Anchor Recordings, Indianapolis, Indiana

by Brandon Robertson
(Indianapolis, In)

Indy’s Most Affordable Pro Recording Studio
Cash - Check - Major Credit Cards
Whatever Your Budget Is –
We Can Get You A Recording Within Your Spending Limits

Primary Engineer – Brandon Robertson: Brandon is the original owner who founded the studio way back in 2004. With a wide range of musical experiences over the last 20 years, he well understands virtually all styles of music. His vast studio experience includes over 10,000 hours of studio time, including the full production of over 300 songs.

Basic Hourly Rate: $30 per hour

Discount Rates:

* $25 per hour for any session (or group of sessions) 10 hours or more in length OR $250 per day
* $20 per hour for total session times of 30 or more hours
* $1200 for 7 days of studio time (65-70 hours)

Specialty Rates: 10-15% OFF: If you’re looking to do a larger project consisting of two or more days, we can get you even better rates by using two different engineers of different experience levels. Let us know your goals and budget and we’ll work something out!

* Minimum session time is 2.5 hours (equal to $75) – maximum session time is 12 hours

** To receive discount rates you must book those sessions in advance. You may extend your time by any increment but you will be charged at the rate you bought in at.

Secondary Engineers – Grant Smith & Nate Spainhower: Both of these cats have had their fare share of musical experiences in bands, studios and otherwise. They both know their stuff pretty well and understand what it takes to make a good recording. Neither have the massive “studio time” under their belts that Brandon, the owner has, but they know enough to make a polished recording for you and are a good option if you are really short on cash.

Basic Hourly Rate: $20 per hour

Discount Rates:

* $18 per hour for any session (or group of sessions) 10 hours or more in length OR $180 per day
* $750 for 5 days of studio time (45-50 hours)

* Minimum session time is 3 hours (equal to $60) – maximum session time is 12 hours

** You may extend your time by any increment at the rate you bought in at.

Mixing/Mastering Rates & Options: **Choose One**. (All mixing and mastering is currently being done by the owner and primary engineer, Brandon Robertson.)

1. Guaranteed Mix & Master - $60/song (flat rate)
2. Guaranteed Mix (no mastering) - $50/song (flat rate)
3. Guaranteed Mastering (no mixing) - $20/song (flat rate)
4. Premix + Client Present - $30/song + Hourly Rate
5. Hourly Mixing - This is a choice you have, charged at the Hourly Rate You Bought In At where you are present (or not if you choose not to be)

Projects consisting of 5 or more songs receive mixing/mastering services at 10% off total mix/master costs.

*We can meet most deadlines but if you have an extreme deadline, we may charge an “inconvenience charge” for meeting it – however we don’t like doing that!

* What does "Guaranteed Mixing/Mastering" and "Premix + Client Present" mean?

A Guaranteed Mix or Master is one where the end product is guaranteed - meaning you'll like it or we will keep redoing it until you do. However with this package, it is done without the client present. The client will receive files or be invited into the studio to listen to finished mixes and approve or disapprove. The advantage of using this method is that the costs are completely fixed and you still get exactly what you want, and you (the client) will be able to listen to the final mixes in familiar places (such as your own stereo) - which is truly an ideal situation for everyone. BTW this is a really good deal because it usually takes 3-5 hours to mix a song properly. It is discounted partially because it doesn’t require us to schedule it.

A Premix + Client Present is an arrangement where the engineer does some necessary, preparatory things to the mix without the client present and then schedules a time for the musicians to come into the studio to make suggestions and requests so as to finalize the mix. The advantage of using this method is that the client can skip the daunting and often boring aspect of initial mixing (that requires complete silence) and concentrate on the balancing, effects/edits and tonal aspects of the mix that are really more important to the musicians while saving time (and your money). With this option you pay per-song-rate for each song and then the hourly rate while you are in the studio during the final mixing. Depending upon the complexity of your mix and what you request, this could be the most affordable mixing and mastering option.

INSTRUMENT RENTAL RATES: Honestly, we hate charging rent for instruments, but after years of doing this we’ve recognized how important it is to the quality of your recordings to have the proper gear. Providing good gear is expensive to us and we didn’t want to raise our session rates to ensure we had good instruments and amps on hand, especially since so many of you have already invested in good, studio quality gear. We’d prefer to focus on our investments on our (already expensive) recording gear and make that the best possible. But the fact is – a recording is only as good as the sound being captured (in both how well a part is played and the tonality of the instrument). Bad cymbals, bad drums, cheap guitar amps, and weak bass amps all equate to bad recordings. And we don’t want that for you! FYI - We’re not charging you for any in-studio recording gear or any other weird secret charges either! This isn’t about us getting more money – it’s about keeping it cheap but still getting you the best recording possible.
* $25 Per Day for any instrument/device or
* $50 for Unlimited Multiple Session Use (for any duration of contiguous sessions)

*Inquire about what instruments and gear we currently have to offer before setting up your recording. Part of your initial consultation will include a Discovery Process which will better help us determine if you already have “studio quality” gear or not.

OTHER RATES: We do have other charges that DO NOT APPLY TO MANY CLIENTS that involve disc creation, data archiving and data transfers. These rates are posted in the studio and are inconsequential and minimal. We’ll be sure to let you know about them before you are charged.

***Anchor Recordings has partnered with a fully professional mastering engineer and studio based out of California that offers us insanely cheap rates that we will pass along to you! Please ask us about this service and why you would want to use them for mastering.