Recording EP in Manchester - Advice

gusman2x

We're planning to record 5 tracks in the next few weeks, and I was hoping that some of you guys would have some recommendations for studios/producers.

Also, how much should we expect to pay for 5 tracks recorded and mixed? We're a 5 pc with a REM/Jesus and Mary Chain vibe (the JAMC might be wishful thinking).

guitarfishbay

How much to pay is like how long is a piece of string - sorry if that sounds silly, but each facility will have different rates and it also depends on how good you guys are at playing your own instruments - the tighter you are the less time it will take to record.   First thing I'd do is chat to your band and work out your budget before going further.

You'll probably be looking to pay per hour/day for tracking unless someone will do you a fixed quote.  

I don't know if I'm supposed to post quotes online for places that don't post them themselves, but to give a rough idea the facility we want to track at has two rooms (inc engineer) and they range from £32.50 - £50 per hour for tracking depending on the room chosen, and it is one of the nicer studios in the city centre.

I have some friends who went here http://www.bigcityjacks.com/prices/ and took the £140 /day recording (very cheap IMO) and mixed the tracks themselves at home.  However I have never been there myself nor have I heard the raw tracks, just showing how different quotes can be.

What I'd recommend doing is searching for all the recording facilities within driving distance for you.  Most producers have audio samples online, so pick someone who you like, and make sure they cater for what you need.  E.G. if you want to track all 5 of you live then you'd need someone with a big enough facility to accommodate that.  Get some quotes and go from there.

Mixing can often be done by a fixed quote, but I've only had experience doing singles in Manchester (recorded and mixed) or tracking elsewhere and mixing the song myself.  To give an idea we spent over £300 on one single last year, the producer handled the whole process from tracking to mastering.  If you're willing to use online mixing the world is truly your oyster but a lot of people locally are likely able to deliver a result you'd be happy with and you might prefer being able to stop by to work with them during mixing - just check their samples online and again have a chat to them about how they work.

One las thing, make sure you talk about expectations and deadlines (if there are any real ones) up front.  If you need a finished product within a few weeks (not clear from your post, but I'll cover this anyway) that might cut your options down, it depends on who you work with.  Some audio/visual professionals I've worked with in this area want 4-6 weeks to turn around a finished product, some have quoted less, depending on their own schedules.

Ché

Tim G at Bigtone Studios. Cool guy, knows his stuff. 

gusman2x

@guitarfishbaby Thanks for the advice man, much appreciated. We are looking to send no more than £300 really, and wanted to record 5 tracks. I guess Demo would be a better description of what we want to achieve rather than EP.

I've had some wide ranging quotes back in form some people, but most are considerably higher than our £300 budget.

One place was happy to do the 5 songs for what we can pay, but everything would be a live recording, with only the vocals being overdubbed. I think I'm OK with that, we're reasonably tight, but it doesn't really allow for texturing and building up.

I guess if it was possible to create 5 tracks at studio quality for £300, then everyone would be rockstars!

One of our issues also is that the band members are looking for different things from the recording. I personally want it to be as high a quality document of our music as possible. I want o be able to listen back to it in years to come, or play it to friends and be proud of the music. Others in the band only want it to be a demo of whatever quality to give to people to secure gigs.

Got a lead on a couple of places, so we'll see how that goes. So many metal producers in Manchester though!

@Che Thanks for the heads up, I'll give them a bell.

guitarfishbay

Expectation management between members is tough, I can totally relate to that.

Well it sounds like for £300 you are going to be quite limited for 5 tracks.  The only thing I could suggest is maybe chatting about whether or not you need 5 tracks recorded at this stage?  If you're really keen on a polished and layered sound that will take time to track and mix, which will be reflected in the price.