It’s funny...
You'll find pricing is the hardest bit of info to get from a studio. It's almost never on their website.
Well, we like you (and we’re about as affordable as professional recording gets), so it's on OURS.
At Dirty Water Sound & Music we flexibly price things 3 ways, depending on the kind of work you're wanting to do. All pricing includes an engineer.
Lockout Rates
$500 Daily Lockout (up to 14 hours on a single day)
$1300 Weekend Lockout (Friday-Sunday only, 3 x 14 hour days, w/ a free 5 hour pre-production day)
$2800 Week-long Lockout (7 x 12 hour days)
For those who know how much time they need, and work well within a given period, lockout rates represent the cheapest studio time you can get. Take the single day rate of $500, divide by 14hrs, and you end up paying just over $30/hr. with an engineer included. The weekend lockout actually gets you 47 hours at $1300, coming to $27/hr. with engineer. 84 hours on the weekly rate means $22/hr. with engineer, all in one of Boston's best equipped studios. Use your time as you like: all for tracking, all for mixing, or some for both.
Project Rates
~ $1400 3 Song Demo
~ $2200 5 Song EP
~ $5000 10 Song LP
Project rates are assessed, before beginning, based on the details of the individual project. We discuss your project with you and then give you a quote. The estimates above may be lower or higher depending on the level of production involved in your specific project. The key benefit of booking under a project rate is that you save significantly from the hourly rate and can take as much time as needed in mixdown.
We offer this, because we've noticed that musicians who are not worried about how much they're paying, and how much time they're using, tend to actually make better takes in less time. Which translates directly to better music. Which is more enjoyable and rewarding for everybody involved. Also, many artists don’t correctly anticipate the time required for good mixing (which is the only kind of mixing we do here). Half the quote is due up front, the other half when you get the final mixes.
Inquire about film or other kinds of project rates, by contacting us.
Hourly Rates
$50/hr Music Hourly
$75/hr ADR/Foley Recording Hourly
$60/hr Multimedia/Video Related Hourly
$60/hr Mastering ($40/hr for projects recorded at Dirty)
$130/hr ISDN Services (First half hour is $80)
We also offer standard hourly rates for those who like it old school.
Student Discounts apply of up to 15% off regular prices (not applicable to other promotions). Full-time students at any New England college, get 10% off hourly and project rates. Because of our special relationship with the Berklee College of Music, Berklee students, get 15% off. The person booking time must be a current student. The Student Discounts are not applicable to the lockout rates, but hell, how much cheaper do you want your studio time?
Other things we charge for...
Piano tunings are billed at $110 per tuning. We recommend you always get a tuning before your project. We use the best piano tech in Boston, Jay Natale.
Owning your master 2" tapes (analog recordings only) is $325 per reel or you can buy your own.
We only use ATR Magnetics Studio Master Tape.
Heavily battered or broken drum heads.
$15 for Snares and Toms
$50 for Bass Drums (wood or hard rubber beater players)
