(For Astoria Soundworks rehearsal studios, please call 718-956-7500 or visit aswstudios.com)

STUDIO TIME* RATE: $80 per hour. There is a 5% discount of $4 per hour when paying with Cash, Check, ACH, (and Zelle is coming soon).
It applies to full and/or partial hours of scheduled and additional studio time before, during, and after the reserved time.
The rate includes audio service by our engineer, or our assistant if you bring your own engineer. If you are planning to use the Grand Piano, please see additional fee below.
VIDEO SERVICE RATE: Add $20 per hour of Studio Time for in-your-session video service (to be requested in advance.) Dedicated videographer fee applicable, if requested.

*STUDIO TIME includes (but is not limited to:) use of the studio for requested unattended work, coming in to the studio**, source placement, mic selection and placement, level-setting, tuning, monitor adjustment, test takes, going over the music, recording, listening to recordings, overdubbing, punching-in certain moments in the recording, editing, creating rough mix(es), preparing audio files that you may need in MP3 or WAV format, burning an audio CD, copying files to your external device either a flash drive and/or external hard-drive with enough gigabytes to copy the audio and/or video files you recorded/edited/mixed and/or mastered, and uploading or emailing files.
**Please let us know if you would like to schedule the engineer and studio to be available before your requested session time to open for load-in or receive early arrivals so we can add it to the schedule and adjust the bill.

TO REQUEST A SESSION:
Write to info@soundworksrecording.com, or text/call 646-261-2587, to inquire about availability in our schedule for the hours you plan to book.
A session has not been booked if we have not responded to your request with availability.
A 50% , non-refundable deposit is required within 24 hours after available time is originally requested via phone, email and/or booking page to confirm a session on the schedule.

It helps to have the following information ready when contacting us for scheduling: 

  • Dates and times that would work for you.

  • Number of hours you want to reserve.

  • Your tentative plan for the session: editing, mixing, mastering, audio and/or video recording, remote monitoring, live-streaming, etc..

  • Name of the person who will be scheduling/paying for the session(s) and taking the project data.

  • Are you planning to record several sources at the same time? If yes, please let us know the instruments and or number of voices.

  • If applicable to your session: Are you using the studio’s drum set? or are you bringing your own drum set?
    Are you using the acoustic grand piano (Yamaha G7)?*** If so, are you hiring a piano technician* for your session?

***If you’re using the Grand Piano, it is recommended that you hire a piano technician to check and balance the intonation for your recording. This is not a requirement, and you are welcome to use it as is on the day of your recording. If you choose to hire a piano technician, please let us know if you want us to book the one we regularly call (he charges our clients at the studio $150) or if you are bringing your own technician. The studio provides 1 hour before the session start time for the technician to go over the intonation of the piano. A Piano Technician can charge between $150 to $200 per visit for piano tuning.

CANCELLATION POLICY AND FEE: 

  • If you must re-schedule, you have to notify the studio at least three days (72 hours) prior to your confirmed studio time. If not, the non-refundable deposit will be used as the cancellation fee.

  • If you cancel a session and do not re-schedule within 30 days of your cancellation, the non-refundable deposit/full payment will be used as a cancellation fee.

  • NEW: There is only one opportunity to re-schedule. Please make sure that you can in-fact use the opportunity when booking the re-scheduled studio time.

CONCERNING STORAGE:
Partial or Full Payment only covers for Studio Time and related services but not for storage of data of recorded material, instruments or any other items. Please make sure that you take all your data and belongings with you after every session.  If you leave anything behond, the studio is not responsible for any damages to or any loss of your data or belongings.

Allow time within each session to make a copy to your own external data storage device (i.e. Solid State or Hard Disk Drives, CD, DVD, Flash-Drive, etc) of the latest version of the files to take with you after each paid studio session. If you would like to save Studio Time and money during the backup process, please note that copying your files to USB "Thumb" or "Flash" Drives takes more Studio Time than copying files to USB or FireWire external Hard Disk Drives or Solid States Drives. If you do not bring any of these external storage media to copy your files into, please keep in mind that the option of burning Data DVD takes longer than any of the media mentioned above. If you want us to upload your files to someone else’s computer (a.k.a. cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer) for you to download later, please keep in mind that the Upload Time is even longer than to any of the media mentioned above. With our current Internet service upload speeds, it has taken an average of about 48 (non-continuous) hours to upload 100 GB of data. Times may vary depending on many factors, including Internet traffic during the active upload time.
If you forget your external drive, we may make a temporary courtesy copy to our own on-premises server, to which we can send you a link for you to download. It copies much faster than uploading to someone else’s drives on the internet, but then it will take you longer to download it to your own computer, due to the same upload speeds from us to you.
The studio is not responsible for any loss of data in your storage device. If you are bringing a storage device with data already on it, please make sure you also have a copy at your own location prior to traveling with it to the studio.
The studio may make-up paid Studio Time at Soundworks Recording Studio, if material recorded at the studio is lost from the studio's recording external Solid State Drive.

PLEASE NOTICE:
The studio HIGHLY recommends you keep at least one up-to-date copy of all your masters, outside the studio, at all times. Data storage device manufacturers, data recovery specialists and data insurance companies insist that multiple backup copies of important data be kept in multiple locations at all times. They have said:

  • "Your data does not exist unless it is in at least two different places at all times."

  • "A hundred-dollar hard drive buys you thousands of dollars worth of insurance for your data (and invaluable time!)"

  • "Hard drives are machines and they die too. CDs and DVDs can get scratched. Tape can shred to pieces. Vinyl can scratch and bend. Flash memory can fail. Data can get corrupted. What can go wrong will go wrong but it won't hurt as much if you have another copy."

While involved in your project, the studio MAY keep an additional copy of your recorded material for added efficiency. However, the studio reserves the right to delete this additional copy of your recorded material at any time while, or after, your project is completed, without prior notice to you.

REGARDING COPYRIGHT, LICENCES AND AGREEMENTS:
Soundworks Recording Studio, or our engineers do not claim ownership or any copyrights of content it is hired to work with via its audio and/or video services.  Soundworks Recording Studio is not responsible for obtaining licenses or permissions related to other people's work. It is your responsibility to register your original material, and clear up any distribution licenses and for-hire agreements for your recording.

PAYMENT METHODS:
Cash (5% Discount): To be handed in person to Sandra Y. Kratc or Kamilo Kratc. Your email address will be requested for your cash transaction receipt. Please communicate with us before passing by the studio to check if we are available to receive payment.
Check (5% Discount) (Advanced payment only): Please make check payable to: SOUNDWORKS RECORDING STUDIO, LLC - Checks are considered "payment" once our bank has collected the funds written. If a check bounces, we will not accept it as payment, and a returned check $35 bank fee will be added to your invoice. As per IRS, if you pay more than $600 in Cash or Check, you need to provide a 1099-Misc before their annual deadline.
ACH (5% Discount) (Advanced payment only): Bank routing and account number provided via invoice upon request once we’ve established the studio time to be reserved.
Zelle (5% Discount): Coming soon!

Credit/Debit Card: We accept all credit or debit cards serviced by Visa, Mastercard, Discover, or American Express. We can charge your card over the phone or in person at the studio. Your email address will be requested for your card transaction receipt. Processed via Square.
Venmo: Our handle is @soundworksrecny
PayPal: Our handle is paypal@soundworksrecording.com

Gratuity tips for our staff are not requested, but very much welcome and appreciated! ;-)

All payments are non-refundable. See CANCELATION POLICY AND FEE for details
Please make a payment for a session ONLY after having first arranged a date and a time with us.
Payments DO NOT cover post-session storage of data, media, equipment or other materials.
We DO NOT sell storage services and we should never have the only copy of your recorded material.

Rates and fees for work outside the studio vary depending on the time, distance, and technical requirements.

 

And now that we got that out of the way, ... Here are some thoughts on food:

In order to keep focus and productivity up during your session, it is important to remember to hydrate and nourish the participants.
We keep a room-temperature water filter and cups available for everyone to use. We can also make coffee and boil water for tea upon request, free of charge.
For short sessions -between three and five hours- it is recommended to bring small snacks, fruits and vegetables.
For sessions longer than five hours, a small meal break is recommended.
If ALL participate in the break, the meal time may be discounted from the studio time up to thirty minutes per five hours. (It's OK to feed musicians & engineers :-) )
While there are plenty of delivery options, a short walk to a nearby restaurant can be arranged.
We have foldable tables and chairs that we can take out to a space in the hallway.
If the session allows, we can also eat inside the studio.
As a courtesy, we usually have: a room-temperature water filter, an assortment of teas, a water heater, a coffee grinder/maker (staff-operated upon request), paper cups, paper towels, sugar, and powdered coffee creamer.

Some of the nearby, frequently favored, food options:
Las Patronas Mexican Food (929) 424-4000 11 AM to 11 PM (Mondays open at 3 PM)
Lunch Stop Deli (bodega at the corner) Phone: (718) 606-1934 Hours: 7 AM–10 PM
Alba's Pizza & Restaurant (Pizza and Italian restaurant)
Los Amigos Restaurant (Authentic Mexican)
Hong Kong House (Chinese Take Out) 
SakuraHinoMaru Ramen (Japanese)
Martha's Bakery (coffee & pastries)
Corner Spot (coffee & pastries)

Sal, Kris & Charlie's Deli  "Sandwich King" Phone: (718) 278-9240 Hours:  5:30 AM–8 PM
No-frills, old-fashioned counter known for oversized Italian-style subs, plus basic groceries.

Another new favorite place where many clients pick up session food nearby:
Mediterranean Foods Supermarket

If you want to buy your own bread, condiments and cold cuts you can go to Trade Fair. They also have vegetables to make your own salad. International food store open round-the-clock, with a butcher, deli, bakery, produce,  a salad bar, and a wide selection of beers. TRADE FAIR SUPERMARKET Open 24 hours