How it all began? - to make a long story short...
Big Closet Music is the home of San Tan Mountain Recording and began in a closet. Well, actually it started long before our big (“master”) closet in the desert southwest. It seems that I have been involved with playing and recording music for over 25 years. From “rinky-dink” demos to major motion picture sound tracks, I have experienced a wide range of studio and live recording sessions. Some of those recordings are great and some not so great.
These days with the development of the digital audio workstations (PC/Mac based recording), it seems that anyone with a few bucks can have capabilities that major studios only dreamed of 20 years ago. Here at Big Closet Music we want to set the standard for the project-recording studio.
San Tan Mountain Recording is a place to produce, record and unlock the potential of your original music.
Eric Hasslacher
owner/producer
bigclosetmusic.com
SanTan Mountain Recording - How we do things...
For those of you less familiar with how music recording works, we have answered the three basic questions we are most frequently asked. Of course, if after reading this you have additional questions, just “Knock on the Door”.
Q: How much does it cost to record?
A: The cost is based on how much studio time is required for recording and mixing your music and then converting your final product to CD. We offer hourly rates with a minimum, day rates as well as flat rates for larger projects.
Q: Okay, I understand that it’s time based. How much time is involved in the process?
A: It’s really up to you, depending on your needs and a variety of factors:
· Are you a band or a solo artist?
· How many instruments?
· How many vocal parts?
· How proficient are the musicians in playing/singing their parts without mistakes?
· What type of effects do you want added, and to what tracks?
· What will the finished product be used for?
· What genre of music is involved?
· How “complex” is the music?
· How particular are you, and how willing are you to accept a performance that is less than perfect?
· How much editing and “tweaking” will you want us to do?
· Do you prefer a “let’s get this done” session, or a more laid-back recording experience?
· ETC.!!!
As you can imagine, we’re very hesitant to give time estimates, as a song could take an hour, a day, or even weeks, depending on the above factors. But since it is the most frequently asked question we get, we’ll give you these non-binding, very rough estimates: A well-rehearsed acoustic guitarist/singer could walk out of the studio with a 5 song demo in about four hours. A 4-5 person band looking to produce a high -quality demo or an album to sell at shows, etc., should budget about a day per song for the finished product. If you have further questions, you’ll want to be prepared to answer the above questions.
Q: I want to record an album that I can sell.
If you want to create an album suitable for commercial distribution (including song downloads), you will want to achieve the highest quality recording you can absolutely afford. Remember, your potential listeners will be comparing your music, to music produced at the finest studios in L.A., New York and Nashville.
Beginning with our equipment, one of the industry standard recording systems is Steinberg NUENDO 3.
We can record up to 16 tracks simultaneously with monitoring for up to 6 band members. NUENDO 3 has unlimited track count capabilities. So with our new ADK Pro Audio DAW host, San Tan Mountain Recording is capable of 100+ tracks supported by as many as 60 effects processor plugins. If you did not understand that, then let me just assure you that is tremendous capability for a project studio!
There is also a lot of ancillary equipment that matters as well, such as microphones, the computer hardware, and the speakers used to monitor the sounds being created. You will want to do your homework on this one. Have a listen to something we have produced to be sure of our overall quality. Take some time to understand the way we work. Once you are confident of our studio’s quality, we are sure it is a place where you are going to be comfortable working.
Here at bigclosetmusic.com we want you to feel San Tan Mountain Recording is a place you’ll be proud to say that you recorded your original music.
Thanks for checking out the Closet.
We are looking forward to working with you.
Studio Staff