Studio FAQ's

[TapeOpLarry]

I've been writing an FAQ list for Jackpot! and wonder if anyone wants to check it out and make comments. It seems like a lot of the questions are answered "No"...

For reference the site is www.jackpotrecording.com

Here's the list. Thanks!
Larry Crane

I added all changes to this list 1/16/05

Jackpot! Recording Studio, Inc.
Frequently Asked Questions

Does the $250 studio rental day rate include an engineer?

No, the engineer?s fee is on top of the studio rental.

So what will one day of recording cost me?

If the engineer is $20 per hour, and the studio is $250 per day, a ten hour day would be $450, eight hours would be $410.

What are the hidden costs?

There are no hidden costs besides tape, CD-R, DVD-R or a FireWire drive to record to. You are encouraged to bring your own recording media and save money. There are no instruments or gear that you will be charged extra to use at Jackpot! You will not be charged for piano tuning but please give us two weeks notice to get the tuner in here before your session.

How much do engineers charge per hour on top of the studio rental rate?

That varies. Most are around $20 an hour but don?t hold us to that! Feel free to email any of the engineers (see the Engineers! page) and ask for their rates and availability.

What does the studio charge per hour?

We try to stick to the day rate deal. The reason being is that it?s very difficult to deal with bookings of several hours so we end up with a whole day booked and someone works for two hours. And it?s funny how those two hour sessions become five, making it impossible to book sessions in a row. Occasionally we will do hourly bookings for special projects, but frequently these will be bumped for full day projects. Please take advantage of our reasonable day rate instead or contact us to see if we have any openings by the hour coming up soon.

Can we break up the day rate over two days?

No, that?s why it?s called a day rate. (I get asked this a lot!)

Can we get a tour of the studio?

Of course. Email is easiest, or call and leave a message (503-239-5389). Sometimes we can do the tour that day, sometimes a week or so away. It depends on the sessions that are active. The only thing we ask is that you are serious about recording here. We get a lot of inquiries from Tape Op readers who?d like to see the studio and meet Larry as they travel through Portland. Usually there?s just not enough time for this, unfortunately. Thanks for understanding.

Do you have a demo CD of tracks from Jackpot!?

At this point, with eight years and hundreds of albums completed we don?t. If you schedule a tour to see the studio and are serious about doing a session, we?ll play you a variety of tracks.

Do you work weekends?

Of course. In fact, weekends are usually booked up for several months.

Can we come in early or the night before to set up?

No. Sessions begin at the time you schedule them. Much of the engineering work begins as you start setting up (setting up mics and, ?Where do the drums go? Where should I put my amp??) so we have to charge for this time.

What?s a producer?

In general terms: A producer is someone who is heavily involved in your project, possibly attending shows and rehearsals, working on arrangements, checking out your equipment, recommending outside musicians, deciding what songs to record and more. They will see your project through completion, and help you get the best takes. A producer doesn?t have to be an engineer, and you may see sessions where a producer and engineer work together. One would hire a producer based on the quality of the previous work this producer has done, familiarity with their style and an understanding that they will be calling the shots and raising the quality of the album project.

What?s a co-producer?

In general terms: A co-producer is someone who will engineer your album and make suggestions and subjective comments in order for you to make the best recording possible. They will be active in assessing takes and suggesting sounds, arrangements, etc. Usually they will jump into the session cold on the first day. Generally they will be the sole engineer as well. One would hire a co-producer based on work they?ve done before and their familiarity with the studio being used.

What?s an engineer?

In general terms: An engineer is someone that knows how to operate the recording equipment in the studio, get sounds and accommodate the requests of the artist or producer. One would hire an engineer based on a recommendation from the studio, work they?ve done before and their familiarity with the studio being used.

What?s a studio?

A studio is a space where music is played and the sound can be recorded. Jackpot! Recording Studio, Inc. is such a place. What Jackpot! is not is a record label looking for talent, a place that hires musicians, rehearsal rooms or a management company looking for talent. Recording studios are a service industry ? if you need to record that?s what we do!

Do you do voiceovers, video editing, music for film or radio spots?

Some of these tasks we can do, but Jackpot! is best known and geared towards recording performance-based music sessions. For much of this post-production work we recommend our neighbors at Rex Recording (503-238-4525). We have no video editing or viewing equipment.

Can you do mobile recording at a club, church or rehearsal room?

We don?t have a mobile recording rig. For simple two-track live recordings in Portland contact Steven at On Site Audio (503-675-1670). For more involved live tracking contact Steven Beatty at Remoterec@aol.com.

Do you do mastering?

No. We recommend SuperDigital (503-228-2222. Ask if Jeff Saltzman or Tony Lash can do your album there. Kevin Nettleingham (360-696-5999) is also great and affordable.

Do you have beats?

We have a large selections of drum tracks, samples, etc. but remember that building up tracks is gonna take a lot of time and creativity. There?s no ?walk in and sing and walk out with a CD? services available.

Can you transfer my old vinyl/cassette/reels/etc. to CD-R?

Once again would like to refer you to SuperDigital (503-228-2222) or Kevin Nettleingham (360-696-5999).

Are you currently accepting interns?

No. There are no plans to be taking on interns in the future. Please don?t email or call about being our intern or asking what other studios accept them. We don?t know!

Does Jackpot! hire engineers or assistants?

Never. The engineers all work freelance, many times bringing in their own work. Jeff Saltzman is our main recommended engineer these days. There are no assistant, runner or tape op jobs available. But if you are a competent engineer who can bring in your own sessions please contact us ? we need more freelancers!

Is it true that no one makes analog tape now?

It is true that the plant that made tape closed down in January 2005. Most likely there will be companies making tape soon. Search online for tape stock or buy used tape. Many sessions we?ve been doing use our ?no charge? house reels to track to and then dump into Pro Tools for overdubs.

Does Jackpot! have blank tape for sale?

Not usually. Please look around (online o local) to find some for your session.

Can I bring my own engineer for my sessions?

If the person isn?t listed on our Engineers! page then we?ll need to talk to them and see if they are qualified to run the studio here.

Is Jackpot! non-smoking?

Yes, it is. Smoking is okay out front on Morrison Street. Smoking ?other stuff? is not allowed due to liability/impoundment issues and a misguided government.

Can we all play live in the studio?

We like to do basic tracks live with bands. We can isolate the drums, guitars and bass or run them live in the same room. Doing live tracks with acoustic guitars is possible, but remember that if you are singing a foot away from your guitar that the mic on the guitar will pick up your voice as well and that recording acoustic guitar in the same room as a loud drum set is difficult!

How long will it take to record my album?

We don?t know. A well-rehearsed band can lay down most of the basic tracks for an album in two days. Overdubs can take anywhere from one to seven days depending on the amount of work and pickiness. For mixing, budget three hours per song or so at least. A guitarist-singer who has their tunes down can track hours of live stuff in one day, mix it all the same day and have a decent live demo. It really depends what you are looking for. Many of our better songwriter/band projects have taken ten to fourteen days. Some projects go faster. Always add time to your estimates! We?ve made albums in one day and one month. Just don?t try to make Dark Side of the Moon in three days!

[cgarges]

Larry, BRILLIANT!!!

I especially like this part:

If you are a competent engineer who can bring in your own sessions please contact us ? we need more freelancers!

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[TapeOpLarry]

Well, bring in some sessions Chris! It's a short drive, right?

[Rigsby]

This sentence seems a bit garbled..

A guitarist-singer who has their tunes down can track hours of live stuff in one day and mix it all the same and have a decent live demo.

How about

A guitarist-singer who has their tunes down can track hours of live stuff in one day, mix it all the same day and have a decent live demo.

Only a slight alteration, but it scans better i think, that's all i've got. Good FAQ. Someone else here recently put a FAQ thread up here Larry, some good ideas on there if you're interested, i don't have the link, so maybe you could..er...UTFSF.

(sorry )

[TapeOpLarry]

Good point. Now I'm off to UTFSE or whatever you folks say...

[joelpatterson]

(Well, yeah... I was travelling through Portland, and I wanted to see the studio and meet Larry, but... but... not like THEM!)

[drumsound]

I like the line about the government!

[Nathan Eldred]

Hey Larry,

I'll just add a couple things I find helpful for me, and you can see if it would help.

Does the $250 studio rental day rate include an engineer?
No, the engineer?s fee is on top of the studio rental.

How much do engineers charge per hour on top of the studio rental rate?
That varies. Most are around $20 an hour but don?t hold us to that! Feel free to email any of the engineers and ask for their rates and availability.

A lot of our studio clients don't understand this concept, we have tried to make it easy for people, the more added costs albeit albsolutely necessary the more a "never been in the studio before" client starts to worry about the "hidden costs", maybe figuring out a real quick day rate per engineer with studio. I.e. Larry Crane: Studio Day Rate $500. John Smith Studio Day Rate: $475, etc. I'm not sure it that would cause problems, if you have several engineers doing freelance, some clients may gravitate towards the engineer who offers the lowest rate. Unless you all can agree on one basic rate for labor, like you said somewhere around $20+.

What does the studio charge per hour?

We try to stick to the day rate deal. The reason being is that it?s very difficult to deal with bookings of several hours so we end up with a whole day booked and someone works for two hours. And it?s funny how those two hour sessions become five, making it impossible to book sessions in a row. Occasionally we will do hourly bookings for special projects, but frequently these will be bumped for full day projects. Please take advantage of our reasonable day rate instead.

We have been doing day rates for many years, we have found that most people would pay a higher hourly and use less time than a 8 hour day rate.
We tried to push day rates a lot at our studio because of the saving they get off the hourly, but found that offering a 2 hour minimum at either $95 an hour (A rate) or $50 an hour (B rate) gets more people into record.
And if it does turn into 5 hours, if you are booked let them reschedule to finish up, or if not booked, you get more hourly accumulated. If there is at least one freelancer who can take the clients who do the short sessions, figure out what your hourly studio rental would be to the engineer, and then just let them pay you for the hourly studio rental.

Can we get a tour of the studio?

Of course. Email is easiest, or call and leave a message (503-239-5389). The only thing we ask is that you are serious about recording here. We get a lot of inquiries from Tape Op readers who?d like to see the studio and meet Larry as they travel through Portland. Usually there?s just not enough time for this unfortunately. Thanks for understanding.

I know what it's like to be pressed for time. I tell people a tour is 15-30 minutes, and I expect them to sign a contract and provide a deposit on the spot if they are serious. As for visitors, I can not accomodate anyone who doesn't make an arrangement in advance -- like 10-15 days in advance.

I think all your points are good, you've definitely got some of the most frequently asked questions ever, LOL. It's like having a flashback of every phone call I've ever taken.

[@?,*???&?]

As I am a freelance producer/engineer that uses real studios on the front and back side of projects only, you might address this question that I've had put to me:

"Why should I hire you to make this record? Why wouldn't I just go to a local studio and have them make the record?"

This question poses a few different levels of understanding the entire album making process. It suggests that the band does not know at all what a producer does, what an engineer does and what a studio does.

Those would be 3 succinct areas to cover in your FAQ me thinks.

[TapeOpLarry]

Jeff,
I was thinking of that too. A simple explanation of the services provided maybe. Yeah. Making sure the client understands that the "studio" is just a space, not a producer or A&R or label as well! A freelance producer with a ton of quality records under their belt is worth something, blah blah.

Nathan,
I used to offer day rates. My problem has been this: If I say $450 a day I get, "How long is a day?" and if I say max ten hours guess how long they wanna work, even if their exhausted or there's only ten minutes left. Personally I'm tired of that! I'd rather work til the flow starts to drag, then we go home. Also I'm kinda too busy to do 10 hour days all the time! For the freelance engineers, they are billing separate from the studio and some of them will work 12 hours or more. This way the client pays me for the day rental, then pays the engineer for their rate on top and gets a great hourly rate.
For hourly sessions, we will offer them if it makes sense. One problem is that I have to do all this booking, then assign the jobs. When it gets to three jobs a day I cannot keeep on top of scheduling or assigning the sessions! Plus Jackpot is really busy, so we might as well book full days, then maybe throw an hourly gig in last minute when the day is still open. Plus, most by-the-hour jobs are kinda lame in my experience!

Thanks for the ideas guys!

[TapeOpLarry]

I added changes to the FAQ at the top if anyone wants to check them out. I think it's even better now!

[Rigsby]

I think it's clear and covers pretty much all the bases, added descriptions of producer, engineer roles etc make are a good call too.

[djimbe]

Nice work, Larry. Simple, straightforward. It IS a phone call flashback... that's just what it should be...

[Huntlabs]

Hi Larry,

Very minor idea... Put the questions in BOLD or Caps to make it easier to read.



Other than that it looks good... when can I come up for a tour?

[vvv]

I would change:

"We try to stick to the day rate deal. The reason being is that it?s very difficult to deal with bookings of several hours so we end up with a whole day booked and someone works for two hours. And it?s funny how those two hour sessions become five, making it impossible to book sessions in a row."

maybe to,

"We prefer to stick to the day rate deal because it?s very difficult to deal with bookings of several hours where we end up with a whole day booked by different people scheduled for two or so hours. And it?s funny how those two hour sessions then become five, making it impossible to book sessions in a row. "

just for clarity.

Hey, could TapeOp use another editor?