Why You Should Record at Taylor Sound
By T. Perry Bowers
We are affordable
At Taylor Sound, we work hard to keep our prices reasonable. Because it’s not the only service we provide, we can offer recording time as an auxiliary service. It works because the money we make from rehearsal space offsets the costs of recording, giving you a discount.
We are high quality
Just because our prices are affordable doesn’t mean we skimp on quality. Our gear is the best, most cutting edge in the business. We have made the move to be a completely digital studio and we’ve selected our digital equipment very carefully. While there is an argument to be made for the benefits of analog, everyone’s music ends up in a digital format in the end anyway. In this day and age, every project will be a WAV or MP3 file. That’s the reality. So we make sure it is the highest quality digital file from beginning to end.
Our microphones, pre-amps and compressors are all of the highest integrity. Before any signal gets into our computer in digital form, it passes through a high quality microphone (a Neumann U87 or TLM103, a Shure Beta 58, or a Sennhieser 321). All of our microphones are industry standard and well known for their ability to translate sound in the most pleasant of ways.
We have pre-amps that are used in studios costing three times as much as Taylor Sound (Great River, API, TL Audio, Flexiguy and Waves). They take the sound from our beautiful selection of microphones and send it to the digital converters. These pre-amps have been chosen for their sound, but also for their industry recognition. Any engineer in the world could come into our studio and be proud of the recording chain they are using. And, of course, when it’s needed we have a Neve 33606 compressor. This is used when we want to put the final touches on a beautiful vocal line, a blistering guitar solo or a fat drum track. Every recording signal, from the source to the DAW (digital audio workstation) is sent through carefully researched equipment that will make any world-class engineer smile.
DAW (Digital Audio Work Station) – Pro Tools
We use industry standard Pro-Tools. They work really hard at being the best. They are constantly innovating their product and always on the cutting edge of recording and editing.
My engineers are certified in Pro Tools, which means they know every feature, effect or short cut the software has to offer. After all their training in school and on the job, my engineers can work the software practically as fast as you can think up what you want them to do to your sound.
Because Pro-Tools is the industry standard DAW, the effects companies are always developing software that interfaces with it. These plug-ins work within the Pro Tools interface. There are specialty plug-ins that replicate old pre-amps from vintage boards. There are EQs designed by top producers and engineers in the business. There are delays and reverbs modeled after the most famous sounds in the record business. At Taylor Sound, we have the Mercury bundle by Waves. This is a very deep offering of plug-ins. You could spend an entire lifetime working with all the different sounds inside this bundle.
On a side note for you geeks out there, we also have the Waves digi-server rack unit. This handles all of the processing power for the plug-ins, so it doesn’t slow down the computer.
Guitars, Amps, Drums and Cymbals
We have a small but excellent collection of musical instruments. It has taken a while, but we have everything any band would need to make any kind of record from country to metal.
We have a 1964 Fender Tremolux, (my favorite amp). It sounds so buttery. It’s a clean sound so right for so many genres. It can make you think of Johnny Marr or Ryan Adams. You could also plug in a nice Telecaster and get some real country twang out of it. Our 1966 black face Fender Bass Man is the amp that Butch Vig had in his famous Smart Studios. If a band came in and didn’t have a great rig, he’d tell them to plug into that puppy. I know why. It just breaks up where it should. Think Nirvana, Soundgarden and the Smashing Pumpkins all in one amp. Our 1974, 50 Watt Marshall Lead is a beauty as well. If you like the Eddie Van Halen brown sound, give this one a try. There are so many options in just these three amps alone. Our cabinets are stocked with Celestion Vintage 30s and Heritage G12Hs. We have other amps too and we can source just about anything within a days notice.
We have Telecasters, Stratocasters and Les Pauls. We have a Guild D-55 and a Martin all Mahogany parlor for acoustics. We have a Billy Corgan Signature Reverend, a 12 String Rickenbacker 330, and a Fernandes Native with a sustainer. If you can’t make a killer guitar record with our guitars, there could be a player problem!
Basses
Our house bass is a 1966 Fender P-Bass. We run that through a 1974 Ampeg SVT flat back 8X10. No one will complain about your tone. But, if that’s not your thing, plug straight into the board with your bass. We have tons of plug-ins, amp simulators and tone manipulators that will make any bass sound like a monster.
We also have three premium drum kits at your disposal. The one I have been using most lately is the DW acrylic. The tones are simple, punchy and pure. For rock this is my go to kit. However, if you like a bit more character and nuance in your drums, try our original Ray Ayotte era Ayottes. This kit is all wood rims. Talk about tone. It’s excellent for jazz, Americana, country, swing, even rock (the reason I brought is was Matt Cameron played this kit on Soundgarden’s Super Unkown). And, last but not at all least, we’ve just acquired a set of Gretsch USA customs. This kit sports a 24X14 kick drum that is a cannon. Think Bonzo. These are the premiere kit of all time. Many drummers would argue that there is no better sound.
Our cymbal collection leaves nothing to be desired if you can live with premium Zildjian. We have a full array of Ks which offer a dry, sophisticated sound for rock or jazz. We also have a full spread of Custom As for when you need that crystal clear, bright pop sound. Mix and match if you like. Dennis Chambers and Taylor Hawkins would both crack a smile if they got a look at our group of cymbals.
Rooms
We have a sound booth from vocal booth.com. It’s six feet by eight feet. That is big enough to fit up to four singer singers, definitely big enough for a full stack guitar amplifier. We’ve even put a full size kit in there. This booth does a few things. One, it eliminates most outside noises so your vocal is pristine. There’s no airplanes, hums or buzzes on your vocal takes. Two, it allows for a very dry track. This means there is no unwanted reverberations. The acoustical treatment on the inside of the booth absorbs most of the additional sounds from your vocal or guitar, so what comes through the mic is pure signal. This allows the engineer to add some reverb or delay from the DAW and it reacts to the pure signal only. It results in pure, beautiful sounds that you just can’t get in the corner of your basement.
Lastly, the booth allows for live takes. Your whole band can perform your songs at the same time. In fact we have three rooms in which you can perform. Our drum room is connected to the control room on one side. The vocal room is connected to the control room on the other side. There are windows from the vocal room and the drum room into the control room. Every member of the band has a clear line of sight to the engineer and the other band members. This is critical for making a good live recording. When we designed the layout, this was very important to us because we wanted bands to feel comfortable as they lay down live takes.
All our rooms are acoustically treated – like a bigger version of the booth. The treatments on the walls absorb any unwanted reverberations. The signal coming from the microphones is pure and clean so when you treat it digitally with compression, EQ and FX it reacts effectively.
Most Importantly – People
Our engineers have degrees in this stuff. They studied sound recording for years, in and out of school. They live it. When they are working with you, they are fulfilling their own dreams. Making you sound good is our passion. It is our art and our fulfillment. We look forward to every day behind the board. Tweaking knobs and placing microphones is our idea of heaven.
We strive to make your experience as good as our own with clear communication. We listen to you. What do you want to sound like? That is of paramount importance. It’s not about what we want. This music is yours. Bring in a couple of records you like. Tell us what you like about them. If you want to sound like Jay-Z or U2 or whatever, we can help you get there. We want you to sound like the best version of you possible. Even if you don’t know what you want, we can guide you. We always have ideas, but we never over-step our bounds.
Service
If you feel you are not getting what you paid for we will work with you to make it right. We strive to go beyond your expectations. I’m not going to say we can give you a money back guarantee because music and art is so very subjective, but I will say this, we will always be open to your thoughts. We will move your project along as fast as we can without compromising quality. And, we will see your project to the end. You will not be left hanging at Taylor Sound. We are closers and finishers. That, we guarantee.
