FAQs
Our FAQs answer most questions that clients have.
If you can’t find the answer to your question here, or would just rather talk to us directly, contact us here.
General
Where is Smokey Hollow Records located?
We’re tucked away in the quiet little town of Waterdown, Ontario, a stone’s throw away from Hamilton and Burlington. This picturesque town is the perfect creative hideaway built for music and the people who love making it.
What kinds of artists do you work with?
Everyone from seasoned pros to total beginners. Whether you’re a songwriter, a band, a voice actor, or a family recording a song for Grandma, you’re welcome here.
Do I need experience to book a session?
Not at all. We’re here to guide you. No pressure, no expectations, just good vibes and great sound.
Recording Sessions
What’s included in a standard recording session?
A standard recording session includes tracking, where you get access to our top of the line recording equipment, including state of the art mics, preamps, and instruments. This allows you to create your music with the very best tools in acoustically superior rooms.
How long should I book for my first session?
Recording sessions start at 2 hour minimum. If you aren’t sure how many hours you need to book, our advice is to book the minimum amount of time and then we can increase hours as we go if need be.
Can I bring someone with me to my session?
Absolutely. Bring a friend, a family member, or your whole band — just let us know in advance so we can prep the space.
Add Ons
What are add ons?
When you’re booking a recording session, you have the option to enhance your booking by purchasing our add-on services. Add-ons allow you to customize your experience and take your project to the next level, whether that means distribution of your music to major streaming platforms, hiring one of our professional session musicians or pressing your music to vinyl.
Add On Explained: Session Musician
Fee: $60 per hour per musician.
We have a roster of experienced, professional session musicians ready to join your session and bring your song to life. Our players are adaptable, reliable, and studio-ready. Just let us know what you need, and we’ll bring in the best musician for the job.
Post-Tracking Services
Mixing
Mixing is the process of taking all the individual elements of your recording, like vocals, instruments, effects, and more, and blending them into a polished, balanced final version of your song.
A mix engineer adjusts levels, EQ, compression, panning, ambience, and tone so every part of the track works together musically and emotionally. The goal is clarity, impact, and cohesion, ensuring your song sounds professional on any speaker system. This process cleans up your recording and ensures that it is fully optimized to sounds its best.
Mixing is an essential step before mastering.
Mastering
Mastering is the final stage of audio production. It takes your finished mix and prepares it for release on all platforms. It ensures your music sounds balanced, polished, and consistent across every playback system, from studio monitors and car stereos to earbuds and streaming services.
A professional master evens out volume levels, enhances clarity, widens the stereo image, and brings your track up to commercial loudness standards without sacrificing dynamics.
If you plan to release your song publicly on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, radio, or vinyl, yes, you absolutely need mastering. It is the final quality check that makes your music sound cohesive, competitive, and truly finished. Even if you don’t plan to release your music, we still always recommend mastering to complete your song.
Mixing and Mastering
What is your mixing and mastering process?
At Smokey Hollow, every mix starts inside the DAW with detailed, surgical processing, where we balance levels, shape tone, and control dynamics so the song sits exactly where it should. Once the foundation is right, we take the music out of the box and run it through our analog chain: Neve summing, premium outboard EQ and compression, and all the high end colour pieces that give a mix depth, warmth, and character you simply can’t fake.
After printing the mix back into the DAW, we move into mastering, again using a blend of digital precision and outboard gear to add final EQ, compression, and limiting. Everything is checked across multiple playback systems. The end result is a mix that feels alive, translates everywhere, and proudly carries the Smokey Hollow sound.
Can I send you tracks recorded elsewhere?
Yep! We offer mixing and mastering services for tracks recorded at home or in other studios. Just send us clean stems and we’ll take it from there.
How long does mixing take?
It depends entirely on the size of the project! We can advise you on the amount of mixing time required once we’ve assessed your project, but the minimum booking time for mixing is 5 hours.
Booking and Pricing
How do I book a session?
Use our online booking form or shoot us a message. We’ll help you find a session that fits your needs.
How much does it cost?
Our base rate is $100/hour. We run discounts and promos throughout the year where you can often save some money.
Students bands (high school/uni) get 30% off as standard.
What's your refund policy?
If you need to cancel your session, we require at least 48 hours’ notice in order to refund your payment. Cancellations made with less than 48 hours’ notice are not eligible for a refund.
Need to reschedule? No problem! Just give us at least 48 hours’ notice and we’ll happily move your session to a new date.