POLICIES & PROCEDURES
BOOKING POLICIES
⦁ A 100% deposit is required to book and schedule studio time via the website – no exceptions.
⦁ Certain special packages requested by the client and approved by the Studio Manager will require full payment at the time of booking.
⦁ A 3% processing fee is in additional to all credit and debit card payments.
⦁ Zelle payments accepted with advanced and approved arrangements with the Studio Manager.
⦁ No Cash payments accepted onsite.
⦁ All studio reservations MUST be use within the time allotted. If technical difficulties occur beyond your control that affects YOU, the client, it is at the management’s discretion to reschedule or provide unused hours in the future.
⦁ Purchased studio time MUST be use within 7 days.
⦁ The purchaser listed on the invoice as the payee owns the masters once the entire session completed.
⦁ Special training sessions that have been purchase and not used immediately must be use in 30 days depending on available dates.
⦁ All payments are final and non-refundable.
RESCHEDULING POLICIES
⦁ You only have one (1) rescheduling opportunity.
⦁ Please notify the studio within forty-eight (48) hours if you need to reschedule. Request must comply with #5 in the Booking Policies. Please access the contact us page on the website – include the name on the payment receipt, the transaction number and your reason for the rescheduling request.
⦁ If management is notify in LESS than forty-eight (48) hours, there will be 50% charge assessed to your deposit. This action is required to prevent the loss of re-booking the Studio and the Engineer to another Client. Funds spent beyond the initial 50% payment and is not used will go towards future studio bookings depending on available dates.
⦁ You will have 5 days to rebook Studio Time or balance is lost.
CANCELLATION POLICIES
⦁ If for any reason, you need to cancel your studio time completely, please notify management immediately by accessing the contact us page on the website – include the name on the payment receipt and the transaction number.
⦁ For all cancellations, the initial payment is forfeited and non-refundable –
no exceptions.
TARDINESS POLICIES
⦁ All reservations are specific to you needs. You can arrive up to 10 minutes before your schedule time. If you arrive late, your session may be terminate at the end of your schedule time slot to avoid any conflicts with other clients scheduled sessions. Depending upon how late you arrive, your engineer will determine if there is enough time remaining to start the session.
⦁ Regardless of the length of the session, the initial advance payment still applies.
⦁ Out of respect and consideration to your engineer and other clients, please plan accordingly and be on time.
BEFORE YOUR SESSION
⦁ We use Pro Tools HD and Logic Pro which are the industry standard in recording/mixing a song. If you do not use ProTools or Logic Pro, we prefer you email your stems in advance (at least 24 hrs.) to us before the day of your session.
⦁ If you bring your stems on a thumb drive or hard drive to your session, the time allotted to upload and configure our system for your session will be debited from your session time. You also have the option of utilizing Dropbox or WeTransfer (please send to [email protected]). Many clients prefer to email files so they will be ready upon arrival so they can spend more time in their session recording.
⦁ We encourage all of our clients to review a map of our location (Washington, DC). Due to traffic and depending on time of day, always plan on leaving an extra 30-45 minutes prior to ensure that you’re not late for your session.
DURING YOUR SESSION
⦁ Editing your files, burning your music onto a thumb and transferring your files are all done within your session time.
⦁ Your engineer will always provide an mp3 or wav file of your music during your session. If you would like your raw session files (the Pro Tools/Logic Pro session) as well, please bring your hard drive the day of your session so the engineer can provide them for you within your scheduled time. If you do not have a hard drive, the engineer can transfer your session files to a thumb drive (there is a an additional charge for thumb drive) during your session’s scheduled time. If you request your session files after your session has commenced, there will be a minimum charge of fifty dollars ($50) for us to put your session files on a portable drive OR send them to you via a file transfer platform. Files sent via any file transfer platform (Drop Box, We Transfer, etc.) must be downloaded within 14 days of your files being uploaded.
⦁ With your approval and entirely at your discretion, we will video record/photo of your session and within 24-48 hours, we share this photo with an appropriate caption on all our soical media platforms. We find that this promotional marketing helps you as an artist and our studio within the music industry.
AFTER YOUR SESSION
⦁ We encourage you to stay in touch with your engineer or producer for any edits or revisions. However, your engineer will not always be able to assist you in booking your next session. The only way to book studio time through the website at www.lionhartsound.com
⦁ If you would like your session files (the Pro Tools/Logic Pro session), after your session has completed, there will be a minimum charge of fifty dollars ($50) for us to put your session files on your portable drive; a thumb drive provided by us OR send them via a file transfer platform. Files sent via any file transfer platform (Drop Box, We Transfer, etc.) must be downloaded within 14 days of your files being uploaded.
⦁ Studio hard drives are cleared every 30 days (based on time stamp date of session recored). To ensure that your files are not forever lost, be sure to obtain them during or soon after your session.
⦁ We will be in contact with you via email and phone to ensure that you received the highest quality customer service while at Lion Hart Studio. We often ask for a testimonial to publish on our website and further promote you as an artist in our community.
EDITS & REVISIONS
⦁ Although we use Pro Tools and Logic Pro as our DAW (Digital Audio Workstation), if you prefer to have analog equipment in your tracking and mixing sessions of your tracks, we will provide you with other options to satisfy your request.
⦁ We do not control the pricing or policies regarding outsourcing of sessions to be mix/master using analog equipment.
GENERAL POLICIES & REGULATIONS
⦁ For the comfort of all staff and clients, no smoking of any kind is allowed in the studio. There are designated smoking areas located on the outside.
⦁ All illegal drug substances and weapons of any kind that are harmful or disruptive are strictly prohibited inside of Lion Hart Studio.
⦁ We reserve the right to deny entry or refuse business without refund, liability or compensation if the circumstances so require.
⦁ Lion Hart Studio policies and regulations are subject to change without notice.
⦁ Use of Lion Hart Studio logo or images on paper fliers, digital fliers, CD’s, DVD’s, banners or any other promotional material is strictly prohibited without official written release by management.
POST-PRODUCTION AT IT’S FINEST
After capturing each instrument or vocal as clearly as possible, the recording is given to a mix engineer where he or she will make it listenable so that it enhances the emotional communication of the song, balances out each frequency and makes it ready for radio play. At Lion Hart Studio, we have highly advanced mix engineers whose skills lie in mixing and mastering that allow for a swift workflow to maximize the quality of your final track.
MIXING
Mixing is the technique of blending all of the individual tracks in a recording to create a version of the song that sounds as good as possible. This is called “the mix”.
The process can be comprised of:
⦁ Balancing the levels of the tracks that have been recorded
⦁ Fine-tuning the sound of each instrument or voice using equalization (EQ)
⦁ “Panning” the tracks between speakers to create a stereo image
⦁ Adding reverb, compression, and other effects to enhance the original recording
Mixing sometimes includes a bit of editing – choosing the best bits of every take of a song and/ sometimes even building musical elements from scratch. Sometimes there is so much editing involved it forms a separate stage in between tracking and mixing.
MASTERING
Mastering is the process of turning a song or collection of songs into a final master for manufacturing so that it translates well across systems:
CD player, radio, computer, car stereo, phone, etc.
The process involves:
⦁ Balancing the level and tonal balance (EQ) of songs
⦁ Controlling the dynamic range – how loud and quiet each section is, for the right musical balance of variety and power
⦁ Compressing, EQing, M/S Processing and Limiting so the song is polished
⦁ Creating a secure, reliable manufacturing master, including PQ information, UPC/EAN codes, ISRCs, CD-Text
This can vary from being a very subtle process, involving minor tweaks to polish the existing mixes, to occasionally being a complete rescue mission for problem songs, or where detailed restoration is needed.
Our Post-Production Engineers
At Lion Hart Studio, we have engineers who specialize in post-production.
As mixing and mastering are different processes from tracking, their skills lie in revealing every detail in a recording while also being able to proficiently balance and fine-tune the song so that it is listenable and communicates perfectly to every audience.
THE necessary step to finalize your track
All commercially released music that you hear on the radio or on television has been mixed. At Lion Hart Studio, you can work with our dedicated mix engineers in our studio rooms to finalize your music.
All Under One Roof
It’s time for the mixing process. Our tracking engineers are already editing & thinking with the future mix; therefore, the majority of our artists choose to have their music mixed and mastered by our facility after they have finished recording.
Two Options for Mixing
Offering different post-production options that provide the best quality for your budget, clients can choose to either have their music mixed “in the box” (digitally) or spread out on the console for an analog approach.
Dedicated Facility
One of our studio rooms is used for post-production. Presently, it is going through renovation. If you are interested, we can outsource your recordings to be mix down!
Need help?
Click the Contact us for questions related to on-site payment and refunds.