At Studio Maasland our goal is to help artists record their music to the best of their ability, resulting in a finished product, up to commercial industry standards (we sincerely hope to provide you with something better than some commercial standards though...). Although we have all the necessary equipment (and even more) to record a professional sound, a lot more goes into a great sounding cd than just recording equipment!
We are convinced, but certainly didn't invent this wisdom, that the following aspects are essential to record a great sounding cd:

Without a doubt the most important aspect! Listen for example to some of the great Beatles recordings of the '60s. Although the audio quality is easily rivalled with today's recording technology, not many of today's recordings can even remotely match the excitement and emotions that are present in those songs. Therefor, before recording, listen critically to your songs (we will;-)!) Is the melody strong? Do the lyrics draw attention to the song? Is the beat groovin'? If so, the most important aspect is covered. If not, there's some work to be done... But of course we can help!

A great song poorly played is still a great song, but it'll be a lot more difficult for the larger part of the listeners to hear it. On the other hand, a solidly played, into the pocket groove or a nasty 'in your face' guitar riff greatly enhances an already good song. So practice your playing skills! You know your weak spots. Practice with a click or some type of groove machine. Make sure your playing is tight, in tune and groovin'... If asked for, we have plenty of options at Studio Maasland to help lay down tracks at little to no extra charge.

Ok, the song is there and you all know how to play and sing. That's a lot, but not enough yet to start recording! The various instruments and especially drums and guitars, need great care and maintenance before they are ready to record (as a drummer and guitarist, we learned this the hard way...). Starting with the drums, each drum needs new, good heads and needs to be tuned perfectly and this isn't easy. As far as the cymbals go: expensive cymbals (from Paiste, Zildjian, Sabian etc.) sound great recorded, cheaper ones sound, well...cheaper! Guitars are another story. It's not just the shiny guitar that matters, but the well-balanced combo of a nice guitar, new strings, a great preamp, power amp and a great speaker. It takes a lot of experience and trained ears to get this testosterone-filled combo producing the appropriate tone to suite the production. Basses are a little bit easier, since they are mostly recorded direct (without micing a speaker). But get some new strings and put them on a day or so before the recording session, so the new edge is of a little. Oh, and bring the best bass you can find, because expensive basses tend to sound, well...better! Don't worry about synth's/keyboards, but for singers: treat your voice with respect, you'll know what not to do to avoid messing up your voice...

This would be the room, mic's, preamps, outboard FX, console, recorder, plug in's, speakers etc. Oh, and don't forget some trained ears! Don't worry too much about the recording equipment, in fact you shouldn't even notice much of it and concentrate on performing. We'll take care of the technical side of things. Do check our equipment page if you are, like us, infected with G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome). And if you do so, take a good look at all our instruments ;-).