STUDIO POLICIES AND RATES
Scheduling
All sessions are by appointment and are booked days or weeks in advance. There is no same day or walk-ins allowed.
All new clients will be asked to pay a 50% deposit of the estimated or scheduled time to confirm all bookings. The deposit will be applied to your session or refunded if you cancel more than 72 hours before your session. If your deposit is not received within 72 hours of your session time, your appointment may be forfeited to another client. If the session is not cancelled more than 72 hours in advance you will be charged a $50 cancellation fee. Cancellations or rescheduled appointments with more than 72 hour notice will incur no fee and any deposits for cancelled appointments will be refunded.
Studio Time
When you schedule time, it is expected you will arrive on time and we adjust our work schedule accordingly. Due to possible other clients or session setup, please do not arrive early to your session. It is understood that we will bill you from the beginning of your scheduled time regardless of what time you arrive. Studio time is billed in 1/4-hour increments.
Payment
Payment is required immediately following each session. Payment may be made by Cash, Check, Paypal, ApplePay or Zelle. There is a $35 fee for returned checks.
Breaks
During long sessions, a 10 minute break will occur every two hours to alleviate ear fatigue. 30 minute meal breaks will occur in sessions longer than 4 hours. These breaks are on the clock.
Damage & Breakages To Studio Equipment
Any damage caused to studio equipment due to misuse, abuse or negligence will be charged to the client. Refusal to pay for breakages will lead to exclusion and legal action. Until damages are paid or repaired for, sessions will not continue and copies of recordings, masters or multi-tracks will remain as property of Second Story Sound.
Final Mixes and Masters
Your account must be paid in full prior to receiving your master. High resolution mixes or masters are generally provided on CD, hard drive, jump drive or uploaded to a secure file sharing site.
Guests & Visitors***
This isn’t rule but more of a recommendation: The less people hanging around at the recording session, the better the session flows and the more work gets done, which can save a lot of money. It’s best to save the party for when you're back home listening to the finished project.
*** Temporary Covid-19 precautions. No non-contributing guests are allowed at recording sessions for the time being. Musicians only. In person mix sessions are available with proof of vaccination.
Discounts
Full day, multiple day and week long sessions may eligible for discounts. Our passion is to help local musicians make world class sounding recordings.
All rates include an engineer.
STUDIO TIME:
Rates begin at $28 per hour with two hour minimums
Second Story Sound offers everything from full project production to an overdub space to complement your home studio. Tracking critical elements, such as vocals and drums, on heirloom quality gear in a space designed to capture every nuance makes a huge difference in the quality a final product
FILM SERVICE:
$30 per hour with two hour minimums
The live room at Second Story Sound is a great environment for filming performances or instructional videos. Hourly rates include two 1080i cameras, a gimbal and operator and the transfer of video to your storage device for editing, as well as a multi-track recording of the session.
MIXING:
$28 per hour
Second Story Sound offers mixing services for projects recorded elsewhere. Information is available via email about recording project transfer protocols and FTP services for non-local projects.
MUSIC PRODUCTION:
Call for a Quote
Contact SSS for full CD or EP quotes and to discuss the scope of your project. Discounts are available for full day bookings and to students and 501c3 organizations.