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[J G]

Hello, Texans,

It was suggested to me that I put up a thread here to inquire about studios and players in the Abilene area.

I'm checking this on behalf of a long-distance internet pal I have become rather fond of over the years, who is, at near 40 years old, with the birds out of the nest, more than chompin' at the bit to get a few of her MANY country songs into quality demo form.  I have promised her that I'd do what I can to help get the demo-wheels rolling for her.

She's a singer and rhythm guitarist by nature and at this point, her plan is to put together a $tudio-band for said demo.  

So if any of you out there are, or know some fiiiiiiine country players, (bass, guitar, piano, drums, steel), and are or know of some good-vibin'-studios, (home-based as well as business, links are most welcome), in the North Central Texas area, please list them here, and I'll be happy to forward them to my palette.

(She doesn't mind driving a ways for the recording process.)

Much Appreciated,

[wireline]

If you'd rather travel west, feel free to check us out at http://www.wirelinestudio.com

We've had people from Austin, San Angelo, and some other places only West Texans would know about come through here and do some work...

Feel free to call or write: the number is on our site...

Ken

[J G]

Cheers, Ken,

I'll forward your site to my friend toot-sweet-like...

[hargerst]

I don't know of any studios in Abiline, but I'll assume she's checked in the area and she hasn't found anything suitable.  

There are a lot of good studios in Dallas and Fort Worth.   Earl Musik has a cool studio in Fort Worth (and access to some great players), and so does David Morgan in Dallas; both very reasonable recording studios.  

If she wants some of the best players around, there are a lot of great studios and players in Austin to consider as well.

Our studio (north of DWF) ain't too shabby either.  

What's gonna kill her is the cost of hiring all the musucians to do the recording.  If she can put together a band there, and then bring them out, it'll be a lot cheaper; even if she just has a bass player, and a drummer.  She (or the studio) can always hire a great steel player, fiddle player, or keyboard player for the sessions.  Have her practice the songs and leave room for the solos.

[J G]

Why thank you, Mr. Harvey,  

I have already suggested to her that she get a band together, and rehearsed tight-like-shrink-wrap, and then take them all to wherever need be to laydown the best sounding demo as possible.  She has spoken of certain musicians in/around her area that she'd like to begin working with already.

I didn't think of taking care of just the rhythm section and hiring out the solo pieces later; that is a great suggestion, merci, and I'll pass it on, as well as the above names to her shortly.

Might you have a website for your studio that I can have a boo at?

[hargerst]

J G wrote on Sun, 27 March 2005 09:30

Might you have a website for your studio that I can have a boo at?

It's in my signature line, below my name. The site is:

http://www.ITRstudio.com

[J G]

I missed the sig-link, scusi, (too much multi-taskin' going on over here)...

I checked out your site, nice place, I've passed it on to my amiga...  

[natpub]

If she is wanted mainly to "demo" as you say, I would definately check out at all the ideas given. Austin has some good demo shops, but nothing I would really travel from Abilene for, considering cost/return ratio. I think she is pretty darn close to Harvy's shop, compared to here. She really could not go wrong with Indian Trail.

If she ever decides to go on a spending spree,  this is where I would go in Austin:

http://www.cedarcreekrecording.com/

The Dixie Chicks did the "Home" album there. I have recorded there and it is very nice. They have a historic Neve desk, a great 2" machine, or can go to Nuendo (tragedy!). They have a very nice Klauss Heyne U67. The room is pretty decent. Nice folks, tons of great musicians available.


If I had a little more money and didnt mind the travel, I would go here and stay a week or so:

http://www.sonicranch.com/

I did an album here and it is really one of the best kept secrets in Texas. The rooms sound amazing, and the gear list is just insane! The musicians in the area turned out to be quite good. The lodgings and countryside vibe is spectacular. Tony, the owner, is a great guy.


Either place would be the kind of place I would want to do a finished album and lay down heavy time and cash. They are not places I would recommend to work out ideas or initial demos on a limited budget--one can VERY quickly rack up the tab at either shack.

Also, I wouldn't work at either place without a competent producer (I use myself though, heheh, not sure how sane I am!) to really take advantage of the great gear and spaces.

It can get messy hiring musicians if she doesn't have some experience with it. Both studios have good connections at getting a variety of folk, though Cedar Creek obviously has access to a dazzling array of players here.

Both shops get into about the $1k a day range, with Cedar Creek being a little less than Sonic Ranch. However, those numbers are variable depending on how big the overall project is, as usual.



KT

[J G]

EXCELLENNNNNNT...

Thanks for the input, KT.  
I'll send these links her way, I'm sure they'll come in handy at some point on her country road...

peace,

[hargerst]

I agree with Kurt about Cedar Creek - great recording studio in Austin, plus Fred Remmert is one of the nicest guys around.  Not the biggest studio in the world, but it's got a great cozy feel to the whole place.

Sonic Ranch has an amazing vibe and equipment, but, at 30 miles from El Paso, it's a 'pretty fur walk' from Amarillo.

[natpub]

pah, a tiny 12 hour drive---whats that to a Texan    

[rdwilkins]

Isn't Lloyd Maines (Nat's father) a partner there? Great guy to have producing as well as playing.