A recording studio can be treated as a real estate and equipment rental business. We treat it as a service business, and do whatever is necessary to make our clients happy and make their music the best it can be.

Production

Monster Island owner and engineer, Mike Caffrey, is a well respected and successful record producer. His philosophy as a producer is to function as "studio sherpa" and guide you through the process of making a record however you'd like. People have traveled from all over the US and Europe specifically to work with him.

In some cases, he's initially approached as an engineer and then after a rapport and trust has been established, he's made contributions that were so significant that the artist has chosen to make him the producer eventhough that was not the initial plan.

Mike also works with artists in writing, preproduction and development stages. He can also provide preproduction coaching for artists planning on recording at home or in other studios.

Vocal Tuning and Drum Editing

Mike is also an expert vocal tuner and drum editor. He has tuned some of the top singers in the world, creating a natural sound without the classic auto-tuned "Cher" artifacts that people associate with vocal tuning. His work with drum and rhythm section editing ranges from structural repair of performance problems, to the fine detail work of aligning programmed and live drums so that's there's no comb filtering due to varying phase between waveforms of the two performances.

This work is always done discretely and confidentially. You've almost certainly heard some of his work if you listen to the radio.

Online "E-Sessions"

We frequently do "online" or "remote" recording sessions, where people send us tracks via FTP. Drum tracking is a frequent service done this way as is mixing and mastering. Monster Island is also the home of The Number One Sons, which is a performance team specializing in live, in-studio recording performances. The members of The Number One Sons are some of the most sought after musicians and have an amazing list of credits and awards.

Video Production

Hi Definition video is available for sessions or locations. We have experience with the complexity of integrating studio quality audio with dialog simultaneously. Multiple cameras and lights are available as well as a director and DP for music videos and finally video editing.

Format Transfers

We have many different recording formats and provide transfer services between any of the following. Two inch analog tape, Radar, ProTools, ADAT, and DA-88s.

Summing/Pre-Mastering

Many people have learned about the benefits of analog summing. Summing is the process that happens when you mix. Your multiple tracks are combined into two tracks

When you mix in a digital audio work station, summing is done via a mathematical calculation. The computer creates a mathematical guess as to what the combination of those multiple tracks should be. When you sum in the analog domain, this is done with actual electricity running over wires and signals combining through properly designed summing amps and this sounds much better.

It's becoming common to mix in the computer while simultaneously sending the tracks out to the analog domain for summing. This is a good compromise, however, the cost of great converters and a great summing box can easily reach $25,000. We have the best converters and summing equipment made and provide summing as a service to people who mix in a computer but don't have the analog portion of the signal. The idea time to do this step is right before mastering which is why it's sometimes called "pre-mastering". Contact us regarding this service as early as possible in the mix process so that we can give you instructions that will greatly facilitate the summing process.

Forensic Audio Restoration

We have special software that can allow restoration and clarification of noisy recorded signals. This is not an exact science and it is impossible to guarantee results or estimate the time the work will take. This process is always done on a custom, case by case basis.

Location Recording We provide live recording and video services. In cases of complex multi-track recordings there is an equipment rental fee.

Studio Training

We offer a variety of options for studio training and Mike Caffrey is available for guest lectures and demonstration of recording and mixing techniques. Mike has taught, mic placement, gain staging, phase, compression, EQ, effects, editing, mixing, distortion and studio business techniques.

Studio workshops and additional topics are available.

Home Studio Consulting and Engineering Some projects are more appropriate for a home or small project studio. In many cases the studio operator is an artist or writer, not an engineer. We have provided consulting and engineering (setting up signal paths) for people working in this context.

Voiceover Recording

We can provide voiceover recording and voiceover artists as necessary.

Podcast Production We have staff experienced in new product development for major corporate websites and can provide the full range of podcast production, from concept, to writing, recording and video.

Other Services

The vast majority of the work done at Monster Island is recording music for albums. However, our specialty is creativity and problem solving, which is how and why we've been able to offer so many additional services. We are constantly pushing the envelope of new ideas and have done such things as experimental recorings with video camera microphones and feature length art/music videos. Our network of producers, engineers, musicians, artists, designers, directors, editors and other creative people is extensive.

If you have an unusual project and can't figure out who to hire or how to get it done, you've found a place that welcomes that challenge.