Hire a Professional
Obviously, when you hire a professional audio engineer, you hope they know what they are doing and have learned the tricks of the trade, done the necessary experimentation, and you trust that they will get the job done correctly. But how can you know for sure? We've compiled a list of questions to ask a potential audio engineer.
Q: Do you have experience recording classical and/or acoustical music?
Musical Horizon's response: We only record classical and acoustic music. Not many recording studios, even the mobile ones, will tell you that. Every recording session has at least 1 member of the team with a classical musician on board. Our owner and lead audio engineer is a performing classical violinist. Not only do we know what classical music should sound like, and how to capture it via audio recording, we know exactly what you, the customer, are experiencing throughout the recording process. We've been there ourselves - we get it! Don't forget - most studios don't even have "real" musicians working for them.
Q: Why are you setting up the microphone there? Wouldn't it make more sense here, closer to me?
Musical Horizon's response: Ah! You're very observant, and smart for asking. Every microphone needs to be placed in a specific location and pointed in a specific direction. Here at Musical Horizon, we call this Custom Microphone Placement. Any recording engineer that just plops the microphone down in front of you and says, we're ready to roll, has no idea what they're doing. That might work well in a isolation booth in a studio, but not in your living room, or a concert hall. Just because you are on the stage, doesn't mean the microphone should be pointed at you. Classical music requires that you record the location, not the instrumentalist. Sometimes, yes, the microphone should point at you, at other times you want to pickup the sound of the hall. Every location will have a different setup. This is why we offer free consultations at the recording location. We guarantee that your recording will sound the best for your chosen location.
Q: What equipment do you use?
Musical Horizon's response: We only use professional equipment. We chose each piece of equipment for specific purposes. Everything from our Apple MacBook Pro, Focusrite Saffire, Behringer Mixer, Rode and Shure Microphones, Alesis MasterLink Hard Drive Recorder/CD Burner, to our latest addition, our Microboards GX-1 CD/DVD Duplication/CD Printer. We only bring quality equipment to your location.
Q: What is your stance on MiniDisc recorders?
Musical Horizon's response: Unless you buy a professional model, they only make good practice tools. But why would you buy a MiniDisc recorder at the professional level? Sounds to me like anybody who would, is just trying to save money. At that price range, a low-end CD burner would give you better options and save you time.
Q: Do you offer special deals for events?
Musical Horizon's response: Absolutely! You can always record a la carte, but why go through all that trouble. We offer specialized packages for live concerts and recitals, and specialized packages for Spoken Voice and Audition CDs. Each package comes with editing that is specific to the appropriate format of recording and comes with a few extras, such as 3 additional copies, CD inserts, and CD labels free of additional charge.