Whats up! My name is Adam Joseph Kiesling, and I am the owner and producer/engineer of RT60 Productions. RT60 Productions is in reference to the audio engineering and production services that I provide out of my studio in Annandale MN. I’ve been recording bands and individual musicians at this location since 2004. I started recording on an 8-track, then attended The Institute of Production and Recording and graduated with a degree in Audio Production and Recording. I run the latest version of ProTools on a Mac computer with some top of the line industry standard outboard gear and microphones, and I am also ProTools certified. I generally specialize in recording and producing amateur to pro rock and metal (with all the relative genres) bands and musicians, acoustic/folk/pop artists and groups, and everything in between.
My primary goal is to help bands and musicians achieve an audio product that is professional sounding while incorporating the artists personal tastes in tones and audio production at the most affordable price possible. My experience as a musician in bands and previous dealings within the music industry have enabled me to provide advice and insight on many aspects of engineering and producing records for bands and musicians with many different goals. Ultimately, I feel that the commissioner of a record has final say on how the record should sound so I work really hard to give them the product that they want.
I am continually striving to improve my abilities and sound quality while maintaining affordable rates. I feel that my product speaks for itself so feel free to check out other projects that I’ve done to get an idea of what I’m capable of. You can find links to their websites on this Myspace. Please contact me for any questions and/or booking, I look forward to working with you!
Adam Joseph Kiesling
RT60 Productions
Contact Adam Joseph Kiesling at:
adam@rt60productions.com (email works best for me as I am rarely available for phone calls)
Cell. (320)224-5929
100 Norway Circle
Annandale MN 55302
Rates
-$15 an hour for producing, recording, editing, mixing and mastering. Its about as cheap as it gets for the quality.
-$50/song for session drumming. This includes writing/playing a part for a song, but if recording at RT60, the standard rate for recording will be applicable.
*Important notice about my payment policy:
Unfortunately, due to a lot of payment issues in the past, I've been forced to change my payment policy. I require 100% of estimated payment upfront on the day of recording, before recording begins. Of course any unused money will be refunded. I'm willing to create and sign an invoice/general agreement with the label and/or artist for both parties legal protection. Contact me for the recording estimate and any questions or concerns about this policy.
How It Goes Down:
Usually the first thing to be recorded is the drums. You load in, set up, and we tune the drums to achieve the desired tones. This generally takes around an hour or two to get the best sound for your project. Then the drummer will track their parts. Sometimes, the drummer may track by themselves (this happens most often when planning to record to a click track). Many times, a guitarist will play while the drums are being recorded on the first day. These tracks are generally considered scratch tracks with fully produced projects. Usually, guitars, bass, etc. are to be re-recorded after the drums are completed. The vocalist being present for drum tracking can often be helpful as they can make sure that there are no parts of songs left out (this actually happens with about one out of every five projects). I prefer that the rhythm guitars be tracked next if the band is a guitar driven band, bass if they are a bass driven band, or piano if they are a piano driven band. Keys, Horns, Percussion etc. can be recorded after the primary rhythm tracks are done if there are no parts that rhythm tracks have to sync to. Only the performers that are actually recording need be present to record their parts. No one needs to be present for the digital editing, although any member can attend at any time. Samples can be added after the songs are mixed down unless there is a sample with a rhythm to sync to. I don't produce the band unless requested but I do produce the sounds and the mix because my name is going on it. Ultimately, whoever is commissioning the project has final say with me, so make sure that you guys and that person or those people are in an agreement with one another on how the project should sound.
Studio Rules
-No smoking inside the house. Food and drinks and such is fine but no smoking or drugs of any kind inside. Just keep any food and drink away from equipment for obvious reasons. You can smoke outside no problem, as long as you dispose of your butts.
-Park only on studio property or the street. No pulling into or parking in neighbor's driveways or yards. If parking seems difficult upon arrival, consult me about the options. There should be plenty. Keeping visitors to a minimum and carpooling when possible will keep this from being an issue.
-No loitering around the neighborhood. People tend to wander while talking on cellphones and such which freaks some of the neighbors out for some reason.
-There is no provided lodging at the studio. There is an AmericInn located a block away from the studio, and if you mention my name when making reservations for a room you can get a great discount.
-Sorry no band laundry. There is a washer in dryer in the studio area but that is for personal use only.
-Have fun and don't try to take it all too seriously. I think we all got into music for the love and enjoyment of it so we should try to keep it that way even through the business aspect of things.
Recording Suggestions
The recommendations and requests that I have are as follows:
-Discuss the sounds, production and mix that the band and producer are collectively going for and bring CD examples if possible.
-Have guitars and basses set up to eliminate problems with intonation, fret buzz, and noisy pots and switches if possible.
-Make sure tube amp tubes are not too old.
-Buy new strings for both bass and guitars.
-Buy new attack heads for drums (have the drummer contact me about the proper drum head selection for the desired sound.)
-Check resonant heads (make sure they are matched single ply and don't have any dents or holes.)
-Check snare wires (no broken or loose wires.)
-No broken cymbals (I have studio cymbals but I have a break it, you buy it policy.)
-Nylon tip sticks are probably best for heavy styles of music to get attack out of ride cymbals and such.
-Get plenty of rest the night before tracking (especially for vocals. People's vocals sound best for a span of six hours after the person has been up for three hours.)
-Have all music worked out (have completed lyrics and vocal melodies and/or patterns worked out, have guitar solos worked out, samples and extras worked out and collected.) Improvising can run into hours of uncalculated recording time.)
-Record the material prior to coming into the studio on anything including a jam box, four track, hard disk recorder or computer recording software to point out weaknesses in performance and the material.
-Above and beyond all, come in with an open mind. Try to be as descriptive about your sounds as possible and let me do what is necessary to get those sounds even if that means tuning the drums and tweaking the amp tones.
