A collection of recommended recording studios

Studio Jammyland
60 E 3RD ST NYC
212.614.0185
www.jammyland.com

At long last- the NYC Reggae/Ska/Dub community has a location for the first time since Version City moved to NJ. This room has everything from the Noise NY facility that was up in Mount Vernon. Mics galore, Hammond organ w/ Leslie, vintage amps.

Not only is the studio very convenient(located under Jammyland Records, reggae shoppers!), it is a great place to bring projects recorded to various media. We will be able to record/play 1" 16-track analogue tape, DA88, ADAT, DAT, MD, CD and even cassette!there is even a turntable for dubplate specialists.

So far there have been quite a few sessions from insiders that couldn't wait for it to be finished: Chris Murray, the Slackers, Ari-Up, the Stingers, Drum Thief, Crazy Baldhead, Royal Roost, Buford O'sullivan....as you can see, this place is central to a lot of interesting folk.

You'll find the Jammyland Studio credit on many releases from now on.

Space: Small
Lounge: No
Mics: Industry Standards(plenty)
Outboard: A veritable Dub factory
Bonus: Location- not just the East Village, but right underneath the best reggae shop in town!

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version city

www.stubbornrecords.com

new brunswick, nj

where to begin, where to end? this is the studio i cut my teeth in. when it was still located on 3rd st in NYC, it was the home base for the nyc ska mob. so many records have come out of there -including my own- produced by either Django, Agent Jay or myself.
now located at chez django in NJ, the studio has evolved drastically. along with the old 1/2" 8-track machine, there is a newly acquired 1/2 " 16-track that i have had a chance to record on.
solid! add to that an integrated pro-tools system, and one wouldn't recognise the place. but the sound remains as warm and sweet as always.
with the new location came a new clientele. no longer accessible to the nyc crew, it is however very accessible to bands touring the east coast. Django has been working nonstop with bands en route, who are able to stay at the house for a few days and make a record. optimum!

Space: small
Lounge: yes
Mics: industry standard
Bonus: pool and barbecue in summer!

albums done there:

see Sounds

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www.studio900nyc.com

this place has been around forever. the location is perfect, just a couple of blocks north of union square. in appearance a very basic 24-track 2" setup with modest amount of outboard gear. but man, the mixes that have come out of that room! the sound is way more refined than i can account for- i think this is an example of a studio that was wired perfectly, a long time ago, and how important that is to the final sound.

Space: medium
Lounge: yes
Mics: great selection
Bonus: location, baby!

records done there:

the toasters (numerous)
the ny ska-jazz ensemble "low blow"(mixed), "get this"
the bluebeats "dance with me"(mixed)
the articles "flip f'real"(mixed)

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Coyote Studios

www.coyoterecording.com

This is one of my favorite places to work. Near to Bedford ave, only one stop from manhattan on the L train, it's easy for the NYC crew to get there.

Space: Large
Lounge: yes
Essentials: API Console, Studer 24 track 2" Machine, tascam 16 track 1" machine, ampex 2 track1/2" machine.
Mics: o'plenty
Outboard gear: tons
Bonus maximus: separate pro-tools room that can be tied in to the tape room

records done there:

the slackers "better late than never","redlight","the question","wasted days"
the stubborn all-stars "open season", "back with a new batch"
the insteps "eleven steps to power"
white frogs "21j"
da whole thing "cocktails fer tooth"
one groovy coconut "more like this than that"
the adjusters "before the revolution" (mixed)
laurel aitken and the skatalites "ska titans" (mixed)

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Strikkly Vikkly AKA Don't Trip Studio

Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

this is the newest hub of activity in the NYC scene. run by keyboardist Victor Axelrod (roots combination, antibalas, dub is a weapon, VR octet, the dap kings), this is where my own tape machine resides and where the recording of my next CD is being done. also the site for current projects by Dave Hahn and Agent Jay.

Space: small
Piano: yes
Lounge: kitchen
machines: ADAT(16 tracks), tascam 1/2" 8-track
console: allen & heath 32x8
mics: just enough
outboard: ditto

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Sao Paulo, Brasil
Phone: 55.11.3816.2882

Rocha is located in the neighborhood of Pinheiros in Sao Paulo City.
much of the city's punk rock is recorded here. the atmosphere is very
relaxed,with rehearsal studios as well. all the right mics, cool amps and my
favorite tape machine- 16 track 2". pure fatness. run by a family here, and everyone
is musical and knows what they are doing. the single "we Let the Good Times Roll" by Court Jester's Crew was mixed here in May,as well as much of my recent tracks. can't say enough about this place- one of the reasons i moved here!

Lounge: yes

Machine: Soundcraft (that's right!) 16 track 2", Fostex 2 track 1/4", ADAT20-bit, PC with digital i/o(24) using Nuendo software

Board: Amek 32 i/o

Mics: o'plenty!
Bonus: Engineers Fernando and Daniel

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Music Lane Studios

500 San Marcos, Suite 110, P.O. Box 3829, Austin, TX 78702

(512) 476-1567

I don't know much about it's history, but it has been around for quite a while, and is an integral part of the Austin music community. The staff is friendly and helpful, and options abound. The console is tricky. If you need an engineer, ask for Matt Schultz.

Space: Large w/ 3 recording rooms

Lounge: Yes Essentials: Otari Concept 1 console(analogue w/ digital routing/automation), Otari 2" 24 track machine, 3 ADAT XTs, Pro-tools HD Mics: Great selection.All of my favorites. But only 1 SM57? now that was weird...

Outboard Gear: Plenty

Bonus: Westlake, NS-10 and Genelec monitors. AND the same speakers we used for mixing at Version City- a Fischer boombox! Someone knows what they're doing down there

Studio Caraibes

Brussels, Belgium

Brussels is somewhat known as a good place to find a high-quality
studio when you have an indie budget. This place is the perfect example. The
console, for those who know SSL, is a 6064 E-series, with the G+
upgrade. Whatever- if you needed to record Bartok's Second Piano
Concerto with full orchestra, there is plenty of space on the desk and in
the recording room. The grand piano sounds and plays beautifully. A
great selection of outboard pres and compressors, though I can't say iI
found the console's compressors and gates to be lacking for basic stuff.
There is also a seperate studio used for edit/post/composition
sessions running my favorite program, Logic Audio Platinum. Most folks use
the Pro-Tools HD scheme for recording, but for the Moon Invaders, the
MTR-100 24-track machine was just the thing. Not that anyone in the studio
even knew how to use it- I was the first person to run the thing!
Another reason Pro-Tools is so popular: engineers are no longer trained to
use tape! But yes, this place is a really great space to work in.

Space: Large
Lounge: Large(w/ great kitchen space as well)
Console: SSL 6064 E w/ G computer
Machines: Pro-Tools HD, MTR-100 self-calibrating 24-track machine(bring
yer own engineer to use this)
Mics: plenty of goods, featuring TWO Neumann U67 mics!
Bonus: Wide selection of vintage keyboards

here's their "website"- 1 page, 2 years old telling you nothing more
than the address and contact info. Ignore the "New Sony Oxford Desk"
crap, it already came and went.
http://users.swing.be/caraibes/

Space: Large
Lounge: Medium
Console: SSL 4056 G+
Machines: Pro-Tools HD, Studer A820 24-track, Studer A812 1/4" 2-track
Mics: all my favorites, including TWO D12s
Monitors: NS-10(what more do you need?),Dynaudio
Bonus: Steinway D-274 Grand Piano

Albums done there: Open Season, "Each Day" and a ton of Swiss artists
that I've never heard of.

www.hardstudios.ch


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