mixes.
Q. Anything else I should know?
A. You will save time and money if you do your pre-production before arrival. One frequently overlooked aspect of this is simple: Know your songs. If possible, make sure the whole band, not just the singer and the guitarist, knows the songs. Bring printed lyrics and/or chords if you need them. Have some idea of the tempo of the songs. This is not necessary, of course. We can work it out in the studio, which happens frequently. But if it's possible to have everyone up to speed ahead of time, then we're ahead of the game.
Q. Can you convert my cassette tape to digital audio or CD?
A. Yes!