There are rates and there are costs. They are rarely the same. Many people think
that since they can play a song for their mother-in-law in five minutes that they
should be able to record an album in an hour or two. Nothing could be further
from the truth. (Not if you want a quality recording.) If quality isn't a concern then
please call someone else. It takes time to set equipment up and get good
recording levels and find the right mikes and everything else that goes into
producing a quality track. Then you need to produce the next quality track and
the one after that and the one after that until you have a product of which you
can be proud. You won't even mind asking your friends to actually PAY for their
copy. (And they won't mind buying it.) When working with a solo artist/performer
at In the Chips we find the average song takes between four and eight hours to
record. Another one to two and a half hours to mix down and the song is typically
done. Then we burn a cheap listening cd with that song on it and advise the
client to listen to it in their vehicle for the next few days. Invariably there are
minor changes to make. Another half hour to one hour of remixing then gives us
a finished song which the client has participated in for the entire process.
Somewhere between 5 hours and 9.5 hours per song seems to be the average.
This can vary widely depending on the music. A ballad driven folk singer who
only wants three or four tracks per song and is well practiced may be able to do
that type of album in as little as 15 hours for the ten song cd. Likewise a small
instrumental combo may be able to do several songs back to back once the
setup is done and save several hours. A singer doing classic rock with 16 or
more tracks per song and many overdubs may take as many as 25 hours to do
one song. (The big studios take CONSIDERABLY longer than that!)

Our rate at In the Chips is $12.50/hour. We are much less expensive than most of
our competition.  We only take on projects that we enjoy however. And we only
work with people we feel are committed and talented. We won't sell you a dead
horse. If we think you should go somewhere else we will be honest with you. If
we feel someone else can do your type of music better and for less money we
will tell you. We want to develop long term friendships with musicians we like
working with. Look us over. Call or write us. Visit and jam. Make an informed
choice on the project that will be an important chapter in your life.
How Much Will It Cost??