Which studio do you pick to record at? This is a question that no doubt every musician or band will face at some point in time. This article will give you a few pointers to help pick the studio that is right for you.

Cost/ Availability
You first consideration should be cost and the availability of the studios that you can afford. You should have some sort of budget worked out prior to shopping for a studio. A good rule of thumb is the 10 studio hours per song to record and mix. On the average it will take approximately 10 hours to record and mix each song that you want to record. Choose a studio that you can record your entire project in (Ex 10 Songs x 10Hrs per=100 studio hours, studio a rates are $40 per studio hour, total cost is $4,000). Once you have a few studios identified as possibilities, you need to see which will fit into your time schedule. Say you want to start recording in two weeks however studio a has a six month waiting list, obviously you wont be able to record there unless you wait.

Equipment
The next thing you should consider is equipment. Does studio a have top of the line vintage gear and studio b have mid grade equipment? A little research into studio equipment may be in order if you are not well versed in studio gear.

Listen to tapes
Have the studios make up some demos of other bands that have recorded there. Listen to the tapes on as many different stereos as you can (car, home, friends car ect...). This should give you some idea of how your tape or CD will sound like when it is complete.

Meet the Engineer
Meet the engineer that will be working with you on your project and ask about past experience and get references from other bands that they have worked with. Call the references and ask what was it like working with the engineer. Listen to tapes that were recorded at the studio that you are considering by the engineer that you will be working with. If the studio balks at these requests they may be hiding something so beware!

Mixdown
Automated mixing boards used to be only for the large studio projects with huge budgets. This is no longer the case. If a studio you are considering recording in has an automated mixer it is a big plus and should be considered a very big advantage.

There are many other things to consider when picking a studio however this should give you the basics and a good start, good luck and happy recording!