Silent Way specializes in live remote multitrack recordings. Any recording format is available, and any budget can be accommodated.

Silent Way's long list of previous clients and venues, extensive engineering/production experience, and technical proficiency with a wide range of equipment assures that your recording will meet the utmost aural and musical standards. A wide variety of microphones, mic preamps, and outboard processing is available, from the rarest to the most cost-efficient. Silent Way brings only the technical options that you need for your project, so prices always match your budget.

Silent Way's system flexibility and mobility is unmatched by any fixed recording studio or remote truck. Esoteric mic preamps, classic microphones and high-end A/D converters are available when the budget allows. This scalable system brings the recording studio to you and leaves behind studio overhead expenses, so you don't pay a high rate (to cover an empty tracking studio's rent).

A few of the many big decisions when planning a live/remote recording are the splitting method, the recording format and the mic preamps.

The first decision is how to get the signal to the recording system. The preferred system consists of an onstage isolated mic splitter for the cleanest signal. A much less agreeable alternative is to take a feed from the direct outputs of a FOH/Monitor mixer's input channels. This "direct out" method can have many bad consequences: EQ/Dynamics/Mutes being recorded, no gain control, noisy/clipping signal path, missing instruments, and inferior audio from mass-produced mic preamps. A mic splitter is better because it taps into the signal before it reaches any other equipment. For more on this topic, see my mic splitter introduction and Silent Way's Direct Out Database.

The next big decision is the recording format. Silent Way highly recommends using two simultaneous formats or a RAID array for a failsafe recording. Many tape-based and hard drive recording formats are available, but the best options are RADAR V, DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and 24-bit DTRS.

Silent Way's premier format is RADAR V by iZ Technologies, which records Broadcast WAV files at up to 24bit/96k. Available DAW file formats include broadcast wav, wav and sdII, at up to 24bit/192k. Available DAW session formats include Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, AAF and OMF. DTRS is available as 24 bit or 16 bit. All of this is tied together with three synchronized Panasonic DA7 24 bit digital mixers for monitoring "off tape." A uninterruptible battery backup power system is the final step for safety.

Silent Way prefers Neumann microphones, Millennia Media Class-A and tube mic preamps when the budget allows.

A quick word on "hourly rates": For remote recordings, Silent Way usually charges a package rate rather than by-the-hour. Why? Onsite hours are just a tiny fraction of the time spent on each project, so hourly rates sound inaccurately high. Besides the hours spent onsite, each project entails many many hours on phone consultations, system architecture, equipment configuration, loading, drive time, load-in, load-out, post-production, file management, track sheets and billing. Finally, there is delivery of the media to the client, which is often a logistical hurdle.

So it's just easier and more fair to charge a package rate rather than an hourly rate. But don't worry, Silent Way still eats all the overhead costs of equipment purchase, maintenance, upgrades, software etc. etc. ;-)

For digital transfers and editing, Silent Way utilizes RADAR or a 24 bit Macintosh-based digital audio workstation (DAW) optionally interfaced with a dedicated automated mixer. Recordings are digitally transferred at 24 bit. Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Digital Performer, OMF or AAF session files can be created. Silent Way can refer you to many excellent local mixing studios for mixdown services.

Silent Way also offers commercial voice-over services (with or without voice talent) and Internet audio encoding, including conversions to RealAudio, mp3, sdii, wav, Flash, QuickTime and all other popular formats. Delivery via DVD-R or high bandwidth broadband ensures fast turnaround.

The other side of Silent Way's business is equipment rental and technical consulting, serving all of the studios in the area. So what does this add to your recording project?

• A wide variety of additional gear (which you don't pay for if you don't need),
  
• An engineer experienced with every possible equipment configuration and recording methodology,
  
• Familiarity with the staff and equipment of every concert venue and studio in the Bay Area, plus a few elsewhere, and
  
• A deep tie with the local music scene and industry connections.

Bottom line: Your project will meet the utmost aural and musical standards.

Until a few years ago, recording a live show with recording studio quality was financially impossible and a logistical nightmare. New progress in the quality and size of recorders and digital mixers has made pristine-quality remote recording an affordable option, without expensive tractor-trailer sized mobile studios.

Silent Way's long list of clients and venues covers a myriad of musical styles and locations, primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area (also in New Orleans and Los Angeles). Diverse, successful recordings made under extreme conditions are documents of readiness for any situation: From Alcatraz Island at midnight to a sweaty underground club in San Francisco; from polished opera hall to rat-infested New Orleans back alley - no location has been out of range. And of course, traditional recording studios are still a great location, if the budget allows. In fact, ANY space that sounds great is a potential location.

Producer/Engineer Tony Brooke has a unique approach:

For details on Tony's related experience with live broadcasting, recording studio management, radio DJ work and web/print publishing, see his bio/resume. On a personal level, his extensive and diverse musical experience is documented on separate personal web pages.