In this episode of Prepping for the Studio, hosts Roy Silverstein and Brian Scheuble speak with Richie Beretta, an engineer, mixer, and producer with some serious credits (Beyoncé, Diplo, Major Lazer) and something to say!

Richie shares insights into his journey from a musician in New York to an established producer now living in San Diego.

Topics covered include his early influences, the evolution of his career, the role of trust between artists and producers, the creative process, and hot takes on emerging technologies like Dolby Atmos.

Richie also discusses common pitfalls artists face in the studio and his approach to making the most out of every recording session.

00:00 Introduction to Prepping for the Studio

00:23 Meet the Hosts: Roy and Brian

00:42 Special Guest: Richie Beretta Joins the Show

01:04 Richie's Background and Journey in Music

02:50 The New York Music Scene and Rockwood Music Lounge

04:57 Richie's Early Musical Influences and Family

07:25 First Experiences with Recording and Pro Tools

10:09 Transition to Professional Music Production

18:25 DJing and Remixing in New York

24:03 Challenges in the Music Industry

30:46 Working with Independent Musicians

37:35 The Joy of Mixing and Multitracks

38:11 The Importance of Rough Mixes

41:16 Gain Staging and Plugin Effects

45:04 Production Process Insights

50:19 Common Mistakes Artists Make

55:36 Hot takes on Dolby Atmos

01:11:27 Final Thoughts and Contact Info

Check out Richie at these links:

Website: richieberetta.nyc

Instagram: @richieberetta

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping for the Studio, hosts Roy Silverstein and Brian Scheuble speak with Tavia, an artist/musician/songwriter/producer with extensive studio experience.

Tavia shares her journey of jumping straight into studio work, her songwriting process, and how she prepares for studio sessions.

Key topics include the importance of preparation, collaborating with producers and session players, sitting in on studio sessions to learn, and her recent ventures into sync licensing. Tavia also discusses the practical steps musicians should take before recording and how to get the best results from studio time.

00:20 Welcome intro

00:34 Meet Tavia: Musician and Producer

01:51 Tavia’s Songwriting Journey

03:49 Choosing the Right Studio

10:16 The Importance of Preparation

15:10 Overcoming Studio Challenges

19:52 Staying Inspired in the Studio

24:10 Taking Breaks and Staying Connected

24:36 Collaborating with Other Songwriters

25:04 Organizing Studio Sessions and Legal Contracts

25:57 Remote Collaboration Tools

28:40 Hiring and Working with Session Players

33:00 Choosing and Working with Producers

38:22 Getting into Sync Licensing

40:40 Efficient Songwriting and Production for Sync

45:48 Conclusion and Contact Information

Check out Tavia at these links:

Instagram: @taviabreen

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping For The Studio, hosts Roy Silverstein and Brian Scheuble are joined by Max Allyn from Recording Fund to discuss how musicians can fund their recordings through alternative methods.

Max shares the origins of Recording Fund, a nonprofit organization that provides no-strings-attached grants to artists for recording purposes. The conversation explores the challenges musicians face in financing their work, the process of applying for grants, and the broader context of the music industry, including the limitations of major and indie labels.

Key points include the importance of preparation in the studio, the evolving landscape of music funding, and the ongoing efforts to support diverse and determined artists.

The episode also touches on the undervaluation of music in the digital age and considers potential avenues for positive change in the music ecosystem.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:23 Meet Max Allen from Recording Fund

01:13 The Origin of Recording Fund

02:16 Challenges in Music Funding

03:40 Recording Fund's Mission and Process

12:46 The Role of Major Labels Today

20:02 The Indie Label Landscape

25:11 Funding Your Own Recordings

35:23 The Struggles and Hopes in the Music Industry

36:08 Encouraging Signs and Bandcamp's Role

39:02 Challenges with Streaming and Artist Compensation

42:37 The Importance of Studio Recording and Preparedness

51:34 Marketing and Promotion for Artists

54:49 The Decline of Live Music and Touring

58:51 Positive Changes and the Future of Music

01:06:20 Final Thoughts and Encouragement

Check out Recording Fund at these links:

Website: www.recordingfund.org

Instagram: @recordingfund

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping For The Studio, Roy and Brian speak with singer and vocal coach, Shelbi Bennett.

I've known Shelbi for many years starting with the amazing vocal work she did for the San Diego band, The Midnight Pine. She has an incredible voice and has been a great resource as a coach for my studio clients to help them improve their vocal abilities. If you're a singer, you will certainly get a lot out of this episode.

Some topics we discuss include:

-The very real struggle of singing in a studio and being under a microscope while everyone watches

-Techniques used in vocal coaching sessions outside of the studio

-Advice on what to do in the weeks leading up to your vocal session

-Advice on what to do the night before and morning of your session

-What to have on hand at the session to help you get through it

-Advice on getting through singing struggles in the moment

-The art of doubling

-Advice for singing with emotion in the studio

-Working the mic and taking input from the engineer

-Improving your "esses"

Check out Shelbi at these links:

Instagram: @buffalobisonbuffalo

Email: [email protected]

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping For The Studio, Roy and Brian speak with Mastering Engineer, Sam Kumar Tandon, of Rose Quartz Mastering. 

We dive deep, sometimes even above my head, into various mastering topics that should help you as a musician choose the right mastering engineer for your music, communicate with them effectively, and know when the sound is right.

Some topics we discuss include:

-Low touch vs. high touch mastering

-Honoring the intention of your music

-Making your music sound right from the beginning instead of relying on mastering to fix it

-What is translation?

-How to pick a mastering engineer

-The validity of your mixer doing the mastering or using automated mastering

-Attended vs. unattended mastering sessions

-Loudness of masters

-What the heck is dither and dBTP?

-mastering for different release mediums

Check out Sam at these links:

https://www.rosequartzmastering.com/

https://www.tandonhouse.com/

Instagram: @rosequartzmastering

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping For The Studio, Roy and Brian speak with musician/engineer/mixer/producer, Ariel Levine. You may recognize Ariel's name because he took the idea Roy had for the podcast theme song and actually made it into reality. 

This episode is a fun one as we kvetch (Yiddish for complain) about annoying things people do in studios. As much as we have fun here roasting our clients, we really do love you and this was just a silly Prepping For The Studio episode that I thought you might get a laugh at too (and still maybe learn a thing or two about not being "that guy").

Some topics we discuss include:

-The making of the PFTS theme song

-Showing up on time

-Not micro-managing the engineer

-Giving your engineer time for breaks and eating

-Too many mix revisions

-Allowing time to make rough mixes or bouncing out raw tracks

-Forgetting to tell the engineer about important things before a session

-Complaining about too much time setting up or getting sounds

-"walking off accidentally" with studio equipment

-fighting with your bandmates in a session

-moving mics when you shouldn't

-not giving credits or proper credits

-haggling on price

-last minute cancellations

Check out Ariel at these links:

https://www.ariellevine.com/

https://www.instagram.com/theariellevine/

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping For The Studio, Roy and Brian speak with engineer/mixer/producer/YouTuber/educator, Cato Zane, mostly on the subject of making demos.

Some topics we discuss include:

-The purpose of your demo and how that affects your goals in making it

-The basic setup one would need to make a demo

-Cheap acoustic cheats for your home to make your recordings sound better

-Which DAW should you use

-What you can do at home that might be useable in the final production and what you should definitely leave to doing at a studio

-Under-utilized production ideas to consider

Check out Cato at these links:

https://www.catonoise.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@catonoise

https://www.instagram.com/catonoise/

https://www.facebook.com/catonoise/

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping For The Studio Roy announces that the podcast will continue starting in January of 2025.

Roy and Brian will be bringing on guests to fill in some gaps and get additional perspectives on how to best prepare for the studio. We hope to cover some more value-add topics too like release strategies and sync licensing. 

The podcast will move from bi-weekly to monthly, but with a planned break in November and December. So in essence, there will be 10 episodes, each with Roy, Brian, and a guest.

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping For The Studio Roy and Brian cover the following topics:

-What is mastering?

-How to choose a mastering engineer

-Loudness

-Dynamics

-How to evaluate a master and give effective revision notes

-Backing up everything

-The case for using professionals for your music

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.

In this episode of Prepping For The Studio Roy and Brian cover the following topics:

-What is mixing?

-How to choose a mixing engineer

-Attended vs unattended mixing sessions

-How to give pre-mix notes

-How to listen to a mix and give effective revision notes

-What alternate mixes you might need

-Why and when do you need "stems"

Please visit http://www.preppingforthestudio.com for more info and to download the free ebook, "A Musician's Guide To The Recording Studio".

Hosts:

Roy Silverstein of Rarefied Recording (www.rarefiedrecording.com)

Brian Scheuble (www.brianscheuble.com)

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please email Roy: [email protected]

If you love this podcast, please leave a review on whatever platform you listen to your podcasts on.