The Studio

The studio is located in a secluded wooded area just twenty minutes from San Antonio and ninety minutes from Austin. If you have been in studios before that were cold and intimidating, rest assured this is not that kind of place. We have a casual, laid back atmosphere that clients love. We hear it over and over again: “This place just has a great feel!” We have a full kitchen and large lounge area, and a nice deck “out back” under the live oak trees.

The heart of the studio is our Emu-Ensoniq Paris hard disk recording system. This is a Macintosh computer -based digital audio workstation that offers complete recording and editing freedom, as well as total recall of mixes. While there are many recording platforms these days that offer these features, Paris was chosen primarily for its sound quality. It rivals analog tape in its warmth and depth, yet being digital it allows recording and editing capabilities that cannot be realized in the analog realm. We have a nice selection of quality microphones from manufacturers such as Neumann, AKG, Rode, Audio Technica, Studio Projects, Beyerdynamic, Electro-Voice, Sennheiser, Shure, Octava, MXL, and CAD. We have a house drum kit from Drum Workshop, and numerous guitars, basses, and amplifiers. For auxiliary audio processing we use Didigesign's Pro Tools. For midi sequencing we primarily use Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer.

If you have your own previously recorded material that you would like to bring into the studio, we can most likely accommodate you. We support many of the industry-standard formats, and we can usually figure out a way to make the transfer into our system. Whether you want to add some additional tracks, perform some editing, or do a complete mix or mastering job, we will be happy to help.

The philosophy of Cherry Ridge is simple. Music without emotion is like a river without water. All of the state-of-the-art gear and swanky environs mean nothing if the feeling of the music is not allowed to shine through. That’s why we focus so much on fostering a creative and fun atmosphere. You can‘t sing or play your best if you are uptight. Creating and recording music is supposed to be fun, not an exercise in frustration. And all of the modern editing and processing techniques are great, but if overdone, can wring all of the life and emotion out of the music, rendering it sterile and lifeless. Now certainly we make every effort to record cohesive tracks with good timing and intonation, but emotion will always win out over clinical perfection.