{tab=Recording @ KKS} That’s the coolest thing you can do of course!
Mixing and mastering is cool, but doing a complete production is a lot better;). Recording all instruments gives us the chance to dive deeper into your music.
We try to support you from the beginning to make your songs sound they way they should. We assist you while playing, we help to choose the right instruments, amps, mics and effects and we support you with our musical ideas if wanted. We have a lot of great sounding guitar amps, drums, snares and cymbals that you can use free of charge. And most importantly we keep on working until we’re all satisfied!
A great sounding record is more than a bunch of well recorded tracks. We trying to help to get YOUR musical vision on “tape”. We’re not just recording.
During the recording sessions you should be able to concentrate on your playing. We take care of the rest and make your production as relaxed as possible.
We can either just do the “technical” part of the production or help you creatively. Wahtever you desire.
And believe me, we’re pretty nice people as well! You need to get along with someone if you wanna work with him for days and weeks, so please call us if you wanna know we how niiiice we are.
All right boys and girls. Get in touch for a great sounding and relaxed production!
{slide=1.) Can we sleep / live at the studio?}
Yes! Either you’ll sleep and live at the studio or an appartement close to the studio will
be booked for you. In the studio there’s room for 4 people. There’s a kitchen with
everything you’ll need, TV, Internet (wireless), CD + DVD Player and a Sauna.
The price for one of these appartements is included!
You are responsible for cleaning these rooms!
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{slide=2.) What instruments / gear do we need to bring?}
-You should not bring more than you need. So it’s recommended to talk to us before
bringing in tons of stuff. We do have a lot of guitar amps + two complete drumsets + a lot of snares and cymbals at the studio that you can use free of charge. Have a look on the website for more details.
– It’s soooo important to bring your guitars/basses to a good guitar tech for a complete
setup before you go to the studio (especially if they’re tuned very deep!). Each year we
loose a lot of time because of horribly set up instruments
– Please put new strings on your guitars/basses!
– Please put new batter heads on your drums one or two days before you come here!
We normally use Ambassador heads for the snare + clear Emperor on the toms. But if you
know what you’re doing, just go ahead!
-Please bring a USB harddisc for backup purposes with you!
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{slide=3.) What else should we prepare?}
-We always record to a click track. You should prepare the tempos + record a pilot guitar
(or even more tracks if the drummer needs them) so we don’t loose time with these
boring things. We work with Cubase 7.5, so you can either:
* bring a Cubase session
* or prepare some WAV files of the pilot track(s) + a midifile for each song. Each track should start at the same time at a full measure. You should also do an exact tempo list!
These tracks should be 24 bit, 44,1KHz.
– Please talk to us about anything we might have forgotten here. Please also talk about any specialities your band might have!
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{tab=Mixing @ KKS} A mix will make or break the sound of a record. It is the most complex and difficult step in a production with lots of creativity involved.
We have mixed a lot of productions recorded by other studios or the bands and musicians themselves in the last years. The most important thing is to get in touch early!
It’s a good idea to talk to us BEFORE you start recording. This way, we can make sure, everything is like we need it to be later on in the mixing process.
Very often we also reamp guitar and bass tracks while mixing, so please make sure you also record clean DI tracks of all guitars and basses.
It’s too difficult to answer all mix related questions, so please get in touch if you think about mixing your music at Kohlekeller Studios.
{tab=Mastering @ KKS} The mastering is the last creative step before your music is released to the public. Mastering mistake can’t be corrected so this job should be done by a professional.
We give our best to make your recordings sound loud and punchy but not lifeless and distorted. We try to even out the frequency range in a musical way and get rid of any annoying or hyped frequencies.
We prefer to do stem mastering if possible. This means you give us the instrument group tracks of your productions the way you mixed them. This way we can “do more” if needed or just do the finishing touch like on a stereo master (see below).
So if your mixes need the last finishing touch, contact us!
{slide=1.) How should my tracks look like?}
It depends if you want us to do a “normal” stereomastering or a stem mastering. For a stereomastering just send us a single audio files per song. It’s as simple as that.
For a stem mastering we need one track for each instrument group (drums, guitars, bass, keys, vocals) including all efx. These tracks should exactly sound like your mix when summed together. This gives us the opportunity to control each stem independently.
We also need a detailed tracklist (including final tracknames, ISRC codes if wanted). Also please let us know if there’s any special transitions between the songs
(fade ins/outs or crossfades).
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{slide=2.) Should we add any processing (compression, EQing, limiting) to the tracks?}
No! Just leave them untouched and at the highest possible resolution. Just let us do the rest!
Especially don’t use any limiters to make your mixes sound louder. This just makes our work harder and does not make your mixes any better.
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{slide=3.) Do we get a hardware or software master?}
You can get whatever you want. We do prefer making (and uploading) DDPs (some kind of professional CD images in case you don’t know). It’s safer, cheaper and faster. You just have to foward the DDP to your label or pressing plant.
We will also provide you with a DDP Player software so you can listen to and control the master.
With the help of this player you can listen to your master, see CD text and ISRC codes and finally burn a CD for personal use.
You can get a physical CD master as well. But this will cost you 50.-EUR + VAT + shipping.
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{slide=4.) Can we attend the mastering session?}
Yes, you can!
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{slide=5.) What happens if we want the master to be changed?}
We will work on one song until everyone is satisfied. After that we will go through the rest of the songs. Two revisions are included in the standard mastering price.
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{tab=Reamping @ KKS} Reamping your direct guitar tracks here at Kohlekeller will bring your guitar sound to a new level.
It’s interesting for those of you doing productions in the rehearsal room or at your home studio. If you wanna have a guitar sound recorded
through real tube amps and guitar cabs instead of plugins and digital hardware emulations, just get in touch. Normally it can be done quickly and
does not cost you a fortune.
{slide=1.) How should my tracks look like?}
Your guitar tracks should be recorded through the cleanest signal chain that you can find. Please use the best DI box available. If you need any recommendation on what equipment to use, please contact us.
Please leave some headroom and don’t clip your converters. Just record some clean tracks. And please make sure all tracks have the same level throughout all songs.
That means, if you have found the right settings, don’t touch them anymore.
Please make sure, there’s no clicks or editing mistakes in your tracks. Also don’t stop recording until the takes sound perfect to your ears. A good guitar sound will
make any sloppy playing a lot more obvious.
You can either send us a Cubase project or single audio files (16, 24 or 32 Bit, 44,1 or 48 KHz). If you’re sending single audio files, make sure all tracks of one song start at the same position.
And please mark the tracks as clearly as possible.
You should also send us rough mixes of the songs + another rough mix EXCLUDING all guitar tracks. You can also send us stems of all other instruments (Drums, Bass, Vox etc…). That makes our life even easier.
Giving us some reference files of other productions to show us what guitar sound you’re after isn’t a bad idea either.
{/slide}
{slide=2.) Can we send you some testfiles before the real production starts?}
Yes please! It’s recommended to send us a few testfiles before you actually start recording officially. This helps to solve problems before it’s too late.
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{slide=3.) Which guitar amps are available?}
There’s always amps coming and going. This is what we can offer at the moment (summer 2011):
– Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier (2 channel)
– Mesa Boogie Transatlantic 100
– Blackstar Series One El34
– Marshall JVM410
– Marshall DSL50
– Engl Savage Special Edition
– Engl Fireball
– Bugera 1960 Infinium
– Laboga Mr.Hector
– Orange Rockerverb 50
– Peavey Classic 50
– Randall RM200
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{slide=4.) Can we attend the reamping session?}
Yes, you can!
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{/tabs}