Rates & Terms

How much does it cost?

* Minimum booking/billing time is one hour. 

* Payment is expected at the end of each session (see the following section regarding payment options).

* There is no charge for a visit to see the studio and discuss your project in more detail. Please call to schedule an appointment.

* Officially the clock starts ticking at the point where I begin placing microphones and hooking things up. The clock stops ticking at the point where I hand you the CD mixes at the end of each session (either a rough mix or the final master).

* I'll stop the clock for an extended lunch and/or dinner break.

* These rates include the use of all the equipment and instruments the studio has to offer. If you're going to be using any of my musical instruments, let me know ahead of time so I can make sure they are set up properly and ready to go.

* Gift certificates are available - give the gift of music! 

Payment options - what kind of dinero do you take?

Cash. Cash payments are the preferred method. As mentioned above payment is expected at the end of each session. There are at least a half a dozen ATM machines within a two block radius from here for your convenience. I don't accept personal checks for obvious reasons. 

Paypal. If you want to use a credit card, payment through Paypal is also accepted. You need to set up an account with them in order to use the service. It's a relatively painless procedure. Call for more info.

I can provide a receipt if needed for tax purposes.

Hours of operation.

Monday - Saturday:   10 AM - midnight 

Sunday  12 PM - 10 PM

Scheduling time & checking on studio availability.

Scheduling a recording session is easy. Just pick up the phone and call (847) 622-9109. If you get the answering machine, please leave a message and I'll get back to you shortly. I do return phone calls!  

Please be aware that "scheduling a recording session" and "checking on studio availability" are two different things. Open dates that were available one minute might be gone the next. If asked, I will hold a specific date open for you for 24 hours. That should give you enough time to check with the rest of the band and get back to me. But unless I specifically hear the words "let's book that date" or "hold that date for me until I get back to you", it's just talk and the dates in question are open to the first available caller.

I will attempt to contact you 24 hours before a scheduled session as a courtesy reminder. If you don't get a confirming call or email from me at least 24 hours before a scheduled session, please call me! There have been a few times where clients have shown up here on the wrong day. Or there was some sort misunderstanding about the date. 

Cancellations/rescheduling.

All I basically ask is that you do the right thing and call as soon as possible if you have to cancel or reschedule. If it becomes a problem you'll have to pay a non-refundable security deposit equal to the cost of the amount of time needed. We'll just leave it at that.

CD duplication/replication.

Most clients want a CD copy of the work in progress (or a final master CD) at the end of each session. You tell me how many you want at the end of the session. I don't charge extra for blank CD's but please be aware that the clock is still ticking while I am burning CD's for you. It takes about 4-5 minutes per copy to burn a CD with 10-15 songs on it. A standard CD-R disc will hold up to 80 minutes of audio. 

LnL Recording is also an authorized studio partner with Disc Makers - one of the largest and best CD replicators in the world. If you need larger quantities for commercial distribution, call for more information or click on the icon below. Dealing through me is preferred as I can save you a couple of bucks and make sure your project is handled in a timely manner. More info and pricing in the FAQ section.

Mastering.

CD mastering is a rather difficult concept to explain in a few words or less. It can mean different things to different people depending on the nature of the project. Basically, CD mastering involves two distinct processes: 

1) audio "sweetening" aimed at getting the final mix perfected so it (A) sounds good everywhere and (B) competes favorably with other commercially released music out on the market and...

2) CD "authoring" which involves organizing the songs in a particular order, encoding index markers, CD text and ISRC codes, and then burning the master CD from which all the duplicates are made. 

You can read more about this in the FAQ section. 

The concept of CD mastering gets a little blurry depending on whether the project was recorded here or somewhere else. If you recorded your project here then technically, everything you leave with (including rough mixes), ends up getting some level of mastering polish. I don't necessarily charge extra for it because all we're really talking about here is processing the audio through special mastering plug-ins when I do a mix down at the end of the session. I include it as part of the time needed to mix down (which you're paying normal studio rates for anyway). Whether the mastering plug-ins are "on" or "off" doesn't change the amount of time needed to do a mix down. It's still the same amount of time with the advantage that you get to hear an approximation of how the final product might sound when all the recording and mixing is done. At very least we're talking about a bit of loudness maximization so you can compare the your mixes against other commercially available material. I don't spend a lot of time "tweaking" mastering settings for rough mixes because most likely the mixes are going to change anyway with additional recording or mixing. We usually wait to have a final mixdown/mastering session at the very end of the project at which point we tweak everything so it sounds perfect. The final mixdown/mastering can occur the same day as the actual recording but it's usually better to wait a day or so and come back with fresh ears.

If you recorded your material at another studio and want me to master the final mixes, I would consider that like a regular recording session and normal studio rates apply. This is the more "formal" method where you record at one studio and master somewhere else. Normally, you would be bringing me the final stereo mixed-down version of the songs on a CD-R disc (the disc can contain either WAV files or CD audio). It's usually preferable to bring me WAV files at the originally recorded bit depth and sampling rate. CD audio has already been dithered down to 16 bit/44.1kHz. Either will work (bring both if you have them). You are welcome to be here for the mastering process but if you can't, for whatever reason, you can drop off the materials and I will do the mastering here on my own and you would pay me at the point where you come back to pick up the final master. Most full-length album projects (10-15 songs) can be mastered in about a half day or less. The amount of time it actually takes depends to a large extent on the quality of the original recording and mixing. 

Refunds and Guarantees.

Sorry, but I can't guarantee that a CD produced in this studio is going to lead to a great big fat record deal, or a even a gig at the local saloon. I don't offer cash refunds but I will provide free recording time if something goes haywire. Money doesn't usually exchange hands until the end of the session anyway. The way I usually work it is that I'll have the client record the first song and then we'll do a rough mix. If you're happy with the results, we continue on. If not, we shake hands and go our separate ways. No questions asked. 

I want to make sure you all understand this. Your satisfaction is important to me. The way I see it, your music is going to be distributed to a potentially large audience. Hopefully, LnL Recording is credited somewhere on the CD and that is good publicity for me. It's in my best interest that you walk away with the greatest sounding CD ever. I get a lot of repeat business and referrals so that means I must be doing something right :-)

Block rates, discounts and spec deals.

I don't offer block or discounted hourly rates. If you can't afford to pay $20/hour for your recording project then you should probably rethink your goals. And I'm not interested in "spec" or "backend participation" deals. Sorry. I'm also aware that some studios charge "per song" as opposed to an hourly rate. For example, $100 per song. I don't do that because it doesn't make a lot of sense to me personally. What if the song takes 2 months to record? What if the song only takes 10 minutes to record? In the end it seems like someone is getting screwed. I honestly think it's in our mutual best interest to simply charge by the hour. 

Children and Pets.

Children under the age of 10 are not allowed in the studio - even as guests of clients. Sorry, but stuff has gotten damaged because of kids running around loose during a session or visit.

Sessions involving children between the ages of 10-13 years old will be limited to 3 hours per session maximum. Children tend to get antsy and lose focus after an hour or two. That has been my experience anyway. 

I don't have any pets and no pets are allowed in the studio. Some of my clients are very allergic to them. The smell of pet dander literally causes their throats to clog up.

Smoking.

Sorry no smoking inside the studio.

Food & Drinks.

You are encouraged to bring your own food & drinks along. Especially if you're going to be here a while. Hunger pains are distracting. There are a few good restaurants nearby as well as a couple of major supermarkets. Alcoholic beverages are fine although I will terminate the session if you can't handle your alcohol and start acting like a jerk. There's a bar down the street where you can drink and they won't charge you $20 an hour.

Transportation.

There is a Metra train station 10 minutes from here. If you are coming in from the city, and traveling light, I might suggest taking the train (Milwaukee District West line). The train makes a couple of stops here in Elgin. You want to get off at the second stop - after the National Street station. Call me when you arrive and I will come pick you up. 

Wi-Fi Enabled.

We offer hi-speed internet access for clients with laptops.

Disclaimer.

We reserve the right to decline or terminate any recording project, at any time, if it seems as though we can't satisfy the needs of the client for whatever reason. I can usually tell from the initial phone conversation if this is the right place for you or not. If it seems as though we won't be able to accommodate your project here, we can recommend other studios in the area that might be better suited to your needs. 

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