Questions you should ask yourself:

• On the practical side: what is my budget? If you are a group, is the studio big enough? Do I need multiple isolation rooms? Where is it located? If the studio is not in your city, are there hotels, restaurants and entertainment nearby? What equipment is available? How much time should you allow for yourself?
• In terms of inspiration: Do you like the atmosphere in the studio? Do you like the acoustics of the rooms? Will you be comfortable playing there? Is there a space to relax?

Groover gives you some tips to help in the decision making process:

1. Studio Budget

Obviously, your budget is one of the first factors to consider when you want to record in a studio. Keep in mind that the cheapest rates don’t always mean the worst quality, nor do the highest rates guarantee the best results. The key is to know what to expect and to make sure you are comfortable with it. It’s important to define your budget in advance. Plan for the unexpected by including an extra 10-15% in your budget – you may need more time, extra equipment, a breakdown, etc.

Ask yourself the right questions: Will you need to hire session musicians? Will you need a personal sound engineer? Do you plan to rent instruments/amps? Make sure that all these elements are factored into your budget, as you will often need more than just a studio with good acoustics for a good recording.

💡 Some recording studios lower their rates during off-peak hours, so don’t hesitate to ask if your budget is tight.

💡As an emerging and/or independent artist, try to get the most out of every investment. For example, you might decide to film the recording for visual content and maybe even film a live studio session to use as a music video.

2. The location of the recording studio

Nowadays there are a lot of recording studios, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding one near you. However, depending on the city you are in, a bit of a commute may be necessary if you are looking for a specific sound/acoustic. You may also want to get away from home to get away from everyday distractions. Recording somewhere away from home can allow you to focus solely on the project for a time.

So the location of the recording studio is something to define from the beginning, how far you are able to go. This will help you narrow down your search, so that you only have to look for studios within a well-defined area.

3. Sound and Equipment

Now that you’ve set your budget and know how far you’re willing to go, focus on the equipment you’ll need and the type of sound you want.

• Sound

Listen to studio recordings of your favorite bands and try to determine what you like about the recording itself. Then compare that with the studios you’ve selected.

Most recording studios have a page, website, SoundCloud or sites, that contains sound samples. If not, ask them by email if it is possible to listen to sample recordings of bands whose style is close to yours. In general, as long as you are serious about it, they are willing to help you with the difficult decision; is this recording studio right for your music or not?

💡 Keep in mind that it is easy to add reverb in the mixing process, but almost impossible to remove it if it occurred during the actual recording due to poor acoustics.

• Equipment

Most recording studios provide or rent basic equipment. Make sure you get what you need. Is the studio’s recording equipment professional and of high quality? Is there any vintage equipment available? Again, feel free to check their website or ask them directly by email or phone.

Today, most music studios have gone digital, but a few still have analog equipment. If this is important to you, look for a recording studio with these capabilities.

4. The sound engineer

If you don’t work with your own engineer, get to know the studio’s engineer. Talk about music, your respective influences and experiences, how you want to sound and how you can work together effectively.
If you want to know what a recording session is like, check out Hedayat Music’s article on the subject 👈

Each sound engineer has their own way of working. Their style and experience will have a big impact on your recording. And it’s not just about knowing how to operate the recording studio equipment or how to edit the music tracks. The sound engineer must be someone you trust and feel comfortable working with since you will be in that music studio for a few hours or days. To find a good sound engineer you can ask around or look at who has recorded your favorite songs. Many studios have a list of clients on their web page. Don’t hesitate to contact them directly to see if they liked working with a certain sound engineer or not.

The sound engineer for the recording of your songs in a studio

5. The time to record in the studio

Too often, musicians enter a music studio for the first time thinking they can show up at the studio early in the morning and walk out with a 12-track album recorded, mixed and mastered by the end of the day. It’s unrealistic; even trying to achieve that would end in a very disappointing session. While each project is unique and does not require the same amount of time, don’t be afraid to ask the sound engineer for a time estimate to get organized. Having your equipment, being well organized, and most importantly, having rehearsed well beforehand will go a long way in minimizing the time spent in the recording studio – the idea being not to waste a single minute while you’re there.

6. Do your research

Now that you know your budget, you’ve defined the location and you’ve determined the equipment, musicians and technicians you’ll need, it’s time to go visit the few recording studios that meet your criteria. Call them and set up an appointment. You can also ask for references – bands, artists, producers and engineers who have recorded there.

7. The Reputation of a Recording Studio

The best recording studios have a history and are often well known for having a “signature sound”. Unfortunately, these music studios are not easily accessible to independent musicians, but if your budget allows for it, don’t hesitate to at least try. There are also potential marketing benefits. Having the name of a famous studio on your EP/Album can enhance its credibility with music industry professionals.

Otherwise, there are many other famous and less-famous studios that are open to everyone and also offer a particular sound, so you are spoilt for choice.

8. RekYou – The music production platform

RekYou is a music production platform that allows artists to benefit from services dedicated to music creation, such as recording, mixing, and mastering thanks to its large network of recording studios, engineers and sound professionals.

The platform lists the largest number of recording studios in France and allows you to book professional or private recording studios (home-studio) according to your needs (budget, musical style, availability, geographical location, sound engineer’s skills…).

There is also another platform – Studiomatic – which offers studios open 24 hours a day, where you can access them autonomously thanks to the reservation, payment and accessibility features all done through your smartphone. An innovative experience without any time constraints.

All their studios are fully soundproofed, equipped with high-end equipment and offer unlimited subscriptions. Subscribers will also receive benefits and discounts from Studiomatic’s affiliated partners. Pirate.com offers a similar model, with 24-hour self-service studios in the UK, the US and Germany, as its co-founder explains in our interview about Pirate.com studios.

To conclude on choosing the right recording studio, don’t hesitate to take your time. Get in touch with the music studios you are interested in and ask them questions. In the end, your research, thoughts and intuition will lead you to an ideal studio experience, so don’t neglect the importance of this work done beforehand.

– Translated by Betty Gonzalez Gray – 

Next articles:

> 5 Mixing Tips and Tricks: How to Make Your Music Sound Good
> Audio Mastering: What is it and where do you go for a professional result?

To go further:

> Build your musical project and attract the interest of pros and fans

To promote your tracks and contact the most influential pros in the music industry, go HERE👈

L’article How to choose the right recording studio for your musical project? est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Depending on your objectives, we can already tell you whether or not you will need to go through the mastering process. Have you created a recorded a song simply for your own pleasure and amusement? In that case, we can tell you right now: no need to master it! This step is only really necessary to finalize the tracks that are going to be marketed to the public, to be played on the radio and/or to be broadcasted in nightclubs and television…

If you think your song is finished but would like to have the objective opinion of music industry professionals to release it, don’t hesitate to send it to the mentors on Groover. You’ll also be able to get in touch with the best media, radio stations, playlists and music professionals – guaranteed listening and feedback in less than 7 days.

So, what exactly is the purpose of audio mastering and where can you get your tracks mastered for a professional result? We answer you right away.

1. What is audio mastering for?

Mastering is the last step in the creation of a professional quality track, which comes after the mixing step. These two steps should not be confused! Mixing is used to balance the sound of the different tracks of a song between them, to homogenize the final result. It would be a pity, for example, to hear the instruments very loud at the expense of the voice, or that the guitar sounds much louder than the drums if it is not the desired effect… That’s why it’s a good idea to attend the mixing of your tracks with the sound engineer in charge of this mission: you can tell him directly what you want to bring out when listening to your music.

While the interest of mixing is to bring a track to an ideal as well technical as artistic, the mastering stage has a double objective: it allows the tracks to keep a good sound quality whatever the listening device, as well as to homogenize the tracks between them within the framework of a project (album, EP) and on the streaming platforms and radios.

Mastering allows the tracks to keep the same audio quality, whatever the listening support. This means that, thanks to mastering, whether your music is listened to with headphones or on big speakers in a nightclub for example, the sound will remain impeccable. This is of course essential if you want to market your tracks! And to do so, the Groover platform will be an excellent way for you to contact radios, media and music industry professionals, with a guaranteed response within 7 days.

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Then, if your musical project concerns several tracks (within the framework of an EP or an album for example), in this case the mastering is also important to standardize the tracks between them, so that there are no differences of volume between the various tracks.

The sound engineer will then set the general volume of your work so that listening to the whole project is pleasant for the listener. And the same goes for streaming platforms! Since streaming services have adopted a standardization of listening levels (fortunately for our ears), it is necessary for a sound engineer to have in mind the playback level of Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, etc. in order to master your tracks at the right volume, while respecting the dynamics desired by the artist who created these tracks. It is thanks to mastering that your project will correspond to the current market standards. That’s all there is to it! The same goes for radio: have you ever heard of “remastered” tracks? These are tracks released some time ago (from the 80’s for example) that had to be mastered again because they no longer met the current market criteria for broadcasting. Fortunately for the sound engineers, in this case there is only the mastering of these tracks to review!

The final stage of mastering consists of bringing the last treatments to the track or the project as a whole. Thanks to different tools such as compression and equalization, the sound engineer in charge of the process will affect the color and dynamics of the track so that it corresponds to the artist’s desires, while respecting the work done during the mixing. It is not a question of turning everything upside down!

Attention. We remind you that following the order of the various stages of the creation of a song is essential to ensure the quality of the finished piece. These steps are, in order: the creation of the instrumental (composition/arrangement), capturing precise vocals (the recording in studio), the editing if need be (improvement of the accuracy of the voice) then the mixing and the mastering.

⎪Also read: Top 10 free mastering plugins in 2023

2. Where can I get my tracks mastered?

Mastering your tracks is a job for a pro! So unless you are a professional sound engineer equipped with the right tools, it’s better to make sure you have your back and entrust this key step to an expert. In other words, to put all the chances on your side in order to obtain songs and a project with a homogeneous sound result that conforms to the current market, there is nothing more efficient than to call upon a professional recording studio. If this is your case, first check the references of the said professional and/or the studio you are planning to use. You should also know that a professional mastering rarely costs less than 100€ on average. It’s a small investment, but well worth it!

Good news! Groover now also lets you master your tracks with its new A.I.-powered service 👉 Try it out now.

We also advise you to have a look to the platform LANDR which offers an intelligent mastering service on top of access to plugins, samples, music distribution… It’s worth exploring!

As you will have understood, mastering is the last step, and not the least, to the creation of a professional quality track. You can’t escape it if you want to market your track or your project (single, EP, album)!

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Try to always be one step ahead by thinking about your music’s promotion strategy now. Discover Groover and contact the media, radio stations, labels and music industry professionals who will help you promote your song as soon as it is ready to be released. Groover offers you a guaranteed response within 7 days!

– Translated by Betty Gonzalez Gray – 

Next articles:

> Home Studio: How to create a professional studio on a budget
> 5 mixing tips and tricks: How to make your music sound good

For more information:

> How to build your musical project and attract the interest of professionals and fans?

L’article Audio Mastering: what is it for and where to get your tracks mastered? est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.