Sorry if you already answered this question before.
Anyway, does the daily rate you guys charge also include mixing sessions, and if so, do you have a recommended amount of time for mixing?
As a related question, I was wondering if you guys ever listen back to an old mix and think, "damn I could have done that better!"
As a recording hobbyist I find that if I let a month go by and then remix I find a lot of things wrong with the first mix I didn't notice the first time and redo it and always get better results. Just curious if the pros did this too!
Thanks. Im a huge fan. EA rocks!
What does the daily rate include?
2as i understand it (and stop me if i'm wrong here. no? then i'll go ahead...), you pay for your time in the studio. how you use it is up to you.
basically, if you want to spend 10 hours mixing, then cool. if you wnat to spend 10 hours dicking around, then thats cool too. it's your money, so you dictate how you spend the time.
basically, if you want to spend 10 hours mixing, then cool. if you wnat to spend 10 hours dicking around, then thats cool too. it's your money, so you dictate how you spend the time.
What does the daily rate include?
3As a related question, I was wondering if you guys ever listen back to an old mix and think, "damn I could have done that better!"
of course! i imagine it's a pretty universal thing.
however, i think constant re-evaluations and remixes can lead to really tepid and uninspired sounding records. i'm about to remix an older recording, but it has more to do with the fact that i didn't have the confidence at the time to correct what i initially doubted. you'll always be able to find things months after the fact, but those things turn out to be other people's favorite aspect of the recording.
oops: i just realized this question was probably intended for EA engineers. sorry.
What does the daily rate include?
4154 wrote:
of course! i imagine it's a pretty universal thing.
however, i think constant re-evaluations and remixes can lead to really tepid and uninspired sounding records. i'm about to remix an older recording, but it has more to do with the fact that i didn't have the confidence at the time to correct what i initially doubted. you'll always be able to find things months after the fact, but those things turn out to be other people's favorite aspect of the recording.
oops: i just realized this question was probably intended for EA engineers. sorry.
No, no, this is an open forum right? Im interested in what others think about this too. All good points you make. I'm still learning the art so to me when I figure something new out I go back and find things wrong with my old mixes all the time. I was just wondering if this is common and if so how do people deal with it? I have become so obsessed with remixing sometimes that I don't move on as quickly as I should. I know, its a pretty aesthetic question that belongs in the general discussion forum. Sorry.
Back to my main question though, I was mainly curious if the staff always mixes or if the bands do, and in that case how do you figure rates based on that? For example, if I want to mix my band myself, will I get charged the same rate as if I wanted EA staff to mix? I am mainly referring to the process for the independent band that comes in to record. Not the big acts. I know they have there own mixers a loy of times.
What does the daily rate include?
5there is a daily rate for the studio and another daily rate for an engineer. go to the "booking & rates" page for more info.
mtar
mtar
What does the daily rate include?
6Ok, I understand that, but the reason Im asking all this is because some friends of mine went to TN to record in a studio ran by a guy who "worked with the Beatles". When they were done, he gave them a rough mixdown to take home. Mind you this is a full production company. He did all the artwork, cd duplication, and he insisted on doing all the mixing. So a month later they got their full package, and the songs were much better mixed than the original rough mixdown.
Now they got the impression that the reason why he liked to do the mixing was because they were inexperienced in it and he wanted a good representation of his work.
Is this how all pro studios work? What if my band came to record, thought we could mix ourselves, did so and it sounded like shit? Would EA say something, or would they let it go, knowing full well anyone hearing the bad mix would know it came from EA. When EA does mix, do they 'sit on the mix' like this guy did, or do they mix down right there with you and when you say it is done, its done? Is there any leeway in regards to this knowing that perhaps a month later a mix could sound different and need improvements?
Sorry that this is becoming a long-winded question. Im just curious about how this works in a pro studio, and who better to ask than the pros right?
Now they got the impression that the reason why he liked to do the mixing was because they were inexperienced in it and he wanted a good representation of his work.
Is this how all pro studios work? What if my band came to record, thought we could mix ourselves, did so and it sounded like shit? Would EA say something, or would they let it go, knowing full well anyone hearing the bad mix would know it came from EA. When EA does mix, do they 'sit on the mix' like this guy did, or do they mix down right there with you and when you say it is done, its done? Is there any leeway in regards to this knowing that perhaps a month later a mix could sound different and need improvements?
Sorry that this is becoming a long-winded question. Im just curious about how this works in a pro studio, and who better to ask than the pros right?
What does the daily rate include?
7No, no, this is an open forum right? Im interested in what others think about this too.
cool, that's what i figured. just makin' sure you care what joe blow "why the fuck is there a wire record for your name?" thinks
I have become so obsessed with remixing sometimes that I don't move on as quickly as I should. I know, its a pretty aesthetic question that belongs in the general discussion forum. Sorry.
actually, this forum is probably fine. the general forum is mostly for baseball, poker, and trolls.
To answer your question, your studio time is yours to do whatever you want with. if you wanna remix the record in your house or whatever they won't stop you. i know plenty of records recorded at EA that were remixed elsewhere that the EA staff would probably find horrifying. any studio that doesn't let you do whatever you want with your recordings doesn't deserve your business in my opinion.
What does the daily rate include?
8beerman wrote:Ok, I understand that, but the reason Im asking all this is because some friends of mine went to TN to record in a studio ran by a guy who "worked with the Beatles". When they were done, he gave them a rough mixdown to take home. Mind you this is a full production company. He did all the artwork, cd duplication, and he insisted on doing all the mixing. So a month later they got their full package, and the songs were much better mixed than the original rough mixdown.
Now they got the impression that the reason why he liked to do the mixing was because they were inexperienced in it and he wanted a good representation of his work.
Is this how all pro studios work?
just the shitty ones (that's personal opnion/experience speaking there). i've had a number of friends go to a studios that work like that: results have ranged from the engineers charging them for as much "mixing" time as they did "recording" time to the band running out of money during the session, and not getting even their rough tracks until two years later. there are probably plenty of people who have perfectly good experiences with places that operate like this, but from what i've heard, they're nothing but trouble.
i'd be really wary of a place where you record your songs, walk out, and leave it up to the engineer to mix it and make it sound "good" (which is, by the way, totally subjective). of course, it depends on what you're going for. on the two EPs my band recorded, for example, we used the Bad Brains' first album as a mixing template for one, and the Jesus Lizard's "Goat" (albeit very loosely) as a template for the other. you're not going to get recordings that sound like that if you leave it up to the "better judgement" of your average recording engineer. then again, if you want something that sounds like the last Nickelback record, most engineers could probably do that.
i can't speak for EA, but my impression based on these forums that you walk out the door with essentially whatever you finish in your "day(s)" you've booked. if that's the basic tracks that you're going to take over to a place like Soma and fiddle with on the computer (this comment not meant dismissively), or if you're going to send it straight to the pressing plant, that's up to you. (now that i read 154's post, it seems i am correct in my assumption).
so there you go. and steer clear of places where you're not in the room when it's being mixed.
if i got lasik surgery on one eye, i could wear a monacle.
What does the daily rate include?
9Hmmm, good points instant zen. Thanks for the reply. It makes sense that mixing, being the subjective art it is, be left ultimately to the band.
I guess the question I really should have asked in the first place then is does EA do any producing of the fledgling bands that come through? If so what are your rates for producing bands? Say if I wanted Steve, for example, to engineer, does that include his production expertise, or is that a separate charge altogether?
I guess the question I really should have asked in the first place then is does EA do any producing of the fledgling bands that come through? If so what are your rates for producing bands? Say if I wanted Steve, for example, to engineer, does that include his production expertise, or is that a separate charge altogether?
What does the daily rate include?
10beerman wrote:Hmmm, good points instant zen. Thanks for the reply. It makes sense that mixing, being the subjective art it is, be left ultimately to the band.
I guess the question I really should have asked in the first place then is does EA do any producing of the fledgling bands that come through? If so what are your rates for producing bands? Say if I wanted Steve, for example, to engineer, does that include his production expertise, or is that a separate charge altogether?
http://www.electrical.com/booking.php wrote:Rates:
Studios:
Studio A $600 per day
Studio B $400 per day
Engineering:
Steve Albini $650 per day
Staff $100 per day
Staff Assistant $100 per day
Lodging:
Client Offices $150 per day
Tape and Media:
2" tape $200 per reel
1/2" tape $60 per reel
CDR $10 each
DAT $10 each
Cassette $3 each
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