Aspiring local musicians wanting to take their music to the next level recording a CD often had to make a difficult choice. Do they make the five-hour trip to Fargo to record at one of the few professional recording studios in the state or do they buy the necessary equipment and attempt to make it themselves?
"I was in a band for awhile and we thought about recording a CD, but it costs thousands of dollars to get all the equipment you need to record and then you have to find a proper place to do," said Sean Downes, co-owner of a new recording studio in Minot. "There are few decent recording studios in North Dakota and there's a need."
Founded in September by Kasey Brossert, Downes and Dustin Brossert, All On Black Recording is the trio's solution to that problem.
Housed in a professionally designed and built recording studio, All On Black Recording offers local individual artists and full bands the opportunity to have their songs digitally recorded using industry-standard Pro-Tools software and other state-of-the-art technology.
"We can handle country, heavy metal and everything in-between," Downes said.
The 625 square-foot studio, built by local business Image Marketing, features drum and voice isolation booths, a recording room and a control room. Unlike many other recording studios, the layout of this studio allows bands to play and record simultaneously.
Fact Box
All On Black
Recording
What: Professional recording studio for area musicians
Where: 1906 S. Broadway, on the backside of the building
Hours: Flexible hours, call for appointment
Contact: 578-4094;
allonblackrecording@gmail.com
(allonblackrecording.com)
Inside, the studio is packed with recording-essential gear such as computers, mixers, microphones, pianos, digital keyboards, amps, guitars and percussion instruments. Beyond the hardware, All On Black also has a variety of software programs to guarantee a professionally made product.
"We have an endless supply of plug-ins, modelers and amps to make everything sound great," Downes said.
Since they began working in mid-November, the trio has worked with a handful of individual artists, but Downes said the company's focus will be to work with local bands.
For any musicians considering recording a CD, Downes said a five-song EP package will cost approximately $1,100, which includes unlimited recording and mixing time, tracking on Digidesign 003, a CD-R stereo master, and the use of their instrument and related equipment.
"We wanted to make it affordable for people," Downes said. "Normal studio rate is between $75 and $125 an hour and every minute of recorded audio takes like seven hours of production time so our rate is like $12 an hour cheap."