Why Record at The Dojo and other FAQs Can't I just put a tape recorder up and record me singing and playing my song? Sure, but virtually every demo at NSAI meetings and others that I have heard like that were so full of tape hiss, noise, and/or bad mix on the vocals that it made it very hard for the listeners to understand the lyrics. You don't need a full- blown production but obviously, the better the recording quality, the better your song will come across. I can't afford to record it professionally. I charge a very low rate of $25/hour and always do my best to stay within someone budget. If you want just a guitar/vocal demo and are very well rehearsed, you should be able to git-r-done in about 2 hours. That's only $50 isn't your song worth that? If not, than you might reconsider playing ANY recording of it for someone. You only charge $25 and hour...you must not have very good equipment. My signal chain, particularly that for vocals is of the highest quality. The main difference between The Dojo and other recording studios is that I am not set up to record full bands at the same time. This is a decision I made years ago. So, I don't need 18 of everything and I don't have the overhead and expense that some studios do. How much experience do you have in recording? I began recording in 1983 so that would put me at 25 years of it. I have worked in various studios of various formats and have written articles for Recording Magazine and EQ. I have also released 3 solo CDs that produced and co-engineered (I couldn't be playing and pushing buttons at the same time). Do you have Pro Tools? No, I prefer Sonar. These days, it's pretty much 6 of one ½ dozen of another. I have been a Cakewalk user since 1994 and am much more comfortable with it's layout. However, if you like, I can export your tracks as time-stamped WAV files with or without automation and they will be completely compatible with Pro Tools. So, if you wanted to use your tracks on someone else's Pro Tools system, no problem. What's this I hear about FREE guitar tracks? If for some reason you feel your guitar playing is not up to the par you would like for your demo and would like me to perform it instead, for a limited time I will not charge for my work or the session time. I am offering this simply to get my playing out there more too so it is a win-win situation. Oh, this is also for Mandolin too. Why should I record at The Dojo? I think you will find your experience working with me very productive, fun, and I will do my best to get the best out of you, particularly if you are nervous or intimidated or had little experience. Even for myself, and seasoned pros, recording is ALWAYS a learning experience and I promise you will learn quite a bit also. That will obviously help your next session as well. If you already have had a good amount of recording experience, even better. I feel my two biggest strengths are my ability to work with musicians and my problem solving skills both of which are godsends in the studio.