Looking for a studio in/around DC

[Rufer]

Hi there. My band is looking to record 4 or 5 of our songs in the near future. We play rather primitive, raw, rock n' roll. Definitely a bit 60's inspired. We are 2 guitar players, bass, drums, vocals.

We are hoping to find a place where we can record the basics live and which also has a vocal booth. While we play raw rock n' roll, we are not looking for a trashy sound. We are hoping to get something pretty hifi/open sounding. Not sure if those words mean something universal. For example, we hold the Dan Auerbach solo album and the newest Greenhornes album in high esteem as far as new recordings go and would like to get as close to something similar as our skills allow.

If you have a demo reel that would be very helpful.

Thanks.

[cgarges]

Don Zientara's Inner Ear is by far the best deal in DC. I spent several months looking for a studio in that area with very specific requirements (analog console, tracking space for an entire band, etc.) and found that the cost gap between Inner Ear and everything else was VERY large. We made the decision to do a "test session" at Inner Ear and wound up doing a considerable amount of the record there. (There were six different locations involved in the recording of this particular album.)

I like recording in flashy, nice, big studios, but the cool, down-to-earth, funky vibe at Inner Ear was great. The band really liked it, too-- probably much more so than they might have enjoyed working at Cue or Bias or Omega or any of the other places I checked out. Don Zientara engineered some stuff we did while I was playing drums and Don's enthusiasm and demeanor make it easy to see why he's had such a terrific reputation for so long. He is really, really easy to deal with and very friendly and the stuff he recorded sounded great when I brought it back to NC to mix. I just can't say enough good things about my experience there and I'll be happy to do another session there any time.

Eamonn Aiken's The Bastille studio is another very cool spot in DC, although it's kind of a small space. I'm not sure if the setup there is going to be what you guys want, but it would be worth checking it out. Eamonn posts on here a good bit and you could email him with any questions. He's a very good engineer and also very friendly and he could tell you exactly what you need to know. (We did a few overdubs on the aforementioned record at The Bastille and really enjoyed that experience, as well. In fact, the band went back to The Bastille to do some radio VO spots after the record was done.)

Best of luck and if there's anything else you'd like to know, I'd be happy to help however I can.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Rufer]

Thanks Chris. I defininitely value and appreciate your feedback.

[cgarges]

Sure thing. Happy to help. There are a few northern Virginia guys here on the board. Maybe they'll hop in with some opinions, as well.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[ivanovich]

+1 regarding inner ear. i love doing sessions there! cant beat the price and the space is just cool and down to earth. eamonn aiken's bastille is also great.

[nick_a]

+1 for the bastille/inner ear space. I do a lot of work at both spaces. The cool thing is if you like the bastille control room with all the really awesome gear in it but want the space to stretch out in the inner ear live room, you can do that. Eamonn has tie lines running to both tracking rooms.

[norsehorse]

+1 on Bastille.