Our philosophy
"To capture reality in the highest quality and the purest ways."

Our service is not for everyone
If you think that the recording you made with a DAT or MiniDisc Walkman is great, or MP3 files sound good, please give yourself a test.  Compare it with commercially released CDs.  If you hear only a slight difference or no difference at all, you should buy a low-priced MD/Mic combo.  You will probably be very happy with the recording quality.  You wouldn’t need any professional recording service except for editing and mastering.  For those of you who hear a substantial difference, please read on.

Why High-Density Audio?
Because it’s a lot better!

What is High-Density Audio?
High-Density Audio is digital audio recorded in 24bit resolution and 96kHz sampling rate.  CDs are in 16bit/44.1kHz, DATs in 16bit/48kHz, ADATs in 20bit/48kHz.  MDs and MP3 use lousy compression.

Why is 24bit better?
You may have seen "Sony SBM (super-bit-mapping)", or "Telarc20" on some of the Sony and Telarc CDs produced in the past 5 years or so.  On those CDs, they explain how 20bit recordings are better than traditional 16bit recordings.  Well, 24bit recordings are even better than 20bit recordings.  If you need a more technical explanation, please call us.

Why is the 96kHz sampling rate better?
Let's use motion pictures as an example-  if the frame rate goes up, we see a smoother progression of pictures.   (Compare old reel movies with today's movies.)  In audio recordings, if the sampling rate goes up, we hear a smoother progression of sound.  If you need a more technical explanation, please call us.

Everyone does 24bit/96kHz now.  Why are we so special?
The main reason is that we  use only the highest quality equipment.  (Please look at our list under "Equipment".)  Sure, you can buy everything you need to make 24bit/96kHz recordings for less than $1,000, but compare the aesthetic quality of a $5000 car to that of a $50,000 car.  It's the little details that make all the difference. 

What happens to High-Density Audio when burning CDs?
Thanks to technological advancement in digital audio, we can now reduce the resolution and sampling rate to 16bit/44.1kHz (standard CD) with minimum loss of quality of the original 24bit/96kHz recording. We employ a technology called UV22HR by Apogee Electronics.  It’s very impressive!

When you hear the word "recording", do you think about going to a recording studio?  If you have a rock group, or if you are recording tracks for a movie, you probably should go to a recording studio.  If you record a string quartet in a recording studio, the engineer uses six microphones – one for each player placed very close to the instrument plus two microphones for ambience.  It is recorded in 6 tracks, then mixed.  The engineer tries to make it sound better by adding EQ, compression, reverb, etc.  The result is like a movie soundtrack.  It does not have the pureness of live sound.  Classical (or concert) music should be recorded in halls or churches that have supreme acoustics.  Check your favorite classical CDs, and you will find that they were recorded in good halls or churches.  If a studio was used, it would be a huge room like the one at Skywalker Sound.  Also, different microphone techniques are required for classical music.

Lakeshore Music uses the best equipment currently available to "capture reality in the highest quality and the purest ways."  We try not to use equipment that change the reality of the actual sound, such as microphones that make everything warm by adding harmonic distortion.

Here is a partial list of the equipment we use:
-A matched pair of Earthworks QTC1: probably the most accurate mics available. Famous for the "being there" quality.
- A matched pair of Earthworks SR77: cardioid, retains the "being there" quality.
- A matched pair of Peluso CEMC6 with cardioid, wide cardioid, and omni capsuls:  created by John Peluso, a specialist in repairing Schoeps microphones.   Super clean, realistic sound. They are becoming our favorite pair.
- A matched pair of CAD M179: continuously variable polar pattern makes the pair  versatile.  
-Earthworks LAB102: probably the most transparent mic preamp available.
-Custom-modified SEK’D 2496DSP: the only AD/DA converter .
-MOTU 828MKII: Multi-channel audio interface.

Lakeshore Music uses variations of standard stereo microphone techniques to "capture reality in the highest quality and the purest ways," such as spaced-omni, ORTF, OSS(JecklinDisk), and X-Y.  Most of the time, we record in two tracks using only two microphones.  This simplest and purest set-up gives the most natural result.  We sometimes use four microphones when reality is not so pretty.  We always consider the possibility of employing surround sound.  However, due to inconsistency in play-back systems at the consumer level, it does not yet translate the intentions of the engineer.

Recording service
Lakeshore Music offers High-End Location Recording and Standard Location Recording.  The difference between High-End and Standard is recording quality & set-up time.  High-End is better than Standard, and Standard is far better than a MD/DAT Walkman with Sony or Audio-Technica single-point stereo microphone.  If you require a minimum amount of set-up time, you might like Standard Location Recording. 

High-End  Location Recording:
- 24bit/44.1, 48, 88.2, or 96kHz depending on your needs
- 2 tracks / stereo recording
- Earthworks LAB 102 mic pre-amp
- custom modified SEK'D 2496 DSP ADDA converter
- a pair of microphones from the list above, selected based on venue and sound 
- MOTU 828mkII used as an audio interface

Multi-Track Location Recording:
- available upon request

Other services
Lakeshore Music offers other services:  CDR duplication, analogue tape transferring to CDR, restoration of old noisy favorite recordings, editing, pitch correction, and other digital audio processing.

The best place for recording is an appropriately sized concert hall.  If you cannot afford one, try churches in remote locations.  They may be willing to exchange your services for the use of their space.

Recital Package -  $210
Includes 2 hours of high-end location recording, basic mastering to an  audio CD with simple label
- Additional time $75 / hour (must be consecutive)

High-End Recording  - $180
Includes 2 hours of high-end location recording, non-edited audio or data CD
No post production such as editing or mastering is included 
- Additional time $75 / hour (must be consecutive)

Multi-Track Location Recording  - ask for price and details

Digital Editing, Processing, and Mastering  
- $45/hour with recording service
- $50/hour without recording service
e.g. DAT to CD, tape to CD, editing, restoration, etc. ask for availability.

CDR Duplication
Ask for prices and other information

Travel/Parking Fee    $0 ~ up
based on the location.

Payment
25% of the total amount (not transferable nor refundable) must be received before the recording engineer is booked and a date and time can be reserved.  The remaining balance is due 30 days prior to an event.  Lakeshore Music must be notified in writing of the cancellation of an event at least 30 days prior to that event, otherwise the client is responsible for the final payment by the due date.   A late fee of $25 will be charged if the final payment is not received by the due date.   A $25 fee will be charged for any returned checks. 

Recording conditions
Recording equipment must be indoors.  For high-end location recording:  A grounded power outlet within 100 feet from recording equipment is necessary.  It requires 1.5 hours of set-up time, 45 minutes of takedown time and up to five minutes of sound check time.  For standard location recording:  It requires 1 hour of set-up time, 30 minutes of takedown time, and up to five minutes of sound check time.

Special discounts
Special discounts are available for students, independent music teachers hosting student recitals, and for large-scale projects.  Call for details.

Refunds
There is no refund on any fees.

All prices and conditions are subject to change.