FAQ
Our podcast studio, for most applications, does not require an audio engineer. When you start and finish your studio session, a staff member will be available to assist with sound checks, start and stop the recording, and transfer your files. If you are new to our studio, we can also help you with good microphone practices.
For more complex recording applications, an engineer or producer can be helpful for your recording session. Please call us and we can help you determine your needs. Unfortunately, we do not have an audio engineer on staff; however, we are happy to provide information on how to hire an independent audio engineer.
You bet! One of our staff members will always be around to make sure your recording goes smoothly. We assume you will have some basic audio editing skills, as most recordings will need some lighting editing after you record. For example, it is best to adjust gain levels, apply light compression and a hard limiter, and master your recording before distribution.
If you are unfamiliar with audio editing and digital audio software we recommend that you take some time prior to reserving studio time to learn basic editing skills and become familiar with a DAW software. You can save money by doing the post-production work – editing, mixing and mastering – on your personal computer.
That will depend on the kind of project you are recording for. Please be aware that there will another recording session after yours, so you will need to out of the studio no later than the time your reservation ends. Time is of the essence – your session time begins at the scheduled start time of your reservation and ends at the scheduled end time. If the studio is not booked prior to your start time, we may have the flexibility to get you in a few minutes early, but not always. Please refrain from using the control room or studio prior to the start of your session without first checking with a staff member.
As a point of reference, if you are conducting a 30-minute interview with a guest, you should book a time frame that includes setup time (sound check, etc.) and some time after to transfer your files. A 30-minute studio session will result in cutting you off early to keep things on schedule.
Unfortunately, we do not offer editing, producing, or distribution services. Our podcast studio rental is primarily a DIY solution, so please be aware that other than getting your recording studio started and finished, the staff generally won’t be available to help with other aspects of your show.
We are happy to point you in the right direction, whether it be help finding a local freelance editor, or resources on how to get started with getting a podcast online.
In the studio, your session will be recorded to a computer using standard digital audio software, and to a Zoom H5 recorder as a backup. The recording is always done at 48,000 Hz and 32 bit.
A staff member will help you transfer the recording files to a hard drive or USB that you provide. Please make sure you leave our office with all of your files, and please do a verification – and backup! – as soon as you can. We keep session files for one week in case of emergencies, but beyond that, we are not responsible for recovering your files or any of your data.
We will not resample or do any conversions of the audio files before transferring them to your drive. If you need the files in a different format, sample rate, or bit depth, you should plan to do that conversion on your own.
There are only a few things you may want to bring with you:
- Credit card, for paying for your studio session.
- Hard drive or USB drive with enough space to transfer the recording files from your session
- Headphones (with 1/4″ input plug) for your comfort
- Audio files to import our audio cart system
- Tablet and prep files for your recoding
Please Note: if you don’t have a hard drive or USB device to take your files away with, we can send you a Dropbox link to your file for $10 per file.
Before leaving our office, you will pay for your recording session with a credit card through Square. You will be charged for any time reserved, even if you finish your session early. If you exceeded your reserved time you will also be charged for the overage at $1 per minute. Exceeding the reserved time slot is at the discretion of Tony Schwartz Productions staff and only possible if the schedule allows.
If you need to cancel or reschedule, please do so more than 24 hours before your session. Otherwise, we will charge you for that session, as it prevents someone else from booking during that time.
Our podcast studio rental supports remote participation through Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, or via any telephone with Bluetooth capability. If you plan on utilizing either the telephone or Skype please make a note when you make your reservation. For Skype, you will need to ask your participants to add the studio on Skype – our username is ###.
We generally don’t allow people to bring their own equipment, like replacement microphones. If you have an audio project that require specific equipment that is not currently available in our studio, please give us a call before booking your session so we can discuss some options.
Without prior permission, connecting, disconnecting, or moving any equipment is strictly prohibited for all podcast studio rentals.
All first-time podcast studio rental users must eSign a user agreement in order to use our studio. If you would like to review this document prior to booking a studio session, please contact us.
No food or drink is allowed inside our podcast studio except for water in a resealable bottle.
Tony Schwartz Productions is attached to a large parking lot that generally has plenty of available space. Occasionally during the day, parking directly outside the Tony Schwartz Productions office is limited. However, there are plenty of parking spots available that are within a 30 second walk to our office.