A typical scenario starts with the artist calling us for a quote. When we say 'artist', it may be a professional with lots of experience, or a first-time songwriter. We treat everyone with equal respect. We'll ask questions about what it is you wish to achieve, such as the production of an entire CD, or perhaps recording one song. If it is a cover song, we will then ask if you have your own backing tracks, such as a karaoke CD, or whether we are to re-create the backing music.

If it is an original song, we'll ask if the artist plays an instrument and whether they will be playing accompanyment on the recording. These questions help us to determine a rough estimate of the amount of time that may be required for the project.

Some artists know in advance what sound they are looking for. For example, they may sing and play acoustic guitar, and wish to have additional guitar, bass and drums, with possible keyboards added to thier own tracks. They may or may not wish to record their own backing vocals. Of course, all of this is important to know ahead of time, when estimating the total number of hours that the project may require.

There are situations though, when it is hard to know in advance what might add to a song, and sometimes a song will almost arrange itself in the studio. Generally, arrangements will come to us intuitively, and can quickly be introduced to the recording.

The session itself usually begins with a recording of the accompanyment, sometimes with the artist singing along, or sometimes with a rough vocal track added afterwards. Then, the additional instruments are usually added before the final vocal track is recorded. This gives the artist a better feel for the energy of the song when they sing the main vocal track.

Next, the song is produced, meaning that the individual tracks are equalized, panned and will have certain subtle effects added. The main vocal will be treated very carefully to sound crisp and clear, yet blend in with the backing music. The final result can be provided on a CD, or e-mailed to the artist as an MP3 file. (or both)

We are a small studio, the sessions are quiet and intimate, and most artists feel quite at home, even those who have never recorded before.

Our aim here is to make each person feel as comfortable as possible, so that they can focus on what they do best - expressing themselves through song! At the end of the session, we usually ask if the client would mind having their photo taken, and we add that to our news section or to the photo gallery on our website. We also create a client web page for most of our clients, and they may use this page to promote themselves. (See our clients section for examples)

So that is basically it in a nutshell. Easy, painless, fun and exciting!