My recording facility is a home studio. Although the equipment and techniques used will produce nearly the same quality product as a commercial studio, there are limits to what we can do in a setting such as this.

The principal recording area is a 4' square booth. The booth is lined with anechoic, acoustically absorbent materials which eliminate the "room sound" to give an extremely clean and clear recording. Because it is one single space, I can not acoustically isolate multiple simultaneous sources. If Arthur and Betty wanted to record a duet, we could certainly do that. The drawback is that there would be some of Arthur on Betty's track and vice-versa. If back in the editing room Betty wanted a version of her part without Arthur, we could not eliminate him completely because a little of Arthur's voice was picked up by Betty's microphone and thus is irrevocably mixed with her performance. Naturally, if we recorded Arthur and Betty sequentially, this eliminates the problem entirely. This works for some kinds of performance but not for others. Improvisation, for example, tends to require the dynamic interaction between the performers that only a simultaneous performance can achieve. Authentic Voices will work with you to determine the best way to record your particular material... and I won't try to do the impossible.

Not Soundproof

Although generally very quiet and entirely suitible for recording, the booth is not, in fact, sound proof. This means that if there is a very loud noise outside, a trace of it may get on your recording. If it is raining hard, you might hear it on your recording. Why don't I have have a sound proof facility? Simply put: the cost. I could not afford to be so affordable if I built and maintained a totally sound proof studio. If you work with Authentic Voices, you will have to be a little flexible -- if it rains on a recording day, we will have to reschedule (unless of course you like the rain sound). If an ambulance goes by while we're recording, we will have to do another take. If you need total acoustic isolation from the outside world, no matter what day, rain or shine, ambulance or no, then you need a different facility than Authentic Voices.

On the other hand, I have successfully recorded a number of different projects without any problems at all. So how often do these problems happen in practice? Except for the weather, which just comes when it comes, I have never actually had to reschedue a recording session because of excessive outside noise. Even so, I would be remiss if we did not warn you that there was that possiblity.

Nights And Weekends

Although I take great care in the work I do for my clients, I also have a day job and a life outside of AV which precludes me from spending full time on recording projects. Consequently, production times tend to be long (weeks not days) and recording sessions can sometimes be difficult to schedule.

Don't Despair!

So, okay, there are some reasons why Authentic Voices might not be the most convenient studio for your project. Even with a whole page of caveats, it may very well be the right studio for you. Here are a few important points to remember which differentiate us from other facilities:

• I'm in it for the beauty -- I will take all the necessary time to understand you and your work so that what we produce sounds, flows, and feels just exactly the way you hoped it would -- or even better. Authentic Voices goes well beyond the mechanics of recording and producing.
• I have the vocabulary and context to comprehend the deeper meaning of your work. I will treat you and your work with respect. I specialize in non-mainstream material such as trance, meditation, poetry, spontaneous singing, Pagan chants, and drumming.
• Unlike your friend's home studio or a laptop with a microphone, I have professional gear and I know how to use it. Unlike your ordinary commercial studio, I will have a personal relationship with you and your work.

Think about it. If you have any questions or you're interested in starting a project, please write.