my studio

Studio History:

In 1987 I bought a Tascam Porta One 4 track recorder. I loved the idea of being able to record multiple tracks in order to create actual songs. The concept of a 4 track seems so quaint now, but in ’87 the $475 I spent on it represented a major investment in recording technology.
For the next 7 years that 4 track was witness to my rapidly evolving musical style as well as the numerous bands that I played in during that time.

Back in 1994 I started building the studio that I would eventually call Bijouxland. The 4 track was retired, and I based the new studio around a single Tascam DA-88. Bijouxland was a very small space, but was on the 6th floor of a building and had an excellent view of downtown Minneapolis. I know some engineers will cringe at this, but I often used to keep the windows open to let the urban din that was all around the building be present on the recording.

Unfortunately, the Bijouxland space had some downstairs neighbors who were not particularly enthusiastic about loud noise such as drums and cranked guitar amps.

The studio was moved to it’s present location in the fall of 1997 and was renamed The Amusement Room Studios based on the fact that it’s located in the part of a house that used to be an amusement room…..get it?

To be really accurate, while most of the studio occupies what was the amusement room part of the house, the drum room is where a bedroom used to be.

In celebration of the new location I bought a Tascam DA-38, making the studio a 16 track digital studio. After much work, the studio was up and running again by the fall of 1998.

At the end of 2002 I decided I had had enough of the winters in Minneapolis and moved the studio to L.A. And so a new chapter begins as I rebuild the studio in this new location.


Philosophy:

Recording is supposed to be fun, right? I love recording and the whole creative process that goes along with it.

Unfortunately, many studios that I have recorded in have not been very conducive to the creative process as well as being a tad too expensive. It’s tough to relax when you’re always looking at the clock!

I built this studio primarily for my own use so that I could record whenever the creative urge hits me. Along the way I also realized that I greatly enjoyed helping others create their own music, and so I decided to start letting other people record here also.

This is a great place to record a demo, either as a full band or as a solo artist. It’s not a big studio with a prestigious name, but you won’t have to take out a major bank loan to record a cd here that you can be proud of.


Good stuff to know:

I make my living as a guitarist, from both playing and teaching. I also play bass, drums, and a litttle bit of keyboards. I can help with arranging and adding additional musical parts as needed.

These services are billed at the standard studio rate, making them really affordable for the solo artist who wants a full band sound but without having to put together a full band.

Additional session musicians are also available. Their rates vary and are negotioated on a case by case basis.

Technical Specs:

Recording format:
Digital 16 track (Tascam DA-88’s)

Mixer:
Tascam M-2516

Essential gear:
Rolls tube mic preamps, ART tube compressors, Outboard processors by AKAI, Alesis, ART, Audio-Logic, BBE, Behringer, Biamp, Digitech, Furman, Microphones by AKG, CAD, Electro-Voice, Octava, Sennheiser, Shure

Other Stuff available:
Digital software mastering/cd burning & duplication
Vintage Fender Blackface & Silverface tube guitar amps
Kalamazoo guitar amps
Gibson guitar amps
Fender Strat
Epiphone Les Paul
Guild electric Bass
Hammond M3 organ
Premier XPK series drum kit
Zildjian cymbals
Yamaha SY 85 keyboard
Proteus 1 sound module
Drum Kat
Alesis D4 and DM5 drum modules
Matchless Hotbox
Marshall JMP-1
Marshall Silver Jubilee
TC Electronic G Major
Carvin 5 string bass

Interesting technical fact:
When I was wiring the studio I utilized the Furman Balanced Power concept. This is a proven method for reducing the background noise level in audio wiring and it contributes greatly to the clean sound I get in my studio. Unfortunately, since it is somewhat expensive to install (the tranformer costs about a grand) and is not something that most people would ask about, it is rare to see this method used in project studios. Alot of engineers don’t even know what it is, which is sad because it really does work well.


Some artists who have recorded here:

The Deadwoods
Josh Shank
Rachel Kurtz
Nate Houge And The Honest Folk
Better Off Blue
Kaying
dysfunktion [212]
The Hoodoo Kings
Likwid Blu
Destiny
Ben Druskin
Red Decibel
Kwijibo
Gourmet Apes
Dan MacDonald
Rob Stefaniak
Ross Rydstand
Jim Moore for U.S. Senate
Buster Greipp
All In The Groove
P-Nut Johnson
Tempting Obsession
Nightshade
Olaf
Tom Robbins


Pricing:

The standard studio rate for all services is $20 per hour.

Contact:

Cell: (818) 445-2728
E-mail: scott(at)wscottfelton.com