Frequently Asked Questions What's the studio rate for recording? As of Jan '07: $65/hour or $650/day. Does the studio rental rate include an engineer? Yes. What's a day? A day is a 12-hour lock-out. The advantage to the day rate is, if you book consecutive days, you can leave everything set-up and walk in the next morning and pick up right where you left off. But please be cognizant that engineers are people too--they need to eat and and go to the bathroom just like you! We leave time for a couple meal breaks in the day for everbody's sanity. What are the hidden costs? The only additional costs are your recording media (CD-R(s), DVD-R(s), external hard drive(s), analog tape(s), etc.). You will never be charged extra to use any of our instruments or gear. Can we break up the day rate over two days? Nope, that's why it's called a day rate. (We get asked this a lot.) Can we get a tour of the studio? Of course! Start out on our tour page for the basic overview, and contact us for the live action version. Email is easiest, or call and leave us a voicemail at 248.399.0550. Sometimes we can do the tour that day, sometimes in a week or so. It depends on the sessions that are active. The only thing we ask is that you are serious about recording here. Please know that we NEVER show the studio during someone else's session. You wouldn't want strangers traipsing through your session would you? Do you have a drum kit? Yes. When you book time please let us know if you will be tracking with our drum kit, so we can make sure the heads are in good shape for your session. Check the equipment page for specifics. Do you have a piano? Yes, A beautiful Yamaha C7 concert grand and a very cool-sounding 1913 Hobart & Cable upright grand. When you book time please let us know if you will be tracking with either of our pianos, so we can make sure they are in tune for your session. What's the deal with all of the instruments? All instruments are available with the studio rental, but not everything is always in the studio. Please give us advance notice if you want to use a specific guitar, amp or keyboard and we'll do our best to make sure it's ready for you. My buddy has ProTools at home. What's the difference? Most simply, experience. Lots of folks have "professional" software, but the difference is that the person running it usually isn't. Put another way, you may have a Les Paul guitar, but that doesn't mean you're Les Paul (or Jimmy Page, Django Reinhart, Thurston Moore...you get the point). I've seen cheaper studios, why should I/we come to The Tempermill? World-class gear, experienced, professional engineers, a microphone closet to die for, analog tape, ProTools, and a welcoming, convenient, laid-back atmosphere for making records. You may think by paying a lower rate somewhere else that it's cheaper, but we can very often get you much better results more quickly (aka--more cheaply). If you decide you want a grand piano, nashville guitar or some weird synth, amp or effect, it's all here--in a room specifically designed for recording music. Do you have a demo CD of tracks from The Tempermill? We don't, but if you schedule a tour to see the studio and are serious about doing a session, we'll play you a variety of tracks that can give you an idea of our range. Do you work weekends? Of course. In fact, weekends are usually booked up several months in advance. Can we come in early or the night before to set up? No. Sessions begin at the time you schedule them. Much of the engineering work begins as you start setting up, so we have to charge for this time. What's a producer? In general terms, a producer is someone who is heavily involved in your project, possibly attending shows and rehearsals, working on arrangements, checking out your equipment, recommending outside musicians, deciding what songs to record, and more. They will see your project through completion, and help you get the best takes. A producer doesn't have to be an engineer, and you may see sessions where a producer and engineer work together. One would hire a producer based on the quality of the previous work this producer has done, familiarity with their style and an understanding that they will be calling the shots and raising the quality of the album project. A producer is generally paid a fee on top of studio costs. What's a co-producer? In general terms, a co-producer is someone who will engineer your album and make suggestions and subjective comments in order for you to make the best recording possible. They will be active in assessing takes and suggesting sounds, arrangements, etc. Usually they will jump into the session cold on the first day. Generally they will be the sole engineer as well. One would hire a co-producer based on work they've done before and their familiarity with the studio being used. What's an engineer? In general terms, an engineer is someone that knows how to operate the recording equipment in the studio, get sounds, and accommodate the requests of the artist or producer. One would hire an engineer based on a recommendation from the studio, work they've done before and their familiarity with the studio being used. What's a recording studio? A recording studio like The Tempermill is a space where music is played and the sound is recorded. The Tempermill is NOT is a record label looking for talent, or a rehearsal room. Do you do voiceovers, video editing, music for film or radio spots? Some of these tasks we can do, but The Tempermill is best known and geared towards recording performance-based music sessions. Analog or Digital? Tape is rarely available new and is getting pretty expensive. We've had very good results renting tape that we've used from previous sessions. We can run the machines at 30 ips, which gives you 16 minutes per reel or we can run at 15 ips for 33 minutes per reel. We typically transfer tracks from tape to ProTools for the overdub and mixing process. The advantage is that you're always moving forward with the project and can quickly jump from song to song. If we’re using ProTools we recommend you bring your own FireWire drive. This will speed up backup time. Sessions can be backed up to CD-R or DVD-R but it can take a long time. USB drives are also slow. Do you do mastering? Yes, please call or email us the for the rates of each of the engineers. It's typically between $250-$600 to master a project. Do you have beats? We have a large selections of drum tracks and samples, etc. but remember that building up tracks is gonna take a lot of time and creativity. There are no "walk in and sing and walk out with a CD" services available. I don't have a band, can you provide one? Yes, we've done many projects for singer/songwriters that needed accompaniment. The rates for individual musicians vary. Sometimes we can work out a day or project rate for musicians. In the long run, paying some top-notch players can be the most efficient way to make a great recording. It goes much quicker than getting a buddy that hasn't played drums since high school. Do you do vocal demos? Yes we can, but it's up to you to find instrumental backing tracks. Can you transfer my old vinyl/cassette/reels/etc. to CD-R? We can, but it's not what we specialize in and may not be entirely cost effective for you. Are you currently accepting interns? There are no plans to be taking on interns in the future. We've had very mixed results with interns in the past. If you're incredibly motivated, feel free to send an email. Does The Tempermill hire engineers or assistants? Never. The engineers all work freelance, many times bringing in their own work. There are no assistant, runner or tape op jobs available. But if you are a competent engineer who can bring in your own sessions please call or email--we need more freelancers! Does The Tempermill have blank tape for sale? Sometimes. Call or email us to find out. Can I bring my own engineer for my sessions? Sure, but we'll need to talk to them and see if they are qualified to run the studio here. Is Tempermill non-smoking? Yes. Smoke cigarettes outside only. Smoking "other stuff" is not allowed due to liability/impoundment issues and a misguided government. Can we all play live in the studio? We like to do basic tracks live with bands. We can isolate the drums, guitars and bass, or run them live in the same room. Doing live tracks with acoustic guitars is possible, but remember that if you are singing a foot away from your guitar that the mic on the guitar will pick up your voice as well and that recording acoustic guitar in the same room as a loud drum set can be troublesome. How long will it take to record my album? We don't know. A well-rehearsed band can lay down most of the basic tracks for an album in a day or two. Overdubs can take anywhere from one to seven days depending on the amount of work and pickiness. For mixing, budget three hours per song or so--at the very least. A guitarist/singer who has their tunes down can track hours of live stuff in one day, mix it all the same day and have a decent live demo. It really depends what you are looking for. Many of our better songwriter/band projects have taken ten to fourteen days. Some projects go faster. Always add time to your estimates! We've made albums in one day and one month. Just don't try to make Sgt. Pepper in an afternoon! We're coming from out of town, what can we expect? We've had bands come from as far away as Australia and Nova Scotia. There are a number of nearby, modestly-priced hotels and lots of great restaurants in Ferndale and neighboring Royal Oak. There's also plenty of room in the parking lot for a tour bus or van & trailer. What if I have another question? Email is best: info@tempermill.com or call 248.399.0550. (We're very nice but can't always pick-up the phone--it's noisy here!)