The Studio
At Cherry Ridge Studio we provide a full range of audio production services including arranging, producing, recording, editing, mixing, and mastering. From simple song demos to full album productions for manufacture and radio release, we will make your musical vision our mission.
The studio is located in a peaceful wooded area just twenty minutes from San Antonio and ninety minutes from Austin. If you have been in studios before that were cold and intimidating, rest assured this is not that kind of place. We have a casual, laid back atmosphere that artists love. We hear it over and over again: “This place just has a great feel!” We have a full kitchen and large lounge area, and a nice area “out back” under the live oak trees.
We have several computer DAW platforms that we use to produce projects, including Logic Pro, Pro Tools, and Studio One. We have a large array of hardware and software tools designed to make your recordings the very best they can be. We have an assortment of custom Neve, API, and John Hardy microphone preamps. For our AD-DA conversion, we use Apogee's flagship system, Symphony I/O. These converters impart incredible smoothness, warmth, and depth to audio material, and are a vital component of "The Cherry Ridge Sound". We have a nice selection of quality microphones from manufacturers such as Neumann, AKG, Mojave Audio, Telefunken, Audio Technica, Beyerdynamic, Audix, Electro-Voice, Sennheiser, and Shure. We have a custom-made house drum kit from Pork Pie Percussion with a full set of Soultone cymbals, and numerous guitars and amplifiers.
If you have your own previously recorded material that you would like to bring into the studio, we can accommodate you. We support all of the industry-standard formats, so whether you want to add some additional tracks, have some editing performed, or need a complete mix or mastering job, we will be happy to help.
Of particular note is our commitment to "remote" recording using the internet. We embraced this technology with the creation of Steel Guitar Tracks Online in 2006. Web collaboration with musicians around the globe is a common practice for us here, and we are able to accommodate whatever particular needs you might have in this area.
The philosophy of Cherry Ridge is simple. Music without emotion is like a river without water. All of the state-of-the-art gear and swanky environs mean nothing if the soul of the music is not allowed to shine through. That’s why we focus so much on fostering a creative and fun atmosphere. You can‘t sing or play your best if you are uptight. Creating and recording music is supposed to be fun, not an exercise in intimidation and frustration. And all of the modern editing and processing techniques are great, but if overdone, can wring all of the life and emotion out of the music, rendering it sterile and lifeless. Now certainly we make every effort to record cohesive tracks with tight timing and good intonation, but emotion will always win out over clinical perfection.