recording studio drum room?

[jkhuri44]

gday all,

there was an ad placed in Drum Media a few weeks ago about a studio in sydney, sporting it was "the best drum room in sydney"...and the room was supposedly "tweaked" by drummer Chad Wackerman. Does anyone know the place?

cheers...

[Kris]

I'd rather a drum room be tweaked by an engineer and an acoustic consultant personally. There are plenty of good drum rooms in Sydney. Electric Ave, The Grove, Love Hz, 301, or Level 7 Studios.

Level 7 is a killer room and great prices, with or without engineer.

[smash]

"Tweaked by a Drummer"

Large Fridge filled with Beer, Inside Sport Swimsuit Edition Callendar on the Wall, Stuffed "Animal" (from the muppets) sitting in the corner...

= Tweaked !!!

[jkhuri44]

jokes aside...

what exactly is the problem with a room that was acoustically adjusted to the liking of a world class drummer....a room where a musician feels good?

and chad is an awesome drummer...not a sweaty meat-head damn it!!!

:lol:

[Kris]

in my opinion...

there's no problem, but feel good doesn't necessarily mean sound good.

In all fairness, not saying your drummer friend isn't capable of doing it but would you, for example, hire him or say, Rick O'Neil or Mark Basset to design your room?

Your drummer may simply have liked the room. "Tweaking" is a pretty generic and vague term. Perhaps if we were able to ascertain exactly what it is he did then we might have a better understanding of what we're discussing.

Advertisements are simply a way of getting people's attention. Hiring a studio because of a blurb in a press ad.....?

[jkhuri44]

i think i was more keen on knowing what place this was out of interest, and wasnt quite thinking very hard about the anatomy of my post...

im sure this place might not be the be all end all....chad wackerman is one of the world's great drummers...i thought his taste might be worth checking out...that was all :P

[SNJ Studio]

Marketing crapola.

I second the opinions above, do not hire a space just on a drummers experience. Wakerman would sound slammin on 4 track.

Anyone in here tracked at Level 7 since changing hands? What is the asking price for a day lockout without engineer?

"Electric Ave, The Grove, Love Hz, 301, or Level 7 Studios"

I am in the process of figuring out where to take a big project in a few weeks, looking for a good tracking space. Haven't ever tracked at BJB - would you guys say this is a good drum room? What about some of the smaller joints - Megaphon, etc...?

[Aearth]

Small room.....Limestone Studios in Oxford St has got a killer kit and great small, good vibe room.

Nic

[Kris]

If you're after a smaller room, I have recorded amazing sounds in the far room at Electric Ave. (the one closest to Rick's suite). It's a bit splashy so you will need to isolate the mic's sometimes but the room itself sounds sweet for mid tempo songs. Rough pricing with engineer is approx $1,400/day. Choice of 3 rooms, Neve console with API mods. I can email you a track of the stuff I did there.

Love Hz is a good smaller room. I heard some stuff done there by a band called The View and the sound was very good. Sort of like Motor Ace on the first album which was tracked at Sing Sing. $approx. $880/day. No console per se. Go to www.myspace.com/theviewmusic. Listen to 'This Moment' Demo was all done at Love Hz.

Level 7, the pedigree from hell...or heaven. Just look at the list of classic Australian bands who have tracked there in the past. Approx $800 day without engineer. Mid to small room. SSL console

The Grove, listen to the Eskimo Joe album. About $1,200/day with engineer. SSL Console. I can email you some tracks from sessions done there.

301.

Tiger. I can email you some tracks from sessions done there.

Then there's the studios like Troy Horse etc.

Actually, we have some great studios in our sleepy little town. Makes you just want to go out and press record.

[Text_Edifice]

Just tracked some drums in the basement of a heritage listed stone church in the middle of Brisbane - stone walls, wooden floors and double glazed windows :wink: I really liked the sound on this particular set of songs (soul / funk / gospelly stuff) but it wouldn't work for everything... My point is I guess there are a lot of great spaces out there that might suit one particular project or another - just have to go listening.

[SNJ Studio]

Kris, thanks for your post, I found it very informative. I have decided to gravitate towards a freelance producer role rather than track in my own space and while I have been in a few rooms in Sydney it has not been for a few years and your notes were great to read. I am in the process of discussing with a few bands what studio they would like to head into, as it is also to do with the vibe and how the musicians perform in the space... but i may hit you up for some of those tracks that demonstrate those rooms sometime in the near future.

Can I just say that if you charge more than $1000 per day you price yourself out of the budget of a lot of indie bands. It is just too much money. I know a Neve or an SSL aint cheap but I have no sympathy for studios that are struggling when they charge $1400 a day, that is just ridiculous with this country's music scene. That ratio of people who spend that kind of money and actually make it back is so small...
"Just tracked some drums in the basement of a heritage listed stone church"

I hear that - I have recorded a few bands in churches and scout halls and if you have a good personal recording rig, then you can get some amazing sounds and vibes on tape this way. It is also heaps of fun... Anyone else trying this? Any cool halls or churches you've tried that we should check out? I sometime lose the inspiration in clinical studios but setting up mikes in a church you have borrowed for the night can really conjure up some helpfull spirits (jebus?).

For my next project, a rock-a-billy punk 3 piece, I have my list of tracking studios down to TrackDown (fox), Level 7, Love Hz... all these rooms are great with quality gear and it is starting to come down to who can offer us the most attractive rate.
A.R.B.

[Kris]

Yeah, forgot about Trackdown. Great room for tracking a band all at once. Actually, great room fullstop. Not exactly a 'classic' rock set up though when compared to a neve/ssl room. They do a lot of classical/soundtrack work and I think they're outboard is spec'd accordingly. I could be wrong though.