Guide · Preparation
Preparing your session: a checklist for singers and bands
Preparation is the cheapest line in any recording budget. Arrive in Burggasse with finished arrangements, fresh strings and a clear running order, and every booked hour goes into takes rather than into hunting for a key.
Why an hour of preparation saves three hours in the studio
A studio hour with an engineer costs €85 incl. 20 % VAT here; a full vocal day is €580 incl. 20 % VAT. Every quarter of an hour spent working out a key, changing a snapped string or arguing about the running order comes straight out of that time. This checklist pulls together what has worked for vocal sessions and band sessions since we opened in 2016.
You do not need to have everything polished. You do need to know what you want to record, in which order and roughly how it should sound at the end. Everything else we can sort out together, on the phone or over a pre-session chat at the studio in Neubau.
Two weeks out: what we need from you
Send us the material in the table at least a week before the date. We then set up the session before you arrive, build tempo maps and track templates and choose microphones and preamps to suit the line-up.
| Item | Form | What we use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Track list with running order | Text file or e-mail | Schedule and session templates |
| Demos or rehearsal recordings | MP3 or WAV | Arrangement, length, dynamics |
| Tempo and key for each track | BPM figure and key | Click track and tempo map |
| Line-up and instruments | List with channel count | Mic choice, up to 32 channels |
| Two or three reference recordings | Title and artist | Sonic direction for tracking and mix |
| Lyrics | PDF or printed | Comping and lyric checks at the desk |
Checklist for singers
The voice is the one instrument that cannot be retuned on the day, so preparation for a vocal recording starts several days before you walk in.
- Voice: Go easy on loud talking for two days beforehand, no rehearsing to the point of hoarseness, and get proper sleep.
- Drinks: Still water at room temperature; skip dairy and alcohol right before recording.
- Lyrics: Know them by heart, but bring a printed copy anyway with breathing points marked.
- Backing track: Instrumental as a WAV with a click or a clearly defined tempo, in the final key.
- Warm-up: 15 to 20 minutes before you start, by all means in our 9 m² booth; that time is part of the booked session.
- Clothing: Nothing that rustles or rattles; jewellery and watches stay outside the booth.
- Headphone mix: Decide in advance whether you want reverb on your voice while singing and how loud the click should be.
Checklist for bands
Our 68 m² live room with its 4.2 m ceiling takes up to eight musicians playing together. That only works if every instrument runs without hum, buzz or rattle on the day.
- Strings and heads: Fit fresh strings two days before the session, check or replace drum heads, and bring spares.
- Tuning: A tuner for every instrument; check the intonation on guitars and bass beforehand.
- Amps and cables: Replace humming power supplies, scratchy pots and faulty leads in advance; pack spare cables and plectrums.
- Tempo: Every track rehearsed to a click, even if you later record without one.
- Arrangement: Intros, transitions and endings are settled; debating song sections eats studio time.
- Grand piano: If you would like to use our 1979 grand, tell us when booking; we have it tuned for €60 incl. 20 % VAT per session.
- One decision-maker: One band member calls the takes in the control room, so eight opinions do not land on the desk at once.
On the day: getting to Burggasse and how the session runs
The studio is at Burggasse 95 in the 7th district. On the U3, get off at Zieglergasse (Westbahnstraße exit) and walk about 8 minutes; on the U6, Burggasse-Stadthalle is about 10 minutes on foot along Burggasse towards the centre. Bus 48A stops at Kaiserstraße/Burggasse and Zieglergasse/Burggasse, 2 to 4 minutes away; tram 49 stops at Kaiserstraße (Westbahnstraße), about a 5-minute walk. From Westbahnhof it is roughly 15 minutes on foot.
Coming by car: the 7th district is a short-term parking zone. For drums, amps and cabinets we can arrange a loading bay in front of the building on request; please mention it when you book. We open at 10:00 Monday to Friday and at 11:00 on Saturdays, and sessions run by appointment only. Allow 20 minutes for set-up and soundcheck for vocals, more like 60 to 90 minutes for a band. Breaks are part of the day: focused takes rarely happen in the sixth hour without a pause.
What you will find here
Apart from your instruments, you do not need to bring any equipment. Across 240 m² you have the live room, the 34 m² Control Room 1 and the 9 m² vocal booth. We work with 32 preamp channels and 24 microphones, from large-diaphragm condensers for voice to dynamic mics for cabinets and snare. Headphones, music stands, tuners and cables are all in place. If you are used to a particular microphone of your own, bring it along by all means; we will compare it with ours before the first take.
After the session: raw files, comping and next steps
We make the raw files available within 2 working days of the session, as consolidated WAV files from 0:00 so that everything lines up in any DAW. On request we take care of vocal comping and tuning for €70 incl. 20 % VAT per track. How the files are named and which formats we deliver is covered in the guide File formats and delivery.
All session data stays archived with us for 12 months. If you book mixing and mastering with us after the recording, allow 7 working days per five tracks for the mix and 3 working days for mastering, plus the time you need for your revision rounds.
Budget and questions before you book
How many studio days an EP realistically needs and what the whole thing costs is worked through in the guide Planning a recording budget. A deposit of 30 % is due when you book; up to 5 working days before the date you can move or cancel free of charge, with the details in our terms. Any open questions about preparation are welcome via the contact form, by phone on +43 1 890 46 27 or by e-mail; we generally reply within 1 working day.
Request a date — we reply within 1 working day
Tell us what you want to record and when. You will receive a written quote with every price shown incl. 20 % VAT.