FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Does the $160 studio rental day rate include an engineer?
Yes!
How many hours are included in the day rate including a house engineer?
$160 rate that includes the studio rate and a house engineer fee is for a 8 hour day. Additional hourly rates may be added if the session goes longer than 8 hours.
What are the hidden costs?
The only additional costs are your recording media (CD-R, DVD-R, external hard drive, analog tape, etc...) There are no instruments or recording equipment that you will be charged extra to use at Origami Lounge.
Can we get a tour of the studio?
Of course. Email is easiest, or call 530.591.7690. Sometimes we can do the tour that day, sometimes a week or so away. It depends on the sessions that are active. The only thing we ask is that you are serious about recording here.
Do you work weekends?
Of course. In fact, weekends are usually booked first so plan ahead.
Can we come in early or the night before to set up?
No. Sessions begin at the time you schedule them. Much of the engineering work begins as you start setting up so we have to charge for this time.
Do you do voiceovers, video editing, music for film or radio spots?
Some of these tasks we can do.
Analog or Digital?
Tape is available new for reasonable prices locally at SuperDigital (503-228-2222) or for great deals order from Pro Tape Northwest in Seattle 800-331-6107. We can run the decks at 15 ips for 33 minutes per reel. If we're using Pro Tools we recommend you bring your own Firewire 400 or 800 hard drive. This will speed up backup time. Sessions can be backed up to CD-R or DVD-R but this takes a long time (and can be less reliable). A typical session will take one hour per song to back up (much more expensive than a hard drive.) You can bring your own CD-R or DVD-R (not DVD+R) media to save money, but please bring your own CD cases if you do.
Do you do mastering?
Yes!
Do you have beats?
Can hire a drummer.
Are you currently accepting interns?
On and off please contact
Can I bring my own engineer for my sessions?
If the person isn't listed on our engineers page then we'll need to talk to them and see if they are qualified to run the studio here. But usually this works out fine.
Is Origami non-smoking?
Yes. Smoke cigarettes outside only.
Can we sleep in the studio overnight while working?
Yes!
Can we all play live in the studio?
We're set up to do basic tracks live up to 6 people. We can isolate the drums, guitars and run them live in the same room (not recommended). Doing live tracks with acoustic guitars is possible, but remember that if you are singing a foot away from your guitar that the mic on the guitar will pick up your voice as well and that recording acoustic guitar in the same room as a loud drum set is difficult!
How long will it take to record my album?
We don't know. A well-rehearsed band can lay down most of the basic tracks for an album in two days. Overdubs can take anywhere from one to seven days depending on the amount of work and pickiness.