StudioPros

At Studio Pros, we provide you with professional players, producers and engineers for the production of your songs. When it comes to recording the vocals on your song, it’s your time to shine and sing on tracks that our Los Angeles based studio musicians have laid down for you.

You have 3 options for vocals before we mix your tracks at Studio Pros:
1. Hire one of Studio Pros’ professional vocalists to sing your song.
2. Record your vocals at your home recording studio.
3. Record your vocals at a local recording studio.

If you’re planning recording your vocals at home, or at a local recording studio, here are some tips to get the best quality recordings:

Recording Vocals at Your Home Studio:

A few things to consider when you’re recording at your home studio are the environment you are recording in and the overall acoustic sound of the room you’ve chosen for your tracking room. If the room produces a lot of reflections, you may want to consider treating your room acoustically to absorb the reflections and deaden the sound. Remember that we are always adding our own processing and effects to your vocals.

Singing your tracks dynamically is good, but only up to a certain point. If the volume of your tracks is going from piercing loud to quiet as a mouse, this will make the mixing stage very difficult for the engineer. To get the maximum sound out of your vocals, control your dynamics by paying attention to volume and stepping away from the microphone if you’re singing louder than in quiet sections.

Sound quality is determined by the overall chain of sound which is your microphone, pre-amp, convertor/soundcard, then the recording software you’re using. If any one of these links in the chain is not up to par, you might want to consider taking your tracks into a local studio and have an engineer help you get a quality vocal take.

Recording Your Vocals at a Local Recording Studio:

If you wouldn’t consider yourself a technological wiz and don’t have a home recording studio, don’t worry. Save yourself money and time on home recording equipment and take your productions to a local recording studio to track your vocals for our productions.

When you’re choosing a local studio, make sure you’ve done some background checks on the engineer and facilities you’re about to use. Don’t book studio time without checking out the studio and getting referrals from friends, listening to demos or reading reviews. Get some rates from the studio and make sure it fits in your budget while still delivering a quality result. The average rate you should expect to pay for a vocal session is $50-100/hour.

Once you’ve chosen the engineer and studio to record your vocals, bring in the keyboard preview mp3 from the production as the instrumental backing track to begin recording your vocals. Once your recording is complete, you’ll then export each individual wav file of your vocal adding the 2 bars of clicks as described below.

How Do I Send the Vocal Tracks once they’re finished?

Once you’ve completed recording your vocals, export or bounce each vocal track as an individual mono wav file at 44.1 khz, 24 bit without any processing or effects. You’ll need to copy and paste the 2 bars of clicks from the keyboards preview onto each individual vocal track. Then, archive (zip) all the vocal tracks into one zip file. Log in to view the production order within your account, and upload the file.

To read more about Studio Pros vocalists.

To read more about Studio Pros Full Music Production.

Many songwriters have their own home recording studios and double as the producer, engineer, songwriter, and recording artist.  Most songwriters don’t also fall into the category of “studio drummer”, and that’s where Studio Pros comes in to save the day (or the album you could say). 

 

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 Don’t waste time struggling to knock out a midi drum track on your song when you can have our studio drummer come help you!  As many of you may have realized, getting drum tracks recorded may be the most difficult step in getting your album finished.

 Aaron Frisbee, a Kentucky based songwriter, fits the above description to a tee.  He was in the process of recording his album “ReDISCOVERY” and found the drums to be the hardest part to master from his pro recording Studio640 in Louisville.  Frisbee’s songs, simple and lyrical with textures that include organic guitars, pianos, strings, anolog synthesizers and layered vocals were screaming for organic live drums to compliment the sound.

“I found the Studio Pros session drummers after working endlessly to try to sequence drums with a “human” feel. I found working with the pros studio drummer was great.  We talked about the style and approach I had in mind for the album. I sent some songs to give him an idea, a vibe (Beck’s Sea Change meets Abbey Road). Many of the drum ideas were original and the recorded sounds were great. It really made it easy to for me to bring them into the final mix.”
 
Aaron found the pros to be very approachable in the collaboration process of his drum recordings, “I would discuss revisions with the drummer and try different versions until we got it right.  I wanted ReDISCOVERY to have a classic analog sound but with modern touches – it just made sense to record live drums on most of the songs.”
 
Once Aaron had a drum track that he approved and downloaded, he had no problem importing the tracks into his Pro Tools set up from his Louisville, Kentucky home recording studio.  “It was easy. In many cases I would continue to arrange the song even after the drums were cut because we were working with a click. I would also choose my favorite fills and move them around in the song. In the case of “Believe”, I reversed some drum parts for cool transition effects.”

“Drum parts are usually really hard for singer songwriters and getting quality performances and well recorded parts can take a tremendous amount of energy if you don’t work with pros. The problem is most people can’t afford to put together a team (drummer, studio and engineer) to get their drum parts. Studio Pros makes it easy and affordable and their live drum parts definitely raise the bar of the production allowing performing producers like me to focus on one or two input recordings like vocals, guitar and keys when finishing the songs.”
 
So follow Aaron Frisbee’s lead and send your album’s tracks on over to the Pros.  We are here to help you finish your album with a professional touch! 

To buy “reDISCOVERY” go to Aaron’s website: http://www.frisbeemusic.com/

Frisbee will be touring this year as well, so check up on tour dates and locations on his site.

Click here to order Studio Pros drum tracks.

The Studio Pros musicians are still shaking the sand out of their flip flops after working on a music production for talented singer/songwriter Sean Murphy.

 

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Born in Lanikai, Hawaii and later relocating to Laguna Beach, California, you can hear the sound of the ocean in Murphy’s voice and the influences of his laid back beach lifestyle. Sean got in touch with us at Studio Pros and needed to add a more professional edge to the demo of his latest work of art “Dream To Be”.

First finding out about Studio Pros in a recording magazine, Sean took the plunge and sent out his song to the Pros. The studio musicians layed down the backing tracks to support his Jack Johnson-esque vocals which he recorded at his home studio, “I thought the musicians made very creative yet tasteful choices in keeping with the spirit of the song.”

Collaborating with the Studio Pros production team and studio musicians was Sean’s first try at producing his music online, “I actually was very surprised about how easy this was to do, and how great my music has turned out. It is very efficient in comparison to going to the studio.”

Sean didn’t stop at just letting the studio musicians come in and lay down the instrumental tracks, he also turned to our one and only Racquel Roberts to compliment his laid back melodies with her soothing backing vocals.

Sean is currently working with a New York based record label, and has continued to work with the Studio Pros on more productions. Keep your eye out for Sean in the future, as he has high hopes of hitting the road with his songs and bringing a bit of sunshine to your town.

You can check out more of Sean’s music at: www.myspace.com/seanmurphyguitar

Click here to learn more about Studio Pros music production package.

Let Studio Pros help you fill in all of the missing elements to your home recordings.

Adrian Sakashita is a composer who spends his time between Los Angeles and London as well as an online business owner.  This is the perfect case for Studio Pros, as Adrian can manage his projects from all around the world and still be kept in the loop on his production, while not wasting too much time at a studio.

 Studio Pros just recently worked with him on his latest work “Seduction” and filled in the missing pieces of his recordings using our studio musicians, “Studio Pros helps make better music!  I simply couldn’t resist the temptation and dove in head first a few years ago.  Since then, I’ve turned my attention back to composition.”

While Adrian has a home studio set up where he can record, he’s found collaborating with other musicians helps him get the finished missing elements to his music in a professional manner.  “The better results come from collaboration… and it’s more fun.  In the long run you save both time and money!  I consider Studio Pros to be my on-demand musical collaborators,” Adrian says. 

As a keyboardist, it isn’t practical for Adrian to waste time on a bass track or clunking out a midi drum part if he can hire studio musicians to play his trouble instruments.  Though Adrian can invest time and money in getting all of the home gear to accomplish creating midi sounds, why do it if you he can hire a professional studio drummer and save money? “ Real instruments and real musicians are a hard combination to beat.  That’s why I count on the Pros to help me out.”

Along with collaborating with us here at Studio Pros, Adrian took his online project to the next level and documented his step to step project by creating a music blog.  “I thought it would be fun to chronicle a project from start to finish.  I think many people are surprised at how a song develops from usually nothing more than a basic riff.  It was cool way to generate some immediate content for my humble little blog, and will hopefully help answer many of the questions I get after the fact.”

Check out Adrian’s step by step documentation of using Studio Pros: www.fastonkeys.com 

So he lives all the way in Sweden? No big deal. Studio Pros spoke with our favorite Scandinavian songwriter about getting his song produced online.

 

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I’m 34 years old with a huge interest for writing music and performing my songs live. I started playing guitar when I was 13 years old and I wrote my first song when I was 23. I play at some local pubs with a friend of mine and sometimes we play with our two acoustic guitars and harmonica at company parties. I live 20 miles from Gothenburg in Sweden and a couple of my songs have been played on the Swedish radio stations here.

What inspired you to write this particular song?

I was playing around with the acoustic guitar and then it just “came to me” as it often does when it comes to write music & lyrics. I have built a small home recording studio where I record my music before I send them out. I’ve been actively involved in music for about five years now as a songwriter. Once I have a good recording of my material I send the songs to different record companies and radio stations.

Do you recommend recording online for other artists? Why?

Absolutely, it’s a great tool to use and it gives you a lot help if you don’t play instruments that well and if you want something really special.  Having the studio musicians come in and take my ideas and form a finished song was unbelievable.   I can say that StudioPros.com helped me in every way with my song and I can’t thank you guys enough for being so professional!

 Learn more about Studio Pros music production service.

 Emily Russo is a Boston based diva on the rise who just recently finished a Studio Pros Music Production Service.

 

 The Price Of Letting Go: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

She has been playing piano since she was five years old, and started songwriting when she was fifteen. She is currently attending The Berklee College of Music in Boston where she is studying songwriting.  Emily draws her inspiration for songwriting from many different walks of life - both her own and other people’s. She worked with us on her song “The Price of Letting Go” and kindly answered some of my questions about her experiences with Studio Pros…

Who would you say are some of your main influences?

The Beatles for sure, but also oldies, motown, and old school metal. I’m not really influenced that much by today’s modern music.

Tell me about your experiences working with Studio Pros.

Honestly, it was great. The track sounds amazing! I was very impressed that they didn’t need a lead sheet or anything like that, they just took my song, and recorded it and arranged it, and it was ready to go!

What was your inspiration behind the track you did with us? And inspiration for your music in general?

Well it was a mix between my grandfather passing away, and how that made me feel, and then it was also about one of my best friends who passed away last year. It was nice to be able to have an outlet to express the emotions I felt as a young girl, as well as how I feel as an adult. And as far as inspiration in general, you never know when it’s going to strike. Last night for example, I was in the kitchen, and I just got inspired, and I went to the piano and had to write a song right then and there. It’s rare that I’ll actually have the patience to sit down and schedule time to write songs, usually it’s just when the inspiration strikes me that I’ll write.

Did you have a particular sound in mind for your song “The Price of Letting Go”, or did you leave the production to the players at Studio Pros?

I just kind of let them do what they wanted to do. There was one time when I asked them to change the guitar part, and they changed it exactly as I wanted them to, and that was awesome! Other than that I just kind of let them do what they wanted to do and it turned out great!

Had you ever heard of recording online before?

No. I was very surprised actually that they could do that. I was amazed that they could just hear the song and then be able to record it, just like that!

Did you have any reservations about recording online?

No. I was all for it, just because I knew it was going to be professional, and because I knew the recording equipment they were going to use was a lot better than the stuff I have, so I was all for it.

Was it an easy process for you?

Yes, it was very easy and I was able to have talented session players produce my song without having to leave Boston.  What more could I ask for?

So there you have it, we loved working with her, and we hope to do so again some time in the future.

Learn more about Studio Pros Music Production Service

Creating a ‘band sound’ when recording individual session players

One of the most common problems I encounter when producing a track is the lack of a ‘real space’ sound. Most self-recording artists are trying to make the best out of what they have. What they usually have is a small room with home recording equipment. Sometimes it is easier and more feasible to have a musician record a separate track individually instead of a full live band. In dealing with this situation I’ve found a few ways to create a full band sound out of these individual session player’s tracks. The greatest obstacle to overcome in recording tracks separately is maintaining a natural sound. We always need to remember that some styles simply aren’t meant to be recorded separately. Try recording a jazz trio individually and you’ll soon find it’s a mission impossible. In the end, some albums were just meant to be recorded live.

Style Options

First and foremost, when I’m trying to create a “band sound” the style of the music must be decided. This is important in order to ensure the authenticity of the song. Deciding on the style will help the session players generate the same mood for the song and make more efficient use of time. I usually listen to reference tracks beforehand in order to gain a better understanding of what kind of sound will be reflected in the song. Think about how the music was recorded, what types of instruments, amps, mics, rooms, were used in producing the track.

Sketch It Out

After choosing the style, an initial sketch will need to be created. I’ve found it important to give the sketch to the individual artists. This will keep everyone on the same page and help them feel out the desired vibe of the song. This sketch should be kept perfectly in sync with the click track. Keeping in sync with the click track is more important when recording separately as when recording together. When recording live, the players can see each other. Part of creating that full band sound, as if they were able to see each other, is to make certain that all the players are referring to the same sketch.

Making charts is another way to guarantee synchronization. Even though the players cannot rehearse together, they must know the structure of the song perfectly. Arrangement mistakes should be avoided and repeat takes should be reserved only for exploring different feels or ideas. Most experienced session players will know how to make a professional chart, so just ask! It will be ten minutes well spent.

In Sync

The easiest way to begin recording is to start with a rhythm instrument over a perfectly synced or even quantized scratch track. For example, the first live instrument to be laid down can be drums and then add the bass. Hold off on vocals, keys, and harmony instruments until the end. Provide the same atmosphere during every session throughout the project in order to maintain consistency. Check that the players are following every break, off-beat and dynamic part to guarantee a cohesive sound. Keep those reference tracks close at hand; they will help to ensure everyone performs with the same desired sound in mind.

Mix

When I’m mixing tracks it is very important to know what part is going to be the most prominent element. The singer will most likely be the lead component, with the rest of the band filling in the other frequencies and places in the sound field. Two instruments that play in the same range should not be situated in the same spot. That would be akin to two people talking at the same time to the same person! If this situation occurs, spread the tracks in the sound field using panning. Panning an instrument even a few degrees to the side will give the mix a new dimension.

Placing the players in the sound field is probably the most important task in generating a full band sound from individual musicians. Each player should be placed separately using panning, reverb, compression, etc. If you record at home, room mics are not as efficient in this setting due to lack of acoustic reverberation. However, using artificial reverbs on close miked instruments will help you mask these acoustic problems.

Live Drum Sounds

In order to optimize the room sound, try adding room reverb on the drums that are dominant in the 500-2500 HZ such as the snare, toms and floor. Applying reverb on the overheads or hi-hat will sound unnatural since large rooms do not resonate at the same high frequencies that they do for snare, toms and bass drum. If you are adding reverb on the overheads, make sure to cut the high frequencies of the reverb so the cymbal will stay sharp and tight.

When you are mixing, make sure you get a quality sound for your track dry before you start adding effects. My personal choice is starting with the room reverb, to compensate for the lack of room sound. Then I move on to some gated or hall reverbs depending on the style. For example, when recording a rock song, I choose a room reverb with about 0.9 seconds of time, a delay of about 0.8 seconds will create the feeling of a mid-sized room. Later, I add a gate-reverb of about 1.8 seconds. I always try to cut back on the long reverb on snares. That will date the track and take away from the freshness of the music.

Compressing the snare top channel with a long attack/long release compressor is a mix engineer’s best weapon. This is a great way to get an attack of the snare drum while bringing more room noise back into the mix. Achieving that ‘in-your-face’ sound is very popular in the rock and pop genre of today’s music. But be careful! Overcompressing your snare leads to an excess of high hat in your mix.

To finalize my mixes, I like to compress the final output with a 20ms attack at a 1:3 ratio. This helps me tighten up the drum and bass with the rest of the tracks before I send the song to mastering.

Making your individual session players sound like a full band isn’t hard to accomplish, even in a home studio. Try out some of the techniques I use to create a live sound whenever I am recording individuals vs. a full band. There are no rules to recording. Be creative and have fun.

Learn more about Studio Pros Mixing and Mastering Services

Ever wish someone could help guide you through the entire music production process? I know I do, and for that, I turn to Studio Pros.

Musicians are notorious for being a bit behind the game when it comes to getting things done on time. That’s what we’re here for. At Studio Pros, we help you record your song every step of the way. We make sure our session players deliver quality material, in a timely fashion. Sure you could book time at an expensive recording studio, and spend thousands of dollars on your album, but why not keep the money you’d save NOT doing that, and work with us instead?!

If you’re having trouble getting things done in a timely fashion, and people aren’t taking recording your demo seriously, I have a few suggestions for you.

1.  Hire Studio Pros.  Don’t waste time trying to organize musicians and overcoming technological problems when you could be concentrating on writing new material. 

2.  Check ups. Don’t be anonymous.  Make sure you are interacting with the production team at StudioPros and are collaborating on musical ideas with the musicians.

3.  Show there’s prospect. Nothing gives musicians more hope than the prospect of a future in music. Get serious about your goals, and show them you have a plan.

4. :  Set a deadline.  Whenever you have a project goal in mind, make sure you have an “end in sight”.  Always set a goal for a project completion date.

I’ve often been frustrated when it comes to recording my songs with the help of my musician friends. It seems to be more of a waiting game than anything. “Let’s do it tomorrow at 9” has turned into, “How about next week, I’m really tired tonight”. There can always be an excuse for everything if you don’t give these flakes a reason that’s worth working hard for.

Learn More about Studio Pros.  Get your tracks finished now.

Brenna Whitaker is a talented singer that has worked with Studio Pros over the years. She’s also had years of experience performing around the country and studied and had her own bands around the country from New York, Vegas to Los Angeles.

Do you have any tips for vocalists out there who are trying to record in their home studios?

First of all, find a comfortable spot to set up your studio in your home. Next, have a basic set up to where everything is accessible to you while you’re recording. Make sure the outside noise is quiet and you are getting the best sound with what you have to work with. It helps to cover the windows to reduce noise and hang blankets or tapestries on the walls to soften the echos. Be creative with what you have in your home recording studio. There are no rules for recording in your own studio.

Do you have any particular vocal warm ups you do before you step into a recording session?

Depending on how big of a range the song is, I usually have to warm up my voice for about 25 minutes. I like to go through a series of ooh’s and aah’s, scales are always helpful to get my voice going. Also, just singing harmonies to a song on the radio is a fun way to get ready to record in the studio.  Do you do all of your vocals in one take?
Every once in a while I have that lucky song. But most of the time, I have to perfect things by punching into the song. The trick to punching in is finding a spot in the phrase that doesn’t effect the fluidity of the song. You never want to punch in the middle of a phrase or word.

What’s the best way to make multiple takes sound as if you were singing the song straight through?

I like to be nice to the mix engineer in this case. But there are things you can do to make punched in tracks sound fluid. Fades at the point of the punch in are a great way to make sure that there aren’t punch in sounds and weird transitions between takes.

Learn more about Studio Pros vocalists.

“This song sounds cheesy.” You’ve all said it at one point in time.

How do songwriters avoid this problem? Sure, Michael Bolton rocked the “cheese” in the early nineties and Christopher Cross made hits in the eighties with this “out-dated” production style, but let’s keep moving forward. How do you avoid sounding like “you just can’t let the good ole days go”?

Several steps in the song writing and production process of your song can help you avoid taking a step in the wrong direction on the cheese-o-meter. First of all, try to avoid overplaying in a song. A really good song should sound perfect alone with just an acoustic guitar and a vocal. It’s always good to get an outside ear to hear a song when you first write it. Even if your audience doesn’t give you too much feedback, you’ll have that initial instinct while you’re playing to help you determine if it’s a “good song”.

Secondly, avoid overproducing your songs with excess of instruments. Midi sounds are something you really need to be careful layering.

Drum sounds are also a make or break when you are recording a song. The best thing to do in this case is to listen to some current artists that you like and copy the drum sounds they are using in their recordings. Listen to the drum track and picture the room it was recorded in, the effects that were applied to the mix, and also the placement of the drums in the mix.

Keep your ears open when you are getting to the music production stage of your song. Take from the current sounds around you, and interesting recording techniques from the past. New ideas are good. Recreate old sounds instead of replicate. You’ll have an interesting and “cheese-free” song in no time.

Learn about Studio Pros Music Production Service.