THE STUDIO:
Dave Bass Studios is a classic Analog-to-Digital Studio in a house on a lake full of wildlife -
a nature-lover's paradise just outside of the city;
40 minutes from Hartsfield Airport; 35 minutes from Buckhead & Downtown.
The focus of the studio is on capturing natural, acoustic sounds in great spaces.
While the industry is going "in the box" (i.e. electronic and digital) we are OUT of the box and loving it,
with a world-class selection of microphones and analog gear (digital too) that rivals any major studio
(at a much more affordable rate).
The owner, Dave Bass, was born in New York City, raised in the South (Florida and Atlanta),
moved to Hollywood for 15 years and just returned to Atlanta,
setting up a world-class audio (and video) studio and community center for creatives.
____________
THE ROOMS:
7 unique Recording Spaces, each with its own sonic signature:
Room A - The Control Room, overlooking the lake:
Perfect for Vocals as well as Solo and Duo Instruments
Room B - The Main Room, also overlooking the lake:
Featuring a Grand Piano, Drums and Upright Bass.
Audio and Video for 4-7 piece ensembles, live-tracked or semi-seperated
Room C - The Staircase:
Under a 2-story raised ceiling, stair number 9 is the magic spot for "wetter" vocals and instruments
Room D - The Hallway & Foyer:
The long, narrow stretch between the foyer and Room C is great for guitar amps
Room E - The Garage:
WIth a Hammond Organ and Percussion; a "drier" sound than the other rooms
Room F - The Porch:
On the porch up over the lake sounds exquisite - as long as you don't mind the birds chirping in your track!
Room G - The Dock:
Future plan: A dock by the lake to have concerts for the neighbors and record weekday afternoons
____________
THE EQUIPMENT:
Over 75 world-class mics including Neumanns, AKG, Beyer, Shure, EV, custom ribbons and more.
Top-shelf rack gear including Neves, API, Avalon, custom pres, EQs, Verbs and vintage effects, many custom modded.
A sweet, discreet, British 32-channel board, customized by the great Jim Williams of Audio Upgrades.
____________
VIDEO:
All rooms are being set up with Video capabilities synched to audio.
____________
THE INSTRUMENTS:
We have a great selection of hand-picked instruments, acquired over years of gigging & recording:
3 Drum Kits - 18", 20" & 22" Kicks
Vintage and Modern Cymbals; Zildjian, Istanbul, Bosporus, Sabian, etc.
Basses: Upright Bass, P Bass, Short-scale bass w/flats
Guitars: Acoustics (Taylor, Alvarez); Hollow-body (335), Solids (Strat, Tele) -
and a Lap Steel with a howl like a warewolf
Baldwin Grand Piano, American made, lovingly maintained, beautiful, warm sound
Weighted Keyboard with Plug-Ins
Saxophones, Flutes & Clarinets galore
Percussion; Brazilian and African
____________
THE TRAINING:
Blessed to live in Hollywood for 15 years, I befriended many world-class engineers
and received great tutoring from them, (two of whom have recently passed, RIP).
Together they worked with: Elvis, Marvin Gaye, The Wrecking Crew, The Rolling Stones, AC/DC,
Warren Zevon, Cannonball Adderly, Joe Sample, Michael Jackson and many, many more.
____________
MY MUSICAL FOCUS:
As a pro Jazz musician, my focus has always been acoustic music that is creative and flexible.
I'm not into "beats" or all-electronic "in the box"
sounds (although I do love great synth work)!
The primary focus of my studio is acoustic-based music, the likes of which include:
Jazz, Blues, R&B, Soul, Folk, Singer-Songwriter, Country, Latin, Brazilian, Theater & Classical.
I also love lightly-amplified Rock and Intelligent Pop (ala Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder) etc.
I typically do NOT track the rhythm sections of the louder genres such as Hard Rock, Metal, Punk or Rap -
but I DO supply individual tracks for these styles on Vocals, Horns, Piano, Organ, Percussion, etc.
____________
MY RECORDING PHILOSOPHY:
GET IT RIGHT IN THE TRACKING.
I don't believe in "fix it in the mix" - that's just lazy or incompetent engineering.
I capture real musicians playing real instruments in real acoustic spaces.
My goal is to capture the pure sound of your instruments so well,
a mixing engineer hardly has to touch a knob (which is what some of them call to tell me).
I take a little time at the beginning of each session to match the right mic to the musician and the instrument.
I don't like using auto-tune or time-shift or other gimmics -
if a phrase doesn't cut it, I ask the artist to cut it again!
The result is honest music, captured in a bit of a larger-than-life picture.
____________
MY HOURS:
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday
1-5 or 6-10
As a gigging musician, I try to avoid the potential gig days of Thurs-Sat, (and my Sundays are for G-d).
This is not to say I will not track on these days, but I will have to charge more to turn down performing opportunities.
A "half-day" is 4 hours. I usually do half-days to preserve both my ears and my sanity;
this is no reflection on your music, it's just that after about 4 hrs my audio choices start getting
less trusthworthy, lol.
____________
MY RATES:
I am approx. $85/hr, give or take (see "Donation Day," below).
I generally book "Half-Days" of 6 hours for $500 - 4 hr of tracking and 2 for mixing & transfer
(see "Session Itinerary," below).
$75 Deposit and a simple agreement book the date;
the agreement states that you will credit the recording studio, yada, yada. Standard stuff.
I don't mind booking less than "Half-Days" - for instance,
if a player wants to lay down vocals or an instrument over a pre-existing rhythm section track -
but I can't turn down full sessions or gigs for an hour or two;
I would have to slide you in when I have nothing else booked, and you'll have to be flexible.
____________
RESCHEDULING & CANCELLATION - MINE:
As a gigging musician, sometimes I get called for a gig that pays more than a recording date -
(it's not often but it's possible)!
In this case, I will call you to discuss.
If you have booked multiple days in a row or are a visiting artist,
I will likely not even consider the gig.
If we agree I should take the gig, I will reschedule the recording and nothing is lost.
If we can't reschedule, I will refund your deposit.
This is why I strongly suggest staying away from Thur, Fri and Sat for recording.
RESCHEDULING & CANCELLATION - MINE:
If you cancel the recording session before the grace period, the deposit is lost:
For a Mon-Wed session, I need one week's notice (7 days);
For Thur-Sun sessions (gig days) - I need two week's notice (14 days).
The reason for this is I typically book gigs Thur-Sun - and can get called weeks or months in advance.
Once you have booked your time, I typically turn down all gigs.
However, if you cancel your session too soon for me to get another session or a gig,
I'm sitting on my butt on a gig day. And that's not very fair to me, is it?
____________
DONATION DAY!:
I do something quite unique in this studio to help musicians:
I
offer one 4-hour session per month for whatever an artist can afford.
Spaces are reserved with a small deposit to insure you will not be a no-show.
This is only for CLIENT-PAID sessions only!! NO major labels or commercial releases.
____________
PAYING IT FORWARD:
If you want to support Donation Day with a donation of your own,
you can Zelle me using my email address:
Email
I will put up a webpage so the public can track these donations.
Donations will be applied however you specify:
To Donation Day, studio maintenance, new equipment, etc.
If you wish to remain anonymous, tell me and I'll list you as "anon."
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
____________
PAYMENT:
I accept Pictures of Dead Presidents (i.e. cash). This is always my preferred method.
Second to cash I accept Zelle; I am registered under my Email, not my phone number.
Third and under duress, I accept Paypal, but I don't like supporting them for a number of reasons.
I do not accept any other forms of payment at this time,
(so please don't give me a lecture on why your payment method is best and I must get it), lol.
____________
SESSION ITINERARY:
I generally book $500 for 6 hr. of my work, broken down as such:
If you are scheduled from 6-10:
You show up at 5:30, get set up and let me make you a cup of tea.
At 6 you're in place and we run some mic tests to see what best suits you and your instrument(s).
At 6:30 we start tracking.
We take a 5-minute bathroom/stretch break every hour or whenever we need.
We' track 'til 10 - This gives you 3.5 hrs of tracking to do whatever you like.
(NOTE: No naked dancing in the studio. Unless you win a Grammy).
Then you leave and I chill.
But my work isn't over!
____________
MIXING:
I come back the next day or so, with fresh ears, and do a rough "Mix" -
This includes trimming the beginning and ending of takes to cut out any talking or dead space,
Adding fades at the ends where needed,
Seamlessly merging any splices that were done in the recording session,
Adjusting volume levels between tracks, as needed,
Adjusting EQs, Compression, Limiting, Reverbs and Effects, as needed.
This usually takes about half as long as the session itself -
So for every 4 hr session, it takes about 2 hours for the first Rough Mix.
NOTE: If I have gigs or other commitments after the Tracking Session,
it may be days before I can come back and Mix -
Patience is required.
____________
FILE TRANSFERS:
I then upload the First Mix of high-resolution .wav files to a private web page, just for you;
I don't mess with email (files too big) or 3rd-party transfer sites (no privacy).
You can download all your files from your personal page, in high-resolution.
Vinyl transfers are a whole 'nuther story I won't get into here.
____________
RE-MIXES:
I generally only charge clients for a first spin at the material (First Mix),
but I realize multiple Mixes are often the key to success.
I run all Mixes at the same rate as my Tracking: $100/hr.
I can give you an estimate of how much time I need for a Second Mix after I do the First.
ALL Mixes are kept on your private page, so you can compare them;
I only scrap them when you tell me to,
(and even then, I tend to let them sit on the server forever).
____________
TIME MANAGEMENT - YOURS:
If you are late or unprepared, it will eat into your tracking time.
Don't get mad at me; I'm not your mother.
Instead, arrive early and be prepared!
If for some reason I am late or unprepared, I will credit you the time, either then or later.
____________
ADDING MY TALENT TO YOUR TRACKS:
I am happy to add any of my multi-instrumental and vocal capabilities to your tracks.
I am $100/hr, same as my engineering fee.
If I am recording separate from your session, my time is only charged once (one $100/hr. fee);
If I am tracking your session while recording myself at the same time, It's $100 + $100, for my sanity.
I have added tracks to many Client's works and in some cases, provided the entire rhythm section myself.
I can add:
Vocals, Background Vocals, Saxes (Soprano, Alto, Tenor & Bari), Flutes, Native Flutes,
Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Basses, Drums, Glockenspeil and Percussion.
____________
OVERNIGHT STAYS:
I will eventually have four separate spaces for overnight guests:
Two furnished bedrooms and one full bath upstairs
A pull-out couch/daybed in Studio B (the big room), and
A set of bunk beds in the garage.
Both the couch and garage would use the downstairs half-bath.
I have not figured out prices for the above.
For now, if someone books three days in a row (Mon-Wed) I will throw in the rooms.
If this gets to be a PITA, I will charge extra for the rooms in the future,
but let's try this for now and see how it works.
P.S. No stealing my towels! - (or anything else, for that matter).
Come to think of it, I will probably require a deposit for Overnighters.
____________
IN SUMMARY:
I run a one-of-a-kind studio in a beautiful, natural setting by a lake with lots of lovery critters!
I focus on Acoustic music and musicians who can actually play their instruments - well.
I track Part-Time so you are never a number here -
I get to give my Clients unparalleled, detailed attention.
All I ask in return is that you be chill, pleasant, open-minded, relaxed, prepared and on time.
And no drugs or smoking on the premisis - no exceptions.
Leave the egos and the attitudes at the door, come in to a space full of G-d and nature and make some great music.
Then, if you feel like you still need them,
you can pick up your ego and attitude on the way out the door and take them with you.
: )
____________
TO BOOK:
Email me
Leave your number for the fastest response.
(Your info is never sold or shared)
Thanks and G-d bless
(The missing vowel is an ancient tradition of respect),
Dave
