Before opening his studio and production company in Nashville, Cliff Goldmacher was staff songwriter for Wrensong Music Publishing.
Since opening “Cliff’s Walk-in Closet”, he has recorded and produced over three dozen independent album projects for a wide variety of local and national artists, including Emmylou Harris, Tim O’Brien and “Redneck Woman” sensation Gretchen Wilson. He has also served as a panelist on engineering at the NAMM Show in Nashville and teaches a recording workshop.
What’s the best way to find the right recording studio?
Finding the right studio has several parts. First of all, you should listen to examples of work done at that studio; by the engineer you’d be working with, and, equally important, in the style of your own music. Secondly, you should feel comfortable in that space. You’re going to need to give your best performances. These can only happen when you’re relaxed and confident. Sometimes, big, impressive studios can be intimidating to a first-time artist. There are beautiful sounding records that come out of tiny, makeshift studios. The key is that the artist is relaxed and the producer and engineer are experienced.
How do artists match their style to the style, let’s say, of a producer?
The best way to find a producer who works in your style is to listen to as many independently released CDs as you can until you find the ones that sound the most like what you’d like your sound to be. Then look to see who’s listed as producer and contact that producer directly or through the artist (if they’re easier to reach).
What is the relationship between the artist(s) and the producer? In a small studio, are the recording engineer and the producer sometimes the same person?
The producer of a CD project is like the director of a movie. He (or she) is responsible for the overall feel of the project and all the details that go into making the record…i.e. discussing the project with the artist in advance, talking about song selection and possibly even tweaking the songs or writing songs with the artist, working with the artist on vocals to get the absolute best performance, hiring the session players, and, yes, often in small studios the producer and engineer are the same person. That can work just as well as having a separate engineer and producer.
We’ve heard that the engineer who does the mastering shouldn’t be the engineer who does the final mix. What do you think?
Yes, I agree. The mix engineer is usually the same engineer who’s tracked all the instruments as well and it’s a good idea to have a fresh set of ears to do the mastering. Also, true mastering engineers have very specific mastering equipment that is different from mixing equipment, so the actual mixing and mastering studios and their set-ups are uniquely designed to do a particular job.
What can an artist or a band expect to spend – in hours and budget – to record an 11-track CD?
This is a difficult question as there are so many variables. I would say that you can count on anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 depending on the artist’s preparation, the producer/engineering and studio costs, the instrumentation (whether it’s stripped down or uses lots of instruments), quality of session musicians and the amount of time taken to get the desired result.
What tips do you have for making the most of the process?
Two main points come to mind.
The first is preparation. The more you can do to be ready to go before the studio clock starts ticking the better off you’ll be. This means finishing your songs before you get ready to record (I know this sounds obvious, but it’s amazing to me how many people expect to finish their songs during the recording process…), practicing your vocals, having a plan as to what kind of instrumentation to use, etc. Being on the clock is stressful; so the more work you do before you start paying by the hour, the better.
The second thing is to rely on experts at every level of the game. For example, although this might be your first CD project, your producer may have done dozens of projects before yours. Relying on the experience of people who’ve been there before can make the entire process easier, more relaxed and fun and, in the end, it will just sound better.
What is the biggest misconception that artists new to the studio experience have?
Not realizing that you can delegate. I would have to say that most people expect to have to carry most of the weight of the project on their own, when, in reality, making sure you’re readyas an artist is the biggest and most important thing to worry about…the rest can be taken care of quickly and easily by those of us who do this every day.
Making an Independent Recording, Part I
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