The Back Room Recording Studio

• Full recording capabilities for advertisements, jingles, demos including dubbing, voiceovers.
• Original music backgrounds and arranging.
• No-frills quality time and output for small projects using the latest digital recording techniques.

Microphones

• Audio-technica multiple-pattern capacitor
• Rode large-diaphragm condenser
• A selection of Shure microphones

Guitar Equipment

• Randall guitar amps (tube and solid state)
• Eden Bass Amp
• Guitar Rig 4 Pro
• Pod Farm II
• Amplitube Custom Shop
• 1975 Gibson SG
• 1982 Ovation Balladeer (electric acoustic)

Software / Hardware

• Digital Performer 7.2 digital recording software
• Native Instruments Komplete 7 VST plug-in suite
• 10,000 sounds, 90 GB samples, including Bosendorfer, Bechstein and Steinway pianos, full orchestral samples

How it got its name

When John Hardie started recording his own tracks for live performance, he realized that the back room of the Willow Creek teaching studio was naturally soundproof.

The 1972 construction of solid, three-inch walls, further buffered by an outside concrete barrier assured no bounce back or echo effects evident in newer construction.

A few students asked if John could record demo CDs for college application packages. Another acquaintance wanted to record a motivational CD based on a class she taught. Then there were radio commercials and voiceover audition CDs and what has come to replace the Christmas letter here at Willow Creek, the Christmas CD for students' friends and families.

Most recently the challenge was producing an 11-track collection as a wedding favor featuring the bride, a semi-professional classical musician and vocalist. *

The short story is, the back room works just fine as it is, but we hope that by the end of summer, some small-but-substantial improvements will have been made to render it almost flawless for smaller projects with big ambitions.

Fees

$60 per hour

That's the flat fee for everything from recording to re-recording, mixing to CD reproduction to planning sequence to chatting about the weather to "let me hear that again."

* Don't let the size of this recording studio fool you. A wonderful musician, composer and arranger in his own right, John Hardie is also a master at laying down tracks, mastering, and mixing. I used the Back Room to record an 11-track CD for friends and family that I gave as wedding favors and the result was nothing less that spectacular. I cannot imagine a better result at any price. The layers of instrumentation and the way they fit to the vocal tracks I recorded are just phenomenal; you would swear I have a live orchestra behind me. I have had a semi-professional career in the classical and operatic fields as well as being a professional organist, and I highly recommend John to anyone who is looking to record their voice or band. He is a gem!

--Linda Morgan