Have Your Songs And Albums Fully Produced
Music Production
So, you have written a fantastic song or a great album. You have tried to record it at home but it just doesn’t sound like a professional record. Music production isn’t solely about recording, it’s about getting the right sounds and sculpting a sonic landscape to act as the backdrop to your carefully crafted lyrics. Producing music to be consumed by the public means meeting stringent quality requirements in terms of sound, performance, musical arrangement and the technical ability to embrace current technology along with time honoured skills and techniques to make your music stand out. It’s also about using people with the right skillset to do a particular job. That could mean hiring session musicians, mixing engineers and producers who excel in a particular genre that would help make your songs come alive. Our in-house producer/engineers will help you achieve your music production goals but artists and creators are welcome to bring along their own producers and personnel if it benefits the end result.
Song And Album Production
The record production process should be the next step after the songs have been written. The ideal scenario would be for the producer to hear the current performance of the written songs, either live in the studio or as a demo provided by the artist. If the songwriting process has already been done at Oastview Studio then you have already completed this first step. When the producer hears the current version of the song they can then make suggestions regarding the arrangement of instrumentation and song structure which can be very crucial towards achieving the desired end result. The music producer may then suggest tricks and ideas to enhance the song, for example, the doubling up of parts, layering for a big sound, microphone choices, re-amplification of instruments and even adding quirky ideas to make the songs unique. Recording location might also be a factor if a particular sound is sought. Initial recording doesn’t have to take place in the studio but can happen in a place of the Talent’s choice to ensure the correct character and vibe can be achieved. The recording process then follows utilising all the production ideas and values as agreed by the band members or solo artistes and the producer.
Differences Between Standard and Produced Recordings
If a band wishes to create a demo for gig promotion or just wish to get their songs down for posterity then this is regarded as a standard recording. At the time of booking the studio it will be decided upon the length of time required for the amount of songs to be recorded and mixed. If it is to be a live band recording the band simply comes in and sets up then the engineer places the mics and away you go. Sometimes bands like to record and overdub parts separately which will take slightly longer but both scenarios are deemed standard recordings.
A fully produced recording is different for many reasons. More time is taken for the recording process to get a perfect result. Layering parts also adds time to the equation in terms of marrying performances together. More time is given to editing, tuning and production processes too numerous to mention, a lot of which can happen behind the scenes. The result is that the recorded track count can be anywhere from 40 to over 100 tracks. Artistes are welcome to attend 100% of the sessions but a lot of time the producer is left to get on with stuff on their own. All time is agreed by all parties before work commences at any given stage of the song production process.
Differences In Pricing For Standard And Produced Recordings
All projects are based the same agreed day rate regardless of the type of production required. There are no hidden costs but the main difference being the amount of time taken for production can take a good deal longer than standard recording. This is why, should you choose to bring your album or song music production to Oastview Studio, we will endeavour to give you a fixed price per song that will take into account a fair remuneration for the producers work that remains fair to the artiste’s budget. Please note that the hiring of session musicians, other personnel or equipment is not included in any quoted pricing.
Mixing And Mastering A Produced Song Or Album
If you want your productions to be mixed at Oastview Studio then this is discussed and time allotted for at the very start of each project. Obviously it is far quicker to mix a standard recording than a full production as the track count would be a lot higher together with the added production effects and processing. You can opt to get your song mixed elsewhere if required but normally standard recordings can be mixed on the day in house. For full productions the mixing quote will be included from the outset if required. For fully produced songs we would like to send to our preferred Mastering Engineer at their cost in the region of £35 per song at the time of writing.
