Studio Rules, Suggestions, Policies, and Guidelines
Thanks for booking with us! To make your experience at Beacon Hill Recording Studios as great as possible, please read the following suggestions, rules, and guidelines so your session can run smoothly. Also, this will give a heads up for what to expect before coming to the studio to work on your project. Contents:
- Studio Etiquette
- Suggestions
- Sending us your files
- Receiving files from the studio
- Revisions
- Studio Rules
- Online Session Setup
- Refund, Rescheduling, and Cancellation Policy
- Additional Media Services
Studio Etiquette
We will treat you respectfully and we expect you will treat us likewise.
Our staff is made of professional people willing to help you get the best results for your project, so you can make sure we are giving our 100% to make you happy with your experience at the studio. Despite our best efforts, things can get frustrating sometimes, but that is no reason to be disrespectful with your band members or our staff.
Please take care of the equipment.
The tools we use to provide a professional sound are, sometimes, very expensive. If you misuse them, you can damage the quality of your, and other people’s, project. If you would like to move something, please let our engineers know and they will be happy to accommodate you. Food and drinks must be kept away from equipment. Clients are responsible for any damage to the studio’s equipment and facilities from themselves or their guests.
The Control Rooms need to be quiet during Recording and Mixdown processes.
We want your studio experience to be great and we understand that at times you will want to invite friends or family along. However, it is important that our engineers are able to accurately hear details in order to deliver the best results for your project, so please ask your guests to kindly be quiet during your session.
If you plan on filming your recording session, please ask for permission prior to the session.
Usually we do not mind if you film your session in our studio. Nevertheless, we appreciate you letting us know in advance if you plan to, especially if you think we might be in your footage.
Suggestions
Be Rested
Make sure you are well rested before coming to your session. We have seen performances negatively affected because the artist arrived tired. Loss of concentration and even the inability to hear yourself well are examples of what can happen if you are running out of energy.
Be Punctual
Our hourly rates are charged from your booked session’s start time, whether you are present or not. Also, please do not come any earlier than 15 minutes prior to your session, since other artists may be in session and we want to respect their time just as we will respect yours. Arriving 5 minutes before your session is ideal. We, too, are committed to be punctual. Our staff will make their best effort to start recording as soon as possible. Setup time counts towards the time of your session and the time taken to have everything ready to go can vary depending on what needs to be recorded. You should expect 10-20 minutes of setup time (for sessions such as vocals, acoustic guitar, etc.). If a special setup has to be made, for example drums or a full band session, you should expect a longer set up time. Full band session setup times vary depending on many factors, but generally it takes about two hours to setup a 3-5 piece band. If you are bringing your own drum set, we encourage you to contact us to see if the studio is available to set up your kit prior to your session start.
Tune Instruments
Make sure your instruments are in tune for your session. Despite it being one of the most important steps for your recording, many people forget to do it.
Change Strings, Replace Drumheads, etc.
Set up your instruments ahead of the recording and make sure they’re in good shape. This will help you get the best possible sound out of your instrument. The state of your instrument is more influential to the quality of the recording than our recording gear.
Practice Before the Session
Remember you are paying for every minute you spend at the studio, so it is better not to waste it as rehearsal time. Try to know your parts and the intention of the performance as well as possible.
Designate a Final Decision Maker
Unless you come with a producer, you should designate a person to guide our engineer toward the sound you want to achieve. Also, this facilitates communication in the session, which will help it go as well and quickly as possible.
Sending us your files
To make your session as productive as possible, we encourage you to send us any files we will be using (i.e. beats, samples, session files) at least 30 minutes before the session start time using this link. If sending us files for editing and mixing, please click here and make sure to meet our file specs.
Receiving files from the studio
Email Delivery
We are able to email the session files to you. After we send the files, please make sure to download them as soon as possible, since the link will typically expire one week after being sent.
Please bring your own Hard Drive, Thumb Drive, etc.
Due to limited space on our hard drives, we typically delete files one week after being recorded, so please make sure to bring a drive with at least 4 GB of free space (for small sessions) so we can provide a copy to you.
Additional File Delivery Formats
If you want us to deliver your files in any other format, please let us know at least one day before your session so we can be prepared.
Please expect to pay your balance before receiving your files
We will gladly deliver your session’s files to you once your balance is fully paid. Please don’t expect to make partial payment at the end of your session and still receive your files.
File Storage
We store your files one week after being delivered to you, after this period of time we are not responsible for them. Please make sure to back them up within the first seven days after getting them to avoid their loss.
Revisions
Studio Rules
- No smoking allowed in the building. Outdoor smoking area available.
- Responsible alcohol consumption allowed.
- No illegal substances allowed in the building.
- No weapons allowed in the building.
- For everyone’s safety and to protect our facilities, we reserve the right to ask to leave or deny access to our building to anyone that appears to have a drug or alcohol impairment. The local authorities will be contacted if you fail to comply with our 1st warning.
- Please only invite up to the following number of people to accompany you (including you), in conjunction with the studio you have booked:
- El Paso – Studio A: 10 people
- El Paso – Studio B: 3 people
- Atlanta – Studio M: 5 People
Online Session Setup
Please click here to read the instructions on how to connect to your online session.
Refund, Rescheduling, and Cancellation Policy
Payments are non-refundable. However, we’ll keep them as credit on your account if you would like to purchase a different service. Rescheduling your session is possible, and free of charge, if we receive notice at least 2 business days in advance. If we receive shorter notice, the following rescheduling fees will apply:
- 1-3 hour session rescheduled: $40 rescheduling fee
- 4-6 hour session rescheduled: $60 rescheduling fee
- 7-9 hour session rescheduled: $70 rescheduling fee
- 10+ hour session rescheduled: $15 rescheduling fee for every rescheduled hour
- Revision session rescheduled: $20 rescheduling fee
Additional Media Services
Please let us know at least 1 week in advance if you would like to add any additional media services like videos, session recaps, photos, etc., so we can get our media team ready for the session and provide you a quote. For samples of our media work, please visit https://beaconhill.myportfolio.com/. Please feel free to contact us at (915) 213-3247 or [email protected] if you have any questions before your session.