URGENT Best Mix&Mastering studios in LA?

[Bob Amirian]

Hi everybody,

I need your advice. I'm looking for a studios to mix and master a project in Los Angeles (or area) between 1 and 10th of May.

A few words about the project.

I'm producing a large charity TV project featuring all top local stars in Poland. Yes, it's 2006 and some of them can really sing.

This is just one 4'30" song. Musically, Peter Gabriel-ish sort of stuff, perhaps towards his beautiful "The Blood Of Eden" more than his great "Sledgehammer".

There will be approx. 70 tracks. About 16 tracks of vocals plus live drums, modern drum loops, fretless bass, acoustic and electric guitars, piano, keyboard, soprano sax and duduk (beautiful Armenian wind instrument). So, a lot.

To do this job I'll need a great studio to mix it and another great one to master it. And in L. A. without your guidance I'm lost.


What I need from a studio that will mix it is:

1). Nice, friendly, cooperative, not puffed up, neither lazy/boring nor annoyingly exaggerated mixing engineer with very musical and technical knowledge as well as creative and professional approach

2). Great outboard gear including array of vintage compressors (Manley VariMu of course is a must have), good reverberation and true monitoring system and room acoustics.

3). Large, automated mixing desk with great compressors, preferably SSL.

4). DAW operating with .wav format, due to I'll bring all tracks in this format on CD or hard disk.


What I need from a studio that will master it is:

Paragraphs 1 and 2 above mentioned, plus there should be someone like Bob Ludwig or Bernie Grundman, with personality and experience.

Another important one:

What are the prices there these days? Say, for two 6-hours mixing sessions in a big shot studio and one mastering session to master the song in a few versions (full, instrumental, radio version and a TV spot 30'). I need to know what budget should I have and what form of payment they accept. Can I pay with a VISA card, cheques or is it only cash?



Thank you again in advance. Is it nice to be a guiding light? I hope it's not more an effort.

Especially when you gotta read such a phat story.

I'm all eyes now looking for your kind answer!

Cheers!!!

Bob

[opentune]

I don´t know anything about high end studios and i´ve never been in LA, but...

www.screamstudios.com

...looks like an interesting place for you.

[bimbam]

Maybe you`ll try this... http://www.headroom-inc.com

[Bob Amirian]

Originally Posted by bimbam

Maybe you`ll try this... http://www.headroom-inc.com

Wow, I've checked this site. Looks real awful.

Thanks for input, though.

Bop

[Bob Amirian]

Originally Posted by opentune

I don´t know anything about high end studios and i´ve never been in LA, but...

www.screamstudios.com

...looks like an interesting place for you.

Yeah, site and studio design suck big time, but studio's ability seems fine.

Impressive list of clients.

I just can't imagine myself spending a good time there in front of those demons and Halloween crap.

Thanks a lot!!!

If I only was a headbanging hardrocker yet...

[robmix]

The engineer is everything. Your best best is to figure out your budget, find someone who'll mix it for that, then have them select the studio. Apart from that, the big boys are still Record Plant, Record One, Encore, Village, Henson, Conway and a couple others. You should probably budget about $5000 or more just for the mix. Most decent mix engineers go for about $1000 - $3000 per day or per mix depending on how they charge. And a big SSL room anywhere from $1500 - $2500 per day. Again the engineer is your first call. If you cold call a studio hoping they'll have a "house" engineer you'll probably end up with one of assistants mixing your project - which could be good or bad. Check out the credits on some of your favorite records, and check out some of the discography's of the people here.

Mastering, in town I'm a huge fan of Doug Sachs at Mastering Lab. Amazing attitude and great sounds. Eddie Schreyer at Oasis is also great but it's been awhile since I've been there. If you're willing to get out of town, I like our own Brad Blackwood at Euphonic. For one song with the big guys figure $500 - $700.

[Bob Amirian]

Originally Posted by robmix

The engineer is everything. Your best best is to figure out your budget, find someone who'll mix it for that, then have them select the studio. (...) .

Thanks a lot for your thorough advice. I came to Gearslutz after EveAnna Manley personal recommendation, she said the forum is amazingly helpful, and I find she's damn right.

Robmix, since I'm a totally green in ways of handling things in L. A., could you recommend me some a "creative, experienced mixing engineer - good SSL studio - fine mastering professional" combination, regarding that my budget for all would be around $3000? After all it's just ONE song.

For a change, check this site:

www.soundandmore.pl

This is a studio in which I often work, it's located near my house in Warsaw, Poland. Great rooms, great gear and staff, simply a brill studio. One hour weights... just $65 ! Top mixing engineer (like the one, who recorded last Pat Metheny 's feature album in Poland) swallows another $50 per hour, so one studio hour takes, say, $120, what per day means max $1250. I've always been thinking that this is an expensive one, now, after you wrote me LA prices, I think it's for free....
Perhaps that's why lately in Poland record guys from abroad, it just figures.

Back to the bone. I would appreciate so much your comprehensive help on this one, without it I'm deep fried I think...

BIG PHAT thanks in advance!

Bobmix

[Dirty Halo]

Just out of curiosity? I'm here in L.A., so no agenda one way or ther other.

I like Chris Bell at Bernie Grundman, great credits and good person.

-andrews

DIRTY HALO www.dirtyhalo.com

[picksail]

Send it here. We can mix it for you.

[robmix]

Originally Posted by Bob Amirian

Thanks a lot for your thorough advice. I came to Gearslutz after EveAnna Manley personal recommendation, she said the forum is amazingly helpful, and I find she's damn right.

Robmix, since I'm a totally green in ways of handling things in L. A., could you recommend me some a "creative, experienced mixing engineer - good SSL studio - fine mastering professional" combination, regarding that my budget for all would be around $3000? After all it's just ONE song.

For a change, check this site:

www.soundandmore.pl

This is a studio in which I often work, it's located near my house in Warsaw, Poland. Great rooms, great gear and staff, simply a brill studio. One hour weights... just $65 ! Top mixing engineer (like the one, who recorded last Pat Metheny 's feature album in Poland) swallows another $50 per hour, so one studio hour takes, say, $120, what per day means max $1250. I've always been thinking that this is an expensive one, now, after you wrote me LA prices, I think it's for free....
Perhaps that's why lately in Poland record guys from abroad, it just figures.

Back to the bone. I would appreciate so much your comprehensive help on this one, without it I'm deep fried I think...

BIG PHAT thanks in advance!

Bobmix

I've had the same reaction from several clients in Europe who dream of coming to Hollywood to work. Then they find out the prices and panic. You have a decent budget so there's no reason it can't happen here. I'd be happy to mix for you or suggest several people in town that could also do it. Please email me at robmix@earthlink.net or check out our site:

http://elicitmusic.com/

I'd still go with Eddie or Doug for mastering which should leave you about $2300 - $2500 USD for the mix. Might be tight in an SSL room but it can happen. I'd love to mix it in my room and then on an SSL as well just to hear the difference. Play king off the hill so to speak. Might be a nice experiment and would also give us a day in another studio before the SSL hours start ticking away . . . . .

[mds]

Hi Bob,

I can vouch for Rob. He does excellent work, has a mile long track record of great mixes, is super nice and honest, and knows an SSL like the back of his hand. I wouldn't think twice about hiring him for a project like this.

Good luck!

Mike

[Bob Amirian]

Originally Posted by Dirty Halo

Just out of curiosity? I'm here in L.A., so no agenda one way or ther other.

I like Chris Bell at Bernie Grundman, great credits and good person.

-andrews

DIRTY HALO www.dirtyhalo.com

L.A. isn't just a spaced out, fancy idea, I planned my trip there about a half a year ago and just two weeks ago it turned out, that right before I leave for L.A. I'm on to record this TV charity project and right after I'm back it should be mixed and mastered. So I decided to fulfill one of my dreams and make it in L.A.

BTW, I studied at the UCLA back in '91 and have close family in Glendale as well as my best friend in Santa Monica, so L. A. is no more a fancy dream, rather place I like to be.

There's another thing about it. It's not enough to have a great studio and deacent engineer. What lacks in Poland's studios is THE ATTITUDE. Here, usually composer, musician, recording engineer, mixing engineer, PT operator and producer is the same person. One man show. Not good. Same difference as between tennis and squash. I'd better not go deeper into metaphores...

Of course, it's more personalized approach, but usually what we end up with is an average copy of what we hear on the american or british records, because one just can't hear well after a few hours (just like one can't clearly feel scents right after 10minutes in a perfume shop) and don't have a fresh, creative approach. You know, it all gets mixed up in some way, you stick to some ideas and when they don't work as expected you get confused and loose power, touch and freshness.

There should be someone else beside you, who has his input in the session. Two heads are basically better than one, great girl is always better than your right hand date, yeah, whateva.

Bernie Grundman is a genius. Maybe, maybe...


Cheers!

Bop Bob

[Beauarts]

I talked to Doug Sachs last year. Even though he's pricey, he has other mastering engineers that work for him at his business that are 1/2 his rate. Worth looking into.

[Rick Sutton]

Doug at the Mastering Lab is definitely top notch. he's done great work on some of my projects and is a straight up pro.
FWIW it's Sax, not Sachs.

[composermon2]

Pat Sullivan is my favorite mastering engineer and she is at Bernie Grundman's right now. There are no finer ears anywhere. She had her baby during my last big project and I was so desperate for her to come back tht I agreed to baby sit her new infant all day while she mastered my album. John Williams won't relase anything without her, neither will Danny Elfman or almost every other film guy in town. Plus, if there is someone better suited to your project, she'll let you know. Mastering engineers are like hair stylists and dentists - once yu've found your hero, no one else will do!

[Duardo]

Since this thread has been resurrected, I'd be interested in hearing how the project turned out and where it was mixed and mastered...

Why is this in the Moan Zone?