FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where is Ocean Wav Studios located?
Downtown Austin, TX - 906 East 5th St.
What are your operating hours?
We are open 24/7 by appointment only.
Can I use my own engineer?
Yes, we allow freelance producers and engineers to use our facilities. An assistant will be on site to help with setup, technical support, and lock up. Please select then Room Only option when booking. If you’d like to book more than 10 hours or to prebook more than 10 hours for the month please contact us directly. We recommend bringing your own computer and interface to connect to our speaker system and still have access to your specific audio tools.
Is smoking allowed in the studio?
Smoking or vaping of any kind is prohibited inside the studio. Smoking is permitted only in the designated outdoor area away from the building entrances.
How do I prepare before a recording studio session?
Some artists prefer to start with a blank canvas at the studio, but if your budget is time limited, we recommend selecting your instrumental or rehearsing your instrumentation and writing lyrics prior to the session. You can also record a demo on your phone with apps like band lab to show the engineer your vision for the song. Be sure to get some rest, stay hydrated and avoid any irritants to your vocals.
How many songs can you record in a studio session?
The length and complexity of the song are a factor, but it mostly depends on how well rehearsed the artist is for the session. Within a 2 hour session we’ve had artists record 1 to as many as 4 songs, then come back separately for mixing and mastering services. In this case the artist leaves with raw vocal recordings; (We recommend at least 2-4HRS for mixing and mastering per song, or 30 min per song for a softmix)
Within a 2 hour session we’ve also had artists record 1 song and leave the remaining time for the engineer to mix/master during the session. (In this case you leave with a softmix but we recommend at least an additional 2-6HR session to deliver the full quality master.
When working on a bigger project or album, we recommend booking 8 or 10 hour sessions to get more songs completed at our discounted rate.
What happens if I don't finish the song before my session is over?
If you have not finished your song within the booked time we recommend booking more time that day, if possible, or on another date.
What happens if I finish my session early?
We can not refund partial payment for sessions ending early. We recommend using any remaining hours to start your next song.
Do recording studios help with song arrangement?
Of course when input is granted by the artist/producer. Our goal is to always help guide the artist to create the best song possible.
Should I mix my song in the same studio where I record?
There’s no rule. Many recording engineers are also fully capable of mixing and mastering your song as well. Some disadvantages of working out of different studios can be having to spend studio time collecting stems and session files to send to another studio. Depending on the workflow the new studio may pick up where the prior engineer left off or completely start from scratch which leads to a higher budget down the road.
The advantages of having the song mixed in the same studio you record allows you to re-record or make last minute edits to the session at any moment. This is also usually a quicker process overall due to the engineer being able to start editing and mixing during the recording process. Leaving less work to be done for the mixing and mastering process on the back end.
Can a recording studio fix bad vocals?
You’d be surprised at what you can get away with these days. Over the past few years new audio restoration tools have given engineers more capability to save bad vocal recordings, but not without limits. To some extent it may take more time attempting to fix a bad vocal and potentially not be satisfied with the results than it would just re-recording the vocals from scratch.
For more questions about booking please visit the booking FAQ here.