FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Live Production FAQ:

Q: I see advertised your “day rates”; What are your “week rates” if I need to hire for a longer period of time?

A: Traditionally the week rate is the charge for 3 days. For DRY HIRE ONLY (you pickup and return) we charge half price for the 2nd and 3rd days, so you only pay for 2 x the day rate for the whole week!

We have special rates if you need to hire for longterm “lease” for example a bar installed sound system for 6 months for example we would charge the DAY rate ONCE A WEEK… you get the system for the whole week for the price of one night.

 

Q: Can you provide staging that is 1.5 meters high?

For safety reasons we can not provide stages over 100cm high.  Our usual stage height options are 50cm or 90cm.

 

Q: How many watts does each Par Can require, how about 8 Par Cans?

Each par 56 can requires 300 watts. 300 x 8 = 2400 watts.

 

Q: Is it cheaper to hire a 4 piece drum kit than a 5 piece drum kit?

For our top of the line drum kits (Pearl Reference Masterworks and Gretsch Maple Renown) it is $50+GST per “drum piece” – so for a 4 piece set it is $200+GST and for a 5 piece set it is $250+GST

Q: How much does it cost to hire a stage?

A: Ranging from $50 for a single stage piece (1.8×1.2m) to $1600 for a large stage delivered and set-up.  See our stage hire page or contact us for more specific information.

 

Recording Studio FAQ:

Q: What is the minimum I can hire your studio for?

A: Three hour minimum applies, $50+gst per hour is $150+ GST.

 

Q: How long will it take to record a Single?

A: This is highly band dependant – Obviously if you are well rehearsed and the song is all ready to go this will be shorter. Then there is also the difference between Live Recording and Overdubbeed recording. For a single that is to be released the normal way to go is overdubbed recording, so I will base the answer to this question on this. We usually set aside 2 to 3 days to finish a single. 1 to 1.5 days tracking all the instruments and 1 to 1.5 days for mixing and mastering. We charge $50+GST per hour ($57.50).

Q: Do you provide Recording Package deals?

A: If you book 3 days in the same week (minimum 8 hours per day) you get 15% off the total. If you book 5 days in the same week (minimum 8 hours a day)) you get 17.4% off the total. There is also our “weekend deal”… see below…

 

Q: What is your “weekend deal”?

A: You can “dry hire”  the rock factory from 6pm Friday to 10pm on Sunday for $500+GST! (studio hire only there is no engineer included in this deal, bring your own engineer or DIY). This deal is great for bands who want to do some pre-production or record themselves in a real studio environment without annoying the neighbours. You might want to record the drums for your album and do the rest at home… the possibilities are endless. If you need a sound engineer you can hire one in for a minimum of 4 hours at a time for an extra $100+GST.

 Home Recording / DIY Recording Questions:

Q: What is the best cheap or free software available for DIY recording ?(Do it yourself)

We often get asked by bands what is the best free or cheap multitrack recording software out there for DIY recording. I suggest you check out Reaper here: http://www.cockos.com/reaper/ . I like it because it has the functionality of both Protools and Adobe Audition… my two favourite programs.

 

Q: When sending songs to The Rock Factory for mastering, do I send whole sessions or already mixed tracks, and what format would you like the files in?

Send us each song as an already mixed down Stereo Wave file.  Just make sure that the songs are not already “peaking” anywhere so that we can master them to their full potential.