Under $500/day Tracking Room in Brooklyn?

[drockfresh]

Any (under $500) places suitable for tracking a few live musicians playing together (including horns)?
Nice if it had a nice Rhodes/Wurly.

Thanks,

dave

[seaneldon]

Not $500 a day but the coolest room in all of Brooklyn that's run by an "EXCELLENT DUDE". More than fit for a "full band" plus some.

Bushwick Studio - Welcome to Bushwick Studio

[jomo1234]

Do you need to be in a specific neighborhood??

Studio G is killer, but I think it might be out of your price range. The Seaside Lounge has 10 hour blocks for $40/hour (The Seaside Lounge Recording Studios, Brooklyn, New York. Vibe for days...). I'm not sure of the rates these days, but also try Excello (Excello Recording, QUALIFIED) or Metrosonic (MetroSonic Recording Studio Full Service Music Production Studio New York City Music Recording, Mixing & Mastering Studios | Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York, NY)

I hope this helps...

[freestyle tromb]

I work at the Seaside Lounge. It's a great place. We do lots of live tracking, AND I'm a trombone player, so hey. :D
And we've got both a rhodes and a wurly. Oh, and a C-3 organ with leslie.

[audiobylaw@nets]

Try here, just on the Queens side.
http://www.abloodygoodrecord.com

[LouD.]

Book 3 days or more and Headgear is $500/day
studio

[Musiclab]

I'm in queens and in your budget

[LouD.]

Originally Posted by Musiclab

I'm in queens and in your budget

good to know, lou
- lou

[seaneldon]

Originally Posted by jomo1234

or Metrosonic (MetroSonic Recording Studio Full Service Music Production Studio New York City Music Recording, Mixing & Mastering Studios | Williamsburg Brooklyn, New York, NY)

Metrosonic is a REALLY cool room. Much nicer in person than it is on the website. I've not been in there since Pete got the new live room up and running, but it was already a nice studio and now it's got a larger tracking room.

Seriously, though...contact Bushwick Studio.

[FossilTooth]

That's funny Sean, I thought Metrosonic looked nicer on the website. Great control room! I've heard talk of a new live room in the works as well. Until that's completed it doesn't make sense for full band tracking for me. And I'm pretty sure they don't have a Wurly or a Rhodes. If I remember right, it's also just over $500 for the room alone.

-Studio G is definitely not under $500/a day. I don't know, maybe if you're a real homeboy or something. I'm pretty sure it's just Tony and Joel engineering over there, so you pretty much need to hire one of them if you're planning on doing a session there. I've heard some great stuff come out of that studio though.

-Headgear isn't under $500 either. It's $600/day without an engineer, and $500/day for three days or more. This is also without an engineer. How much with an engineer? I guess that depends on who it is. It's definitely suitable for full-band tracking. they've even got a decent piano.

-Is Bushwick Studio really under $500? I find that hard to believe. It seems like a beautiful spot. Looks nicer in photos than Headgear, but at the end of the day, that's not what it's all about. If it's under $500, I'd say check it out immediately!

-The Bunker is cool. It's $65/hr with an engineer at the moment. They've been able to consistently raise their rates over time and still stay really busy... so you know they're doing something right! Great spot, but it's also not under $500/day

-Seaside Loundge It's the first studio listed here that is under $500/day. I'm doing my first session there today. I was supposed to do another session there earlier this month, but they were a bit overbooked and it ended up going down at my personal studio instead. Seems like a cool spot. Well equipped and the folks seem nice. I'll report back! My only complaint is that their rate structure is kinda retarded... Otherwise I would have probably have brought a session in already! At the moment their A room is $450 with an engineer and $400 without.... Hmmmm.......? If it wasn't for that, I Prpobably would have tried them out sooner.

-I usually charge $45/hr at my 'project' studio. Yes, we have a Rhodes, but I'm sure the original poster has long since booked his session. For the time being, it's still only $250/day for the room alone. We can provide the studio with a good house engineer as low as $350/day. He's totally awesome, new NYC and he used to play guitar for the Swans! How cool is that? My partner named the studio Monsterland long before I had anything to do with it. It was a kind of a piece of crap studio until very recently. Now it's become an awesome studio for the price. We'll probably have to change the name when we're done remodeling, as it has little to do with the old ramshackle joint it once was.

-The Buddy Project Studio in Astoria Queens is the only better deal in the known universe! That place has a killer-sounding small drum room with high ceilings, great front end, a solid mic collection, amazingly versatile drum collection and an HD system with Mytek converters... and you wouldn't believe how affordable it is. It baffles me! As long as you don't need to track a whole band at once, it can't be beat. Like many of my favorite studios(mine included) it has windows. I love me some windows.

--

All of these studios are good. Use of of them! Booking time at any one of these places is smarter and more cost effective than buying another piece of gear for a pet home studio. I wish I had learned that lesson sooner myself. I work at outside studios all the time, at all kinds of budgets, so if anyone wants to add to this list, I'd be excited to read it!

Happy recording,

[seaneldon]

Originally Posted by FossilTooth

Is Bushwick Studio really under $500? I find that hard to believe. If so, it seems like a beautiful spot.

$500 a day? Nah. More. It's also the kind of room where you can get an astronomical amount of work done very quickly. Plus, the walk down to the big room is the perfect length for a smoke and quick meditation. I think he dumped his 24 track (C'mon, Josh!!!) and is all Pro Tools now, but he's also got a very, very fine microphone collection and all the vintage gear is kept in tiptop shape. Arguably THE coolest amplifier/pedal/weirdo instrument selection in a 500 mile radius (then again, our pile here is starting to fill out very nicely!)

[tubeman]

i've recorded at seaside and headgear several times with different bands. both are good. if you want more specific feedback, pm me.

clubhouse is a highly recommended if you're ok with commuting to rheinbeck.

i've heard good things about bushwick and excello.

[FossilTooth]

Sure, Clubhouse is great! But it's not nearly under $500/day... or anywhere near Brooklyn either! As I guessed, Bushwick Studio is not in the scope of this thread either. I'm sure it's awesome though. I'll have to bring a session through sometime and check it out.

I think it's cool that someone started a thread about Brooklyn studios that are $500 or under. However, Most of the studios listed here are either not $500 or under or not in Brooklyn! To my knowledge, there are only a few professional Brooklyn studios that are worth checking out and are under $500/day, with or without an engineer. Feel free to add if you have any more:

-Monsterland (which has recently become pretty awesome for the money)

-Seaside Lounge (which has a solid mic selection and is pretty cool if you don't the mind the cruel inefficiency that comes from using tape machines with no counters or memory locations)

-and Metrosonic (which is well-equipped, and has a beautiful desk and control room, but a pretty small live room. Great if you want to be Daniel Lanois and have a large iso booth to boot)

The Bunker an Headgear deserve and honorable mention because they offer a lot of added value for just a little bit more money under the right conditions.

If you're considering visiting a neighboring borough for a killer deal on a well-equipped digital room well under $500, and you're bringing your own engineer, you could also check out:

-The Buddy Project
-And maybe A Bloody Good Record as well

I just don't think it makes sense to mention every studio in the world in this thread... It's a pretty narrow topic. Are we just naming studios we like that are anywhere in the TriState area at any price range? 'Cause don't get me started! If you thought my last post was long-winded you'd be in for a real treat!

The Clubhouse? Studio G? Threshold? Bushwick studio? Sure, they're all great. But they're all in another league, and don't have much call to be in a thread about studios under $500. I use nicer studios all the time. No need to make the folks who are searching for cheap ones feel bad about it though! Then again, I guess this is Gearslutz... I surprised
no one said "Avatar" yet.

[oortnyc]

What are the rates at Excello like?

D -

[seaneldon]

Originally Posted by oortnyc

What are the rates at Excello like?

D -

Send an e-mail to Hugh and tell him what you want to do. He'll let you know how much it would be. Any inquiries I've had for Excello were all answered within a day.

[tubeman]

also bear in mind that prices vary for each studio experience, which i've realized while reading this thread. for two of the studios, i've paid different rates from the ones mentioned above. so ymmv. i realize that clubhouse is not in brooklyn, but after spending a decade here, i believe commuting to rheinbeck is worth it. dan is a great guy and the space is awesome.

[FossilTooth]

Originally Posted by tubeman

also bear in mind that prices vary for each studio experience, which i've realized while reading this thread. so ymmv. i realize that clubhouse is not in brooklyn, but after spending a decade here, i believe commuting to rheinbeck is worth it. dan is a great guy and the space is awesome.

Too, true! In this business almost everything can be negotiated and strong relationships can move mountains...

...But on a public forum it would be an enormous faux-pas to discuss anything other than published rates, no?



I understand that you're trying to open some people's eyes up to options outside what they think they want. On the traveling-for-an-underpriced-amazing-studio tip, have you checked out Sonalysts? They rebuilt Power Station's A room nail-for-nail, and it's a steal. The last time I checked, their published rates were something that people shopping for $500 studios could at least consider. The vibe of the larger facility that it's part of is kinda funny if you're working on some gritty stuff, but the vibe of the studio itself is great.

Although I've not yet brought one of my sessions of my own to the Clubhouse, just talking to Dan at length left a great impression! He came off as a totally solid guy, and he made it clear that he's willing to accommodate Indie folks with special budgetary needs, as long as they're reasonable and they can be fit in around his long-term lockouts. It's rare that I talk to a studio owner who instantly comes across as so downright decent and genuine. I'll look forward to heading up there in the future.