North Carolinian engineers/studios!

[noleander]

I live in eastern North Carolina which is seemingly a black hole for hooking up with a good engineer. It's been frustrating looking around for someone who cares as much as the folks I read about in TapeOp in this area. Anyways, I figure this is a good place to search!

Tom Waits once said finding a good engineer is like finding a good barber!

My recording would be mostly acoustic with sporadic extra instrumentation. I'd like a place with a nice acoustic guitar on site, or at least access to one.

Some reference sounds I have in mind for the record:
The Original Brothers & Sisters of Love - H.O.M.E.S.
Jonathan Richman - Back In Your Life
Jim White - The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted, "Wrong-Eyed Jesus"

I'd really like to start recording anytime after the new year, as soon as possible!

Best,
Nolan Smock

[drumsound]

Chris Garges is a great engineer. He's in Charlotte, but does travel quite a bit for work. He also runs Old House Studio in Gastonia. There's also Mitch Easter, John Plymal and a bunch of other talented cats in the Raleigh area.

Of course I may be showing off me total ignorance in the geography of North Carolina...

There's a lot of musical talent it that state it seems.

[carlsaff]

Nick Peterson at Track and Field is an extremely talented and affordable engineer:

http://www.trackandfieldrecording.com/
http://www.myspace.com/trackandfieldrecording

Great gear, great attitude, excellent results. I'm lucky to get a lot of his projects.

[lotusstudio]

I'm in. I like your sound.

We have a very nice project studio that we periodically drag between
Charlotte and Boone. We have accomodations at the Boone location.

I'm into recording organic sounds that breathe and music of beauty or grit with substance. I am NOT seeking to record heavy metal bands or anything I personally dislike, so I'm not after everybody's "clients". I only want to do music that I consider to be extraordinary because I do it on ths side for the love of good music. I enjoy experimenting in the studio, if that's what you want - or, if the songs are well-prepared, we can track them efficiently for you.

The songs on my page have been tracked and mixed by me - a broad variety of styles. If mixing elsewhere yourself, bring a firewire hard drive to take away the sessions (OK, I admit, I guess I might record heavy metal if someone else will be mixing it and I never have to hear it again after tracking).

[cgarges]

Tony's right. There are a lot of good engineers in NC. Charlotte may be a bit of a haul for you, but John Plymale is a terrific engineer in Durham with a good track record and he's a totally fun guy to work with. Mitch Easter is also an international legend and just a little bit farther from you than Raleigh. It would be an understatement to say anything less than great about him. I've never worked at Track and Field, but they have a pretty good reputation as an affordable studio.

I spent a lot of time this year working at a home studio in Eastern NC (in Roxobel, Bertie County) and I did another record at a house in Wilmington in the spring. There's not a lot out there where you are for sure. It may be worth it for you to try to find something in the Virginia Beach area. Surely there are some great places up there and it may be closer to you than a lot of places in NC

Your stuff sounds really interesting. Did you record it yourselves?

We do an awful lot of acoustic music at Old House (and I've done plenty at a lot of other places, too). There's a pretty up-to-date equipment list on the website (www.oldhousestudio.com) and if you feel up to the trek, you're more than welcome to come see the studio (and play some of the guitars if you want). You're also more than welcome to call or email me with any specific questions about me, the studio, or NC in general.

Best of luck!

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[noleander]

Thanks for all the responses!

Yeah, really there is definitely no shortage further west than Greenville, especially around the Triangle. It's a bit further than I'd want to go because of school and being poor and etcetera but I might end up having to bite the bullet.

Yes, my music was all recording on a couple cheap mics and a laptop in my room. I had fun with it but I can be pretty meticulous and get nothing accomplished. The songs I want to record "out" are a bit more formal, so to speak. I plan on releasing a free home recorded album online every once in a while, but I was something a bit more substantial for an actual release.

I'll be in touch with some of you very soon if I end up deciding to make the drive west.

[mjau]

It may be worth it for you to try to find something in the Virginia Beach area. Surely there are some great places up there and it may be closer to you than a lot of places in NC

My hometown...Orange County of the east coast. There's a bunch of mid-grade studios kicking around Hampton Roads, but some really amazing spaces in Richmond if you're willing to travel a little bit.

[bgc]

+1 for John Plymale. He's great to work with. Really creative, enthusiastic, and good. I went down to mix a record I was producing with him at the suggestion of the artist and loved both the experience and the result.

He Mostly works at Overdub Lane in Durham, NC.

http://www.overdublane.com/

Acoustic with extra instrumentation sums up the record I was working on.
That one is Jake Armerding: Walking on the World.

I also have a friend who was in a horny band that worked with him and had a great experience (Grand Torino), and I know Bob Carlin works with him all the time on a variety of string band projects. So he is flexible.


Eric