Hidden Gem Recording Studio is a home-based project studio. I’ve fitted the space with everything needed for a small band to perform and record as a unit. The main room is an open-concept area. I have a variety of instruments and equipment available from a range of price and quality points. I fully believe that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the sound you want and record it well these days. And yes, the studio is (always!) a work in progress.
I have two main custom-built DAWs – each with an 8-core AMD processor running primarily Cakewalk by Bandlab (formerly Sonar Producer Platinum). Both units were custom-built for the recording process and are MS Windows-based. Each is capable of recording a least 32 physical channels at once, and practically unlimited channels in the software. I also have a Macbook Pro running a couple DAW software packages. Outboard gear includes preamps, compressors, limiters, mixers, reverbs and delays, headphones, music and mic stands, direct boxes, cables, jack panels, etc. Much of the external signal processing gear and physical synths are no longer needed since software plugins have replaced most of them. I have a variety of pro and semi-pro mics for various uses.
The music systems are all networked with multiple high-quality gigabit LANs and have high speed Internet access. There are a variety of secondary software packages, such as songwriting editors and rhyming tools, MIDI control, special system editors, etc. We use the latest in virtual computing systems and have power conditioners and UPS units on all gear, plus lots of networked storage with automated backup systems. We also have a small library of textbooks dealing with a wide variety of music, writing, recording and other topics.
I use high-quality, brand-name software and plugins, such as Sony CD Architect, Cakewalk by Bandlab (formerly Sonar Producer Platinum), Session Drummer, Guitar Rig, Dimension Pro, Rapture, Z3ta+, string sections and other virtual instruments, and many others. We also have other software packages, such as Audacity, Steinberg Cubase, Presonus Studio One, Ableton Live, Logic Pro X, ProTools, MIDI-OX, Auto-Tune, tons of plugins and instruments from IKMultimedia, Avid, Native Access, and others.
I also have a set of Pearl acoustic drums, a set of Alesis electronic drums, 20+ guitars, bass guitars, mandolin, violin, clarinet, flute, a few MIDI keyboards, a Hammond organ, many effects/modeling units, amps, synth modules, and other gear. I am constantly growing the equipment compliment. For those that like to see the gear, here’s a list. What would you like to see?
HGRS is owned and operated by me, Gordon Cunningham, and I’ve been playing music on a variety of instruments for almost 60 years (I started young). I’ve also been recording myself, my bands, and others since the mid-70’s, on various systems starting way back with cassette and reel-to-reel tape. I’ve run sound for many bands over the years. We’ve come a long way in the recording and music-making business, and I’ve been working with the newest technologies as they’ve emerged.
Since I’m also a musician, I understand the way most musicians work and want to hear their art. I also have been into electronics and technology for a very long time, and I understand how to apply technology to enhance the music process.
I invite you to call and/or meet me in person, check out the space, and discuss your needs. 207-370-2015