Why Rome?

On this page we will go into more detail to show you what makes our studios so special. We also want to answer questions as to why one studio is $35 an hour and another $45, or this studio $25 and that studio $55. Our aim is to remove any confusion.

Let’s start with Cost vs. Rates

All studio rates are not equal just as all studios are not equal. Just because a studio charges you a lower rate does not mean you will pay less. What a person should be looking at is, “What will my final cost be?” and “How good will my final product be?” After all, it doesn’t matter how cheap it is if the end product isn’t very good. It is also important to consider that slower recording at a lower rate will cost more than faster recording at a higher rate. The good news is we offer both higher quality and low-cost specials that result in excellent end cost.

How do we do that?

We start with an uncommon combination of the best sounding, fastest, most productive recording system in the world and only work with highly qualified and talented engineers. Couple this with some of the best and largest acoustically designed rooms in the area, along with the largest vintage mic collection in Ohio and you have the complete package.

By comparison, most studios around here are using older, slower recording systems and don’t have our mixing and editing capabilities. We have customers that will testify that they cut their studio time in half when using our new ProTools HD4 System. We had one client that spent two and a half 8-hour days on a slower recording system, but recorded on ProTools HD in just one 10-hour day. Just to clarify, both projects had the same number of songs and the same band members and both were tracked in the exact same style.

Better Quality and Better Price

One of our clients previously spent over $8,000 in a so-called cheaper studio, and came away with such a low quality product that it wasn’t even marketable. We’ve also had clients who came here to fix a project that went wrong elsewhere or because they were treated poorly. People have also come to Rome because some lower hourly rate studios were dragging out their project to run up the bill. So, we’re not kidding when we say that our studio will cost you less for a much better product.

When Sparrow Records (A Christian Major Label) was here in December 2003 with Bethany Dillon, her producers couldn’t believe how low our rates were. They told us that a comparable studio in Nashville goes for $130 to $150 an hour!

When you come in and see it, you’ll understand why her producers were so impressed!

What makes a professional recording?

From a musical perspective you can look at writing, arranging, and musicianship as the key performance elements of a professional recording. However, even a perfect performance of the music can result in an unprofessional product due to poor recording. By the same token, a less than perfect performance can be enhanced by professional recording. However, there are limits on this. While we can’t control your performance we can make you sound your best.

What factors are necessary for a studio to produce a high quality recording?

1. Qualilty Recording Device and Effects
2. High Quality Mics and Preamps
3. Acoustically Designed and Tuned Rooms
4. Quality Monitors for accurate listening
5. Professional Engineering

If any one of these 5 factors is lacking or deficient in anyway it will affect the finished product in a negative way. There isn’t a studio around here that isn’t deficient in one or more of these five areas--with one exception. Rome is the only studio in Columbus that has the complete package.

The 5 Factors Detailed

1a. Quality Recording Device: ProTools HD systems are the most used systems in the music business, bar none. The reason for this is that no other system can match its quality, capabilities and speed. Almost every recent project you hear on CD or radio has gone through a ProTools HD system somewhere in the production process. There just isn’t a better or higher quality recording system in the world. Period. Why would you risk your sound on a lesser quality system? It’s also important to understand that ProTools HD is vastly different than the less expensive ProTools LE. Consider this: a Digi002 system with ProTools LE goes for around $2,000 while the HD4 system goes for around $40,000 (depending on options it could be even higher). Do you honestly think anyone would pay that much if there wasn’t a quality difference? So now you know…when someone says they have ProTools, make sure it’s HD! Even if you do find a studio that has an HD4 system, remember that they still need the other four factors before they can compare to Rome.

Optional Quality Recording Device: Two Inch Analog Tape is an additional option to add warmth. Not only can you have the power of ProTools HD4, but now you can also utilize our two inch tape recorder to get that famous tape saturation sound while using the ProTools HD4 system.

1b. Quality Effects: Our system has over $10,000 in TDM Plug-in Effects for vast editing and mixing capabilities. These expensive software additions to Protools include vast editing and mixing capabilities that are mind boggling to most people, even experienced engineers. It’s hard to describe a system like this that is almost limitless in what it can do. At Rome you can let your imagination run wild.

2. High Quality Mics and Preamps: With over 30 different high-end mics, Rome has some of the most sought after vintage tube mics you can find. Several of our mics cost over $5,000 each and you can hear why. The sound these mics produce is the reason national producers look for them wherever they record. For instance, our Neumann U47 is one of the main reasons major labels choose Rome when they come to Columbus. Add the C12, U87, 77DX, C414, 421, 451, et cetera and Rome is hard to resist. Industry-leading microphones like this are enough to make any audio professional drool. Rome is the only studio in the area where you can hear what you sound like through $7,000 of vintage tube glory. In addition, we have high quality vintage tube compressors (like LA2A) and multiple preamps to get the most out of the vintage tube mics and add warmth to your sound. When you combine our vintage tube mics and tube compressors you get incredible sonic results. For more details see our Equipment page.

3. Acoustically Designed and Tuned Rooms: Room acoustics are often overlooked or an afterthought at most studios. Our studio was designed by an acoustic engineer before it was built. The result is smooth, natural acoustics in our larger rooms and drier, tighter sound in our drum booth with one of the only true floating rooms in Columbus. Most local studios try to fix their acoustic problems as an afterthought and don’t even consult an acoustic engineer. Some make their rooms too dry (dryness refers to the natural reverb decay, commonly thought of as echo, in the room) and unnatural sounding, which makes it harder to get a good quality recording. Plus at Rome you don’t have to cram into a tiny, hot control room to mix because Rome has the Largest Control Room in Columbus. The size not only dramatically improves the acoustics for a better mix, but also gives your band plenty of room to lounge comfortably on the leather couch and listen to your project being mixed or make yourself feel at home between takes. A highly qualified studio designer who has built over 1,000 studios recently labeled our rooms as being in the top 10% of all studio rooms in the country. For more details see our Acoustics page. You’ll find it quite interesting.

As a side note, when Cypress Hill was here in May 2004, they commented that the large control room made them feel more comfortable than most studios they had been in. That’s a real compliment when you consider the studios they’ve been in.

4. Quality Monitors for accurate listening: Rome has multiple monitor setups from industry-leading manufacturers such as JBL, Urei, and Yamaha. These high-end speakers allow us to hear accurate representations of your music so we can give you a mix that will sound good on any playback system. If you don’t have accurate monitors or your acoustics affect the sound, then you’re not able to hear what is really being recorded, which means you can’t get a good mix.

5. Professional Engineering: Rome is one of the few studios that are not engineered by the owner, who makes claims about how their “Ears” make up for their lack of better gear. Instead, our owner uses his music and engineering background to hire the best engineers to work in our superior studio. Our engineering staff has years of training and experience including producing major label projects. Rome Engineers don’t have to tell you how good they are, the bands they produce do it for them. Watch out for engineers who try to compensate for lower quality equipment by claiming to be a better than average engineer who gets more out of their equipment. You better believe that they would jump at the chance to get a system like ours if they could. They are doing a sales job because they can’t compete with a studio like Rome. Some of them don’t even realize how much of a difference there is. Common sense will tell you that quality engineering can only take you to the limits of the equipment. Better equipment with a quality engineer will certainly get you a better finished product than the same engineer on lower quality equipment. Mario Andretti in a Yugo can’t beat my grandmother in a Ferrari.

Beyond the 5 Factors

Yes! There’s more

Live On-site Recording: Live recording is much more difficult than studio recording. There are no second chances to get it right, and mic placement is even more critical. Our Roaming Rome Package gives you a chance to record your band with one of the most highly regarded engineers in Columbus. Jeff Farner has a vast history of live recording that is second to none. His raw tracks are better than most others' finished product. When your project is complete, it is not only of commercial quality but also far exceeds most peoples’ expectations.

Duplication: Rome is your one-stop studio. Whether you record with us or not, we can do your Duplication in-house and customize a package to fit your needs as well as your budget. Please see our Duplication Products page for more information.

Musical Instruments: Try our lovely-sounding Baldwin Grand or Hammond B3. Dream of drumming on our Custom DW Drum Kit. We also offer an 88-key Korg Triton Studio keyboard and a Roland Fantom. Our Hartke Bass amp is also popular, and a full array of hand percussion can put the finishing touches on many songs.

Headphone System: Hearback headphone system allows each person in the band to have and control their own custom headphone mix. Our clients love the individual control this system provides.

Two Studios to Meet Your Budget: Our Studio A and Studio B allow us to meet the needs and budget of most any project.

Friendly and Attentive Staff: We are known for our personal attention and customer service. Most clients comment on how they felt we treated them nicely and how much we made them feel at home. We are surprised and shocked at the stories we hear about some of the other studios in town. Have you ever worked with someone who “knows-it-all” and can’t take anyone else’s input? You won’t get that with us. We find projects go much better with someone who brings an easy-going attitude and attention to detail to the job. Ultimately we want you to feel comfortable with us because this will help you achieve your best performance. You can also trust us to offer helpful advice relating to your project without being overbearing. Unlike other studios, we won’t make decisions for you in relation to your music; you have the final say. To us it’s just like our jingle says, “No matter who you are we treat you like a star”. You deserve nothing less than this.

Call us today at (614)497-3970 to schedule a tour or book a session.

Please continue to browse our site for more information on Studio A, Studio B, Equipment, and Acoustic design.