Policies

Booking & studio policies

All prices in CAD, plus HST. Last updated November 2026.

Booking & payment

Studio time is paid in full when you book.
Your card is saved securely with Stripe, our payment provider, when you book. We never see your full card number. It's used for time you add to your session, for overruns and damage, and, if you choose, to pay for future bookings.
Your booking is confirmed once payment goes through. You'll get a confirmation email with the details.
Students get 30% off studio time. Proof of student status may be required at your session; without it, the regular rate applies.

More than 48 hours' notice: full refund.
Less than 48 hours' notice: no refund.
No-shows are charged in full.
Holiday lockouts need more notice: full refund with more than 14 days' notice; no refund with less.
If we have to cancel (illness or an equipment failure, say), you choose a full refund or a new date.

You can reschedule your session up to 4 hours before the start time. Reschedule requests that come in 4 hours or less before the start time will be denied.
Reschedule yourself from the link in your confirmation email, to any open time for the same type and length of booking.
If you reschedule with less than 48 hours' notice (14 days for lockouts), the booking can no longer be refunded if you cancel it later.

Your booking covers setup and pack-down, so plan to be packed up by the end of your time.
We share the building with The CBY Academy, so weekday sessions must finish and the space must be vacated by 3 pm, without exception. This rule only applies during school terms.
Weekend sessions start at 3 pm or later and finish by midnight.
If you arrive late, your session still ends at the booked time.
On a roll? Add time in 30-minute steps from your booking page or the control-room iPad, as long as nobody is booked after you. On weekends you can run on until 2 am. Added time is charged at the hourly rate to the card you booked with.
Staying past your booked time without adding it is charged at the hourly rate, in 30-minute steps, to the card you booked with.
During school vacations (Christmas, March Break, long weekends etc.), you can book any time from 8 am to midnight. During July and August, sessions are available on weeknights, and from 8 am to midnight at weekends.
Holiday lockouts are the exception: they give you the studio around the clock.

The studio runs Pro Tools and Logic Pro. The person running the session must be comfortable operating either one in a studio with extensive analog signal routing.
Remote support is required on your first room-only booking and optional after that. It's an on-call service: our studio manager is a video call away on the control-room iPad whenever you need help, rather than on a live call for your whole session. Remote support ends at midnight, even if your session runs later.
A member of the Smokey Hollow team will let you in and lock up.
Leave the patchbay, desk and routing as you found them. Please don't move the monitors, open up equipment, or swap cables behind the racks.

The studio holds up to 20 people, so choirs, orchestras and other large groups are welcome. Tell us your headcount when you book. More than 20? Get in touch first.
For smaller sessions, please bring the people playing or working on the session, plus a guest or two.
The person who books is responsible for everyone they bring, and for any damage caused during the session, beyond normal wear.
If something is damaged, we'll tell you what happened and what it will cost to repair or replace. You agree that this cost may be charged to the card you booked with.
No smoking or vaping anywhere in the building.
No drinks on the desk or near equipment.

Bring a drive to take your session home.
We usually archive recording sessions on an external drive, but that's a courtesy, not a backup service. We can't guarantee a session will still be there later, so always keep your own copy.

Mixing starts with a 50% deposit when you order. The balance is due when you approve your mix, and we send your final files once it's paid.
Mastering is paid in full when you order.
You can cancel for a full refund of what you've paid any time before we start work. Once work has begun there's no refund, including if you don't like the finished mix or master.
Every mix includes one revision round per song. Major changes, a change of direction or extra revision rounds are billed at $100/hour, always discussed and approved first. Extra mastering revisions or alternate versions are billed hourly.
Files you upload are deleted from our storage automatically 60 days after you upload them, so keep your own copy.

When you book or order, you'll tick a box to agree to these policies. You agree that ticking the box has the same effect as signing them.
We keep a record of when you agreed and which version of these policies you agreed to.

Questions about any of this? Email [email protected] or call (289) 768-9238.