I’ll try to demystify some of the questions I usually get asked about recording music here.
How long does it take to record an album?
(Let’s base this on a 10 track album)
It is entirely up to you! If you spend time preparing, workshopping/arranging and documenting the decisions made then recording could be done in a week!! Mixing and mastering could take another week and so your album is done in a fortnight!
If your performers are prepared and the studio has done its homework regarding the technical issues like microphone placement, monitoring, setting up the projects in the DAW, etc. then you can look at a rate of recording two or three songs per Studio Day (2x 3-hour sessions). If there are vocals on the songs, then it could take up to a week depending on how intensive the songs and arrangements are regarding lead vocals and backing vocals.
Mixing one track will take the same time as a full recording session (3 hours) and mastering, provided the mixing was good, can take a few days when done thoroughly and efficiently.
How much does an album cost?
(Let’s base this on a 10 track album)
When you work at major recording labels’ studios or commercial studios you could easily pay up to R10,000 per session excluding the fees for performing musicians, artists, etc. So recording an album for R100,000 is not unheard of at all!
But we want to keep our costs as low as possible so that we can make it affordable for you to record your music…
We will try to be as accommodating as possible and I can guarantee that we put in many more hours than what you pay for because we believe in getting the best results for you! That’s why we came up with our Special Offer for only R6000 so we can expose your music to the world…
If you confirm that you want to do a full-length album, we will lower our rates at the studio because it feels like the right thing to do…the more hours you book, the cheaper it gets.
So to answer the question on behalf of Mahogany Recording Studio…
10 Tracks (FULLY Produced, Mixed & Mastered) will cost only R 60,000-00
*** Does NOT include session musician/artist and/or gear hiring fees ***
When and/or for how long can we record?
Our studio works only by appointment!
Normal recording hours are 10am – 1pm, Lunch Break, 2pm-5pm from Monday to Friday. This is especially for projects including live instrumentation as the studio is situated in a residential area. Special arrangements can be made to record in the evenings but will be limited to Vocals, Horns/Woodwinds, Strings & some guitars. We try to keep weekends clear but are happy to accommodate people who have jobs during the week.
How long the overall length of the album recording process takes is completely up to you. We’ve learned that sometimes life happens and we can’t always predict the future so we tend to leave the Start/End dates on our contract blank so that you don’t feel pressured and can create music as organically as possible. This doesn’t mean that we want to drag it out either because its best to keep that creative momentum going so we will be urging you along constantly while we promise to keep chipping away at recording, programming, mixing, etc. every step of the way!
For ANY other queries please feel free to Contact Us via the website or our email address hello@mahoganyrecordingstudio.co.za
