Okay - so I'm trying to figure out what 4 days to record 8 songs might end up costing when all is said and done. Keep in mind - TOTAL noob when it comes to studio work... I typically just record my demos into garageband and tweek them, but I really want the studio experience and quality that can only come from stepping into a room with 2 or 3 others and putting it to tape. From the rates page, I gather that recording in studio B with Greg for 4 days will cost $3,650. But that's just to record the music... Does it make a difference if I wanted it on 24 tracks? Is there an equipment usage fee, or is that included? How does it work/how much does it cost for mixing and mastering, or are those services even needed? I understand that pressing the album to various media is a different animal, but I'm mostly worried about the costs that I'm not seeing here for just recording and getting something I can listen to at home for it. My apologies if this has already been answered before - I was using the search function, and while posts have touched on it, no one ever got into the specifics of costs. Let me know - big fan of your guys' work!

The costs of everything are on the "booking and rates" page. Time in the studio is used for tracking and mixing. We don't charge extra for using any of the equipment. We do sell things like tape, hard drives, and drum heads, but shouldn't have any hidden fees. The session calculator estimates the tape cost, but it isn't perfect since each session is different (some people will save several unused takes, some don't). If you want to record to tape, typically I record at 15IPS (slower tape speed) on the multitrack (16 or 24 track). This means you'll have about 30 minutes of raw recording time per 2" reel ($300 each). Most 30-45 minute records can be done by using as little as 2-4 reels of 2". You would be mixing to 1/2" tape. The amount of that is usually a little over the total time of the completed record, add more if you want alternate mixes. I typically record at 30IPS (faster tape speed) for 1/2". This gives you about 15 minutes a reel ($100 each). If you want to record to Pro Tools, simply omit the tape costs, though I recommend at least mixing to 1/2" for posterity. We don't master here, but can offer a bunch of recommendations.

Greg keeps beating me to the punch! Not seeing that this post was just waiting to be approved and didn't disappear, I emailed EA - as soon as I hit send, this post was approved and visible. Then as I was typing up a reply here, I get the "At least one new post has been made to this topic. You may wish to review your post in light of this," and it was Greg - the man is ON IT!!!I'd be recording to tape for sure - I want that experience, but mostly I just like it better - all my favorite albums were done to tape, and there's nothing wrong with pro-tools per-se, but tape all the way here. From what I gather, mastering could cost anywhere from $750 to $1,000, plus another $550 or so for vinyl masters. Total studio plus mastering looks to be about $5k - and that's if it goes to plan, and if I'm not a terrible studio musician (which I probably would be, but wouldn't care). This is good to budget by. Thanks for the information, Greg!

I forgot to tell you about the 9/11 security fee, which is $59.95 per day...