United States

What can anyone tell me about them or an Eric Zentias that I haven't already checked for online?

They want $300 each to professionally record 4 songs and then pass the CD on to artists, agents, promoters, etc.

I always felt, no money up front - ya either want it or not.

Any info would be appreciated.



Tina Lee
Tina Lee and Random Blues
myspace.com/tinaleeandrandomblues
randomblues.tripod.com

I have no idea who Eric Zentias is...

BUT I will tell you that most studios charge by the hour and that $300 for four songs sounds a bit cheap... almost too cheap.

Toss in that they will "pass your cd on"....

I'd ask for references, demo's, and exactly who they will be passing that CD on to.

For every 5 legitimate studio/production companies there are out there, there's probably 100 more that have no capability to deliver what they promise, or will just steal your money outright. What makes that especially true is the recent explosion of musical talents and services on the internet.

Hmmm...4 songs for $300 - how many tracks is that, anyway? One vocal & one guitar or keys, I'd bet.

Sounds too good to be true, so it is, most likely.

Lemme know how you go & if it works out for ya.

RUN, DON'T WALK! Ive Been looking into studio time of late. Sounds scam-o-rama to me.

Uh, yeah...NCA

Need to
Contact
Attorney

I never heard of 'em, but I've spent a lot of studio time (and money). This deal smells fishy.

Most places like that. Have studio musicians. They take 1 practice run. Then record once and you get what you get. I'd say don't do it.
I pay 40 dollars an hour studio time and a song averages 250 to 500 dollars. Colaboration CD I did with others has 12 songs and cost around 3,000 dollars. And that's considered cheap.

OMG 3G's for 12 songs. How can any indie make a buck at that rate?
Time to by my own recording set up and upgrade my Barn

I'm right there with blair_rock...my studio is $50 per hr-factor in that I play most of the instruments, including vocals (all separate tracks and takes, of course) and I hire a drummer at $40 per song. My first CD consisted of 8 songs and weighed in production costs at about $3 grand.

I am not a wealthy man. I work a full time job, and sometimes add on a part timer just for a little extra cash. I have roughly 5 other sets of originals ready to record, but due to the cost, those songs will probably not see life until 2012 (by which time I will have another 7 or 8 sets ready to record).

Why am I telling you all this? It's the bottom line: You get what you pay for. Maybe you can pay $300-$400 to record your music, but I promise that you will not be satisfied by the result. There is no substitute for quality. While in Colorado, I worked in a studio that charged $20 per hr, and the completed product is something that I probably couldn't give away. The "engineer" actually erased tons of tracks (backing vocals, keyboard parts, etc.) because they were off-time. I can understand ONE track, but there was clearly something wrong with the guys software. He made no apologies (nevermind accepting any blame) and sent us on our way with a piece of sh!t recording that was useless.

Anytime you work with a studio, check 'em out. Put on the rubber glove and give them a good reaming. Anyone with legitimate credentials will stand up to the test. Never settle for less. I'd rather have one song that sounds great and cost me $400, than have a pile of songs that were cheap and I'm ashamed to play for anyone.

LET GO OF ME, SPIRIT OF CRAIG MAXIM!!!! Sorry, guys, I'll quit ranting now....(sorry Craig!)

Good point Joseph.and thanks for that Maximesque post

Thank you all for your information and advice. These songs are my counsins and he has asked my advice.

I did fail to mention that my counsin was told they would be putting up between $600 and $800 as well per song, and the $300 per song was his portion. He will receive 2 copies of the professionally done CD within 4 weeks. He was also given a deadline for an answer - July 15.

My counsin has copyrighted his songs already.

My advice actually to him was call an entertainment lawyer.

The guy, Eric Zentias/NCA Music, has had a grammy award winning song that was done by Tim McGraw apparently and that was easily confirmed online. I'm still leary.

Thanks again!!!!

Tina Lee
Tina Lee and Random Blues

randomblues.tripod.com
myspace.com/tinaleeandrandomblues

Be very cautious. A real professional studio will give you their best price per hour. They also will NEVER tell you what it will cost per song. How do they know how long any particular song will take to record? How many different instruments do you want to put on the song? How many different vocalists? How many different tracks you will need to complete the song? What kind of effects are you possibly going to need to add in the final mixdown? Your job right now is to find out from as many different musicians you know which studio did the best job for them. If any of the bands or performers in your area have CD'S contact them and ask them where they recorded it. Were they satisfied with the results? I talked with a number of different studios in town before I chose one. I told each one what we were going to record and what I wanted the final product to sound like. Ironically the studio I chose told me he had no idea how long he expected the recording to take. He invited me to take a tour of his studio, listen to a few of his recently recorded projects, and then shoot the breeze for a while. He didn't give me any price, just a bottom line price per hour. When we went in and recorded we had our parts down cold. This makes it much more efficient. KNOWING EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO RECORD AND EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT IT TO SOUND LIKE WILL MAKE YOUR JOB EASIER. Our total studio time on seven songs was 13 hours at $25 per hour. The results were more than satisfying. Don't go into the studio and experiment. ANy studio that tries to sell me a pre-packaged deal is suspect in my opinion. GOOD LUCK. Let us know if get good results. Later...