First things first, Please don't bring any drugs or alcohol to our studio. You might think you're a grown-up but we share our property with our landlord and we don't need the hassle.

»How much time do we need to book to finish our project?

»Do you have Pro Tools?

»Do you guys have interns? Can i be an intern at Gradwell?

»What do you record onto?

»What is a "click track" and should we use one?

»What is Mastering and why should i do it?

»Should we get our guitars setup (intonated) before we record?

»What do we need to bring with us when we come to record?

»Can we use the amps you have listed on your equipment page?

»What is the difference between recording live and recording track by track?

»Should we record live or track by track?

»We started our CD at your studio and we want to finish it somewhere else or we want to bring our recording from xyz studio to Gradwell to finish, can we do that?

»Can we bring our own producer?

»Is setup time free (off the clock)?

»We would like to add a sound clip from a movie to our cd, how should we supply it to you?

»Do you guys have shows here?

»We are coming from out of state to record for a few days, can we sleep at the studio?

»What's the agreement thing you emailed me?

»How should we credit the studio in our liner notes?

»What time does the studio close?

»Do you specialize in recording a specific genre of music?


Q: How much time do we need to book to finish our project?
A: This is the question we get the most, this is impossible to answer because there are so many variables. Ultimately you and your bandmates determine how long it will take to record X amount of songs. Asking us how long it will take to record songs we have never heard with musicians we have never worked with is impossible.

If you have really solid musicians and everyone knows the songs like the back of their hand, you have all recorded in a real studio before, have great sounding amps, drums and voice, the lyrics are all written including harmonies and group shouts, someone in the band is leading the way that everyone trusts, you don't have one guy who is always late (i know you do), there are no smokers in the band and you have all played to a click track before then read below: otherwise you might wanna rethink coming in to record

A rough estimate that i find to be generally accurate is 1 hour in the studio for every 1 minute of recorded material. so if you have ten minutes of music you will need around 10 hours of studio time. This is an estimate!!!! You could easily go over or under that formula. Another estimation method is to take your best guess at the amount of time you will need and then double it. We have done whole albums in a weekend and have taken a week to do one song so you're just gonna have to ballpark it. [top]

Q: Do you have Pro Tools?
A: Yes, but we do most of our audio production in a powerful program called Nuendo.
* Nuendo can import/export recording sessions to/from Pro tools if that's why you're asking! [top]

Q: Do you guys have interns? Can i be an intern at Gradwell?
A: The short answer is no. The longer answer is: Dave and I have talked about the idea of having interns here and have decided that we are not ready to staff interns. People ask us all the time if they can come learn some stuff and take out the trash and make coffee. We don't have a coffee maker and we only have 1 trash can. The best way to get experience recording is to just do it. Dave and I never took any classes or interned anywhere and look where we are (please disregard guts and beards when using mental imagery). If you have a friend in a band get em to book some time here and come in with them. Let us know you are coming in with them and we can show you how we do things. Dave and i are always willing to share some knowledge. [top]

Q: What do you record onto?
A: There are 2 answers ...1: We mostly record into "Nuendo" which is a PC based DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) in other words we record onto a computer hard drive. 2: We have a 24 track 2 inch reel to reel tape machine that we also record onto....in general we use this machine to record basic tracks (drums, bass and guitar) and then "dump" them into Nuendo to overdub, mix and master. Analog (tape) has a "sound" that alot of people like on drums, do some research and see if it's right for your project. Keep in mind that a 30 minute reel costs about $200 (we also offer tape rental for $50) and unlike digital you have to rewind, so account for some extra time on your session. [top]

Q: What is a "click track" and should we use one?
A: Good question class! A click track is basically a metronome that is sent to your headphones while you play that keeps you in the right tempo. All the professional musicians in the world use a click track when they record (some even use one live) and i highly suggest using one when you record.
The benefits you get from using one are many:
1. Solid tempo throughout the song.
2. The ability to copy and paste sections of the song without tempo shift.
3. Having the click track during drum breaks in the song makes its easier for the overdubbing musicians to keep time when there are no drums, otherwise it's like Amateur Night at the Apollo.

p.s. Make sure you get some headphones and a pocket metronome and start practicing before you come record, you shouldn't be paying us to sit through what you could have learned at home for free. [top]

Q: What is Mastering and why should i do it?
A: Go Here [top]

Q: Should we get our guitars setup (intonated) before we record?
A: This is actually a question that never gets asked. People don't know what a setup/intonation is and don't care but it makes a huge impact on the sound of your recording and the fun to murder ratio of your session. A guitar/bass that is not setup will most times sounds out of tune even when it has been tuned. The curve of the neck and the position of the bridge affect how the notes sound as you travel up the frets. A good example of bad intonation and the need for a setup is this: You play some open chords and the guitar sounds fine but as you play some leads, bar chords or octaves up the neck you start to hear sour notes, you check the tuning and its ok but it still never sounds good.....You need a setup. You don't want to capture that in a recording.
You can take your guitar to a guitar shop and have their guy do it ($40-$60) or you can drop of the guitar at the studio 7 days before your session and out tech can do it for $20. Email us if you would like to setup a drop off time.
[top]


Q: What do we need to bring with us when we come to record?
A: Firstly ...A digital guitar tuner is a must. You need to bring everything that you would need to play a show except for a vocal PA, feel free to call if you have any weirdo equipment that you're not sure about.
Here is a checklist for the idiots:
1. Your instrument (guitar, bass, keyboard, etc)
2. Cables (instrument and speaker cables are not the same, read the print on the cable to see what you have and what you need)
3. Electronic tuners (not tuner, tuners)
4. A sweater isn't a bad idea too, our live room is enormous and we would have to charge $200/ hr to heat it to 72 degrees all the time so don't show up in a t-shirt in Feb. unless you are hairy like Robin Williams.

We have a house drum set but you need your cymbals and stands. I know that your drummer is not reading this and i know that you don't know a cymbal stand from a hand stand so make sure you send him our web address so he doesn't show up to record and not have any cymbals. [top]

Q: Can we use the amps you have listed on your equipment page?
A: Yes you can, but make sure they will be here. We are always touring, lending, breaking and fixing so email us to find out first or you may show up and have no amp to use. [top]

Q: What is the difference between recording live and recording track by track?
A: Live recording is basically when your whole band or ensemble setup together in the studio and play all at once like you would at a live show, most commonly the vocals are tracked afterwards. Track by track is when you record each instrument separately using headphones to play along to each previously recorded track. For example you could record the drums on tuesday, guitars on wednesday and vocals on friday. [top]

Q: Should we record live or track by track?
A: Well, in recording there are no rules, so you can do either. Call us if you wanna talk about it. [top]

Q: We started our CD at your studio and we want to finish it somewhere else or we want to bring our recording from xyz studio to Gradwell to finish, can we do that?
A: Sure, we do it all the time, give us a call and we will set it up for you. [top]

Q: Can we bring our own producer?
A: Sure, just make sure he/she gets in touch with us beforehand so we can make sure they have everything they will need. [top]

Q: Is setup time free (off the clock)?
A: No. If your session is to start at 4pm then show up at 4pm to load-in. If you want to come 15 minutes early to setup that's fine, but it will be "on the clock". [top]

Q: We would like to add a sound clip from a movie to our cd, how should we supply it to you?
A: Try to get it on a cd as a wave or mp3 file. If its something that we can get off the internet just bring us the link. Bringing in a dvd or vhs tape is a waste of time (and your $) since you can do it at home for free. [top]

Q: Do you guys have shows here?
A: No, we had shows at the old studio but decided that a dedicated studio space is better for us. [top]

Q: We are coming from out of state to record for a few days, can we sleep at the studio?
A: Yes! we have a really comfortable futon, a cot , some awesome couches and double padded carpet for you, just let us know ahead of time if you need to stay over. The studio requires a minimum of 12 hours booked per sleep over night. In other words, you need to book at least 12 hours that day to sleep at the studio that night. Please keep in mind that we don't have showers. Or ....Super 8 Motel. [top]

Q: What's the agreement thing you emailed me?
A: It's a basic contract to bind us both to the dates you booked and to bind you to our policies regarding payment, booking and cancellation. Once you book time via E-mail, AIM or Phone your are bound to our terms and conditions listed here. [top]

Q: Will you tuck us in?
A: No ......maybe. [top]

Q: How should we credit the studio in our liner notes?
A: Recorded at The Gradwell House by Steve/Dave/Chris/Whoever. We only have one studio, so it's not "Gradwell House Studios" and unless you're paying us to produce we are not your producer we are just your engineer. [top]

Q: What time does the studio close?
A: It's open 24/7. For the most part you can decide what hours you record. We prefer to start no earlier than 10am and end no later than 2am but we can be flexible if you need to go beyond those times. [top]

Q: Do you specialize in recording a specific genre of music?
A: Not really, we have done it all (literally). [top]