→ The Studio
Droptone Studio is located 20 minutes outside of downtown Minneapolis on an extremely private and quiet lot nestled in the woods by a small lake in Excelsior, Minnesota.
The main sound room’s dimensions are spacious and acoustically perfected in the golden ratio (20′ x 33′ x 13′). The control and additional sound booths sit above the main room with open sight lines and exceptional isolation.
The signal chain combines the best of old and new school equipment. We start with great classic mic’s ranging from Neumann U87 to AKG c12 and 414′. In the pre-amp stage we skip harsh mixing console pre-amps so every channel goes directly to a full rack of class “a” tube pre-amps and compressors ranging from UA1176 and 610 to Martech, Drawmer’s, and Summit/Neve. This gives us the warmth and compression of tape without losing the control to keep things as hot and loud as possible. From the classic mic and pre-combos we go directly to Pro Tools HD. In this environment we can edit quicker, fix the little things, and make great use of those “great energy and feel-yet a few mistakes” type takes. Recording this way allows artists and bands to relax and really get into the performance of their music without worrying about “studio” perfection and having to endlessly re-perform material. Mix-down time is also quicker and more efficient with automation, a large array of plug-in tools and effects, and never having to start from scratch. Bands are often surprised that half the mix-down was done even while they were recording. Finally, we monitor on the highly esteemed full spectrum Genelec system.
Combining the warmth and power of classic high-end equipment with the stress free efficiency and modern edge of Pro Tools has been ideal for us to make songs and albums that compete with the very best studios around the world. We consider ourselves a production studio geared towards working with artists and bands through song completion and longer term projects with the gear and space of high-end commercial studios. We thrive on repeat business so it’s all about artist and band success and satisfaction. We have an exceptional history of clients continuing to work with us on all their projects. Besides independent recording we produce for several independent labels and their artists and some of the big labels too.
Every project is catered according to budget concerns whether or not a producer or solely an engineer is working on your project. Arrangement and musical instrument performance are available for solo singers with just about any preferred genre. We also have a great reputation of making instrument and sample based, creative, edgy, and hard hitting Rap, Hip-Hop, and R&B track production. We are comfortable recording and/or producing any style of music having 17 years experience recording rock, hip-hop, pop, R&B, world beat, reggae, blues, jazz, classical, folk, and many others. We also offer recording only, mixing only and/or or mastering only services.
Please contact us with any questions or to schedule a visit to our studio to hear some of our work and discuss our very affordable rates.