What should I bring to a session?
Bring any gear that you might want to use. I have a nice selection of instruments as well, we can decide together what sounds right!
Also bring any in-ear monitors or closed back headphones that you like using. I can provide some if needed, so no sweat if you don’t own any!
What’s the typical session schedule?
We’re on musician time, so we typically get started at noon and go until we start getting tired. I’ll be in touch the morning of the session in case I can get started earlier, and we can make other arrangements ahead of time if needed.
We’ll often break for lunch after a few hours, or I have snacks if money is tight (or if you like snacks).
What should I do to prepare for a session?
- Know the songs inside and out! If you’re more prepared, you’ll be more confident, and we’ll get better results more quickly.
- Send me recordings of the songs before the day of the session, even if that’s just a quick phone recording. It’ll help me prep and plan!
Where is the studio located?
I’m in South Asheville near the intersection of Sweeten Creek and Mills Gap.
That’s as descriptive as I’d like to get here on the world wide web, but if you book a session or studio tour I’ll obviously get you the address!
What’s the drug policy?
No drugs in the studio (outside is cool), and please keep drinking to a minimum. I’m not here to judge, but I am here to work — if you want the best results, you’ll want to be able to perform at your best.
I don’t live near Asheville, do you offer lodging?
I do! I have a guest bed, a day bed, and a big couch, and can accommodate around five people comfortably. Beyond that, you’ll need air mattresses.
I don’t charge for lodging, so come get professionally recorded and hang out in Asheville for about the same cost as an AirBnB! Just promise to be cool and clean up after yourself.
Is remote collaboration an option?
Absolutely, I enjoy working on both in person and remote projects!
I want to handle some parts of the recording on my own, is that cool?
Absolutely! And feel free to send me reference files as you go, I may have advice or hear issues that we can fix.
I need to send tracks for you to mix — how should they be formatted?
- Clearly named .wav files, ideally 44.1/48K and 24 bit.
- Send each track without effects.
- For tracks where you used effects and achieved a vibe that you like, send those with effects too.
- Send guitar / bass DIs as well as amp tones if you can.
Any tips on tracking?
- For vocals: sing loudly from your diaphragm, over-enunciate, sing with emotion.
- For guitars & bass: tune to the attack, not the sustain; tune before each part so that the notes you’re hitting are in tune; pick like your mean it; always capture a DI.
- For drums: this is a deep topic, and took me years to get right — ideally, come track drums here and I’ll show you how it’s done! But at the very least, hit rim shots on the snare.
Your output is solid — why are your rates so affordable?
- In this relatively early stage of my career, it’s much more important for me to establish myself and build trust — I don’t want money to get in the way of that!
- Low overhead. The cost of the studio is the cost of my mortgage + utilities.
- I’m thrifty. I do have some nice gear and mics but I’m not likely to spend thousands when I can get a similar result from something that costs hundreds.
I’m on the fence. Will you do a test mix?
Absolutely! Please contact me and we’ll get started.
Can you give me a discount?
I provide discounts on multiple services! Contact me and we’ll work something out.
Why is your studio one big room instead of the standard control room / live room setup?
Drums sound better in a bigger space! So splitting the room up didn’t feel like a good option.
Eventually I would like to build onto the existing space and have a real control room plus an amp closet or two!
Why do you have two drum kits in the studio?
- It makes drum instruction easier.
- I suffer from Gear Aquisition Syndrome.
Why did you name your recording studio Mountainsize Audio?
- The studio is nestled in the mountains of Asheville NC.
- I like big sounding audio, and mountains are very big.
- There was a band named Oceansize that I like, their name “inspired” Mountainsize.
- I thought the name would be easy to google — although I hadn’t considered that search engines would correct it to “mountainside” or that people would misread it as “mountainsized” or “mountain size.”
Are you in a band?
Yeah! I handle the bulk of the writing and recording for my prog rock/metal band The Welcoming.
You can also catch me on drums for the occasional Broken Sound show.
Still have questions?
That’s cool, I tend to get along with people that have a sense of curiosity!