Recording studios

[PLEASE NOTE: Information listed here was accurate as of March 16, 2005. Please call the studio to verify information.]

There are cheaper recording rooms in town staffed by better spellers, but Collapseable Studios in West Asheville enjoys the hippest reputation.

From old-school gospel to experimental surf rock, there’s a local studio ready to commit your sound to disc. Want to slip into the isolation booth to cut a quick demo or hole up for a week? The studio you’re looking for is on this list.

• Acoustic Music Room, (335-9316) — This 56-track, fully equipped professional studio knows that time is money. AMR offers 10 years’ experience producing and engineering albums and demos, and features beautiful rooms to boot. Recording, audio restoration and duplication are some of the services offered. Currently, local bluegrass act Town Mountain is working on a project at the facility. Call for rates, or check out www.acousticmusicroom.com.

• Asheville Recording Studios, Street address by appointment only (777-0782) — For 12 years, this Alesis ADAT-based studio has been providing recording (32-track digital or analog available), editing, mixing and mastering services. Owner Dave Allen includes Critical Mass, Blackeyed Susan and Trip Element among his recent credits. Rates are $55 an hour or $275 per day, with half-day, three-day and five-day packages available. Visit www.ashevillerecording.com.

• Big Creek Recording, Barnardsville (626-2626) — This converted farmhouse is a place where musicians help create a polished, professional product, whether they want a demo or a master ready for duplication. The studio revolves around the award-winning Digidesign ProTools HD Accel TDM system. Client list is diverse but heavy on jazz artists, including local heavy-hitters Byron Hedgepeth, Eliot Wadopian, Frank Southecorvo and Ozzie Orengo. Call for rates.

• Collapseable Studios, 503 Haywood Road (255-0502) — This West Asheville studio was started by multi-instrumentalist/producer Aaron Price. Besides being a fully functional tracking facility, Collapseable records in digital and analog formats and boasts a vintage Amek Einstein console. Credits include Rufus Grove’s Sanctuary, Tyler Ramsey’s self-titled debut and Malcolm Holcombe’s new I Never Heard You Knockin’. Hourly rates are $50, with long-term packages available.

• Crossroads Studios & Horizon Music Group, 50 Fisk Drive, Arden (684-3066) — Known for producing Southern-gospel artists, this studio has turned out 24 number-one hits in the past five years. Up until now, the company has limited its recording to major-label artists on Horizon, Sonlite and Mountain Home Records, but recently Crossroads restructured to allow independent artists to use the studios for their projects. Last year, Crossroads recorded bluegrass heavyweight Doyle Lawson’s A School of Bluegrass. Contact Vickie Collins for more information.

• Echo Mountain, 14 N. French Broad Ave. (232-4314) — Also brand-spankin’ new, this studio is slated to open mid-summer. Owner Steve Wilmax recently relocated from Seattle, where he operated Stepping Stone Studio for nine years. Echo Mountain features a 24-track system and Pro Tools; all types of music are welcome. Rates are on a sliding scale.

• Gearhead Studios, Mills River (near the airport) (890-8033) — Tailored to “singer/songwriters on a budget” (though bands of all genres are welcome), this new studio offers 24-track digital recording and mixing, among a list of other services. All-digital equipment and computer-based mastering. The studio boasts low rates ($20 an hour, including engineer and up to an hour of free set-up).

• Hollow Reed Recording Studio, (255-0866) — Multi-instrumentalist Chris Rosser not only composes and performs folk and world tunes, but produces a wide range of musical acts. This is not a studio for hire, but where Chris engineers the mainly singer/songwriter projects he’s involved with. Credits include David LaMotte’s Spin and Josh Lamkin’s Boy Genius. Call for rates.

• New Vision Studios, 62 Walton St. (285-9786) — Owned by R&B and soul enthusiast Terry Letman, this studio records a lot of gospel, R&B and hip-hop. “But we’ve done rock, and we’ve done country,” said a studio representative. Recording credits include The Movement, from New Vision’s own PROtainment label, and local church group The Voices. The set-up is Steinberg Q-Base, and the rate is $55 an hour.

• MasterCraft Recording, Bat Cave (625-8323) — In business for 24years, this studio has been used by the likes of Union Station, SugarHill Records and Warner Brothers. Owner Richard Ashe boasts 100-trackdigital recording capabilities with vintage tube processing. Visitwww.musiciansdesign.info to learn more.

• Silvermine Studio, Marshall area (649-0573) — Constructed by the members of local space-groove outfit The Great Slide, this studio (customized in a 6,000-square-foot warehouse) features a 24-channel hard-disk recorder and Pro Tools. Silvermine is a full-service project-tracking facility, perfect for bands wanting to work on long-term projects. They currently record groups for the WNCW Local Color program (GFE, The Royal We and Marsupial) and also offer film, video and scoring work as well as on-site field recording. Pricing is per project, with a $30-per-hour base; packages are available.

• Starlight Studios, (626-2464) — Formerly of Atlanta, owners Laine and Robin have recently worked with the likes of Motown-inspired Sidney Barnes, jam band Diagram of a Scam and ethereal vocalist Kelly Ward. The studio boasts a list of instruments ranging from miniature African balaphone to a Wurlitzure Omni 4600 organ, and equipment as diverse as a 1955 Revere tape machine and Pro Tools software. (Also vintage mics, reel-to-reel, duplication and packaging of CDs.) Rates depend on project size and length — extended stays, vacation-style, are possible. Visit www.starlightstudios.net.

• Takenote Studio, (242-5032) — This project studio focuses on offering top-quality yet economical recording for singer/songwriters. Owner and musician Eric Cole provides digital equipment and instrumental back up. Rates are $35 per hour, with discounts available.

• Upstream Productions & Steven Heller Music, P.O. Box 8843, Asheville, 28814 (258-9713) — Composer Steven Heller is a three-time Grammy-winning producer and engineer who has worked with local acts like indie-exotic artist J. Dimenna, Irish guitarist John Doyle, folkie David Holt (himself a Grammy winner) and Afro-gypsy-surf-rockers Count Clovis. Services include composition, mixing, mastering and music for film. All genres are welcome; call for rates.

• West Sound Productions, 20 Battery Park Ave. (258-2295) — This studio records musicians and entertainers. Digital equipment, $40 per hour.

• Whitewater Recording Studios, 9 Busbee View Road (274-0956) — Vintage equipment and current technology abound at this studio. Record digital or analog, try out the ’65 Hagstrom Corvette guitar, separate your back-up singers in two isolation booths. Dezeray’s Hammer, the Laura Blackley Band and Buffalo Mojo have all racked up hours here. Learn more at www.whitewaterrecording.com.

— Alli Marshall