Book with our engineer
Bring your songs; we'll handle the rest. A Smokey Hollow engineer runs the session so you can focus on the performance. Great for artists, bands, voiceover and first-timers.
from $110/hrBook →
Smokey Hollow RecordsRecording Studio · Waterdown, Ontario
Made in Waterdown. Played everywhere.
Three professionally treated live rooms, a hybrid Neve/Avid workstation, and all the tools a music creative could ever want. Book a session with our engineer, or bring your own.
- Premium soundThree live rooms, optimized for audio
- 32 channelsEvery room wired to a Neve-powered, 32-fader desk
- Hour, half day, full dayBook online, pay when you book
How it works
Three ways to work here
Whether you're an artist, band, engineer or producer, we have the setup for you. Pick how you want to run your session.
Bring your own engineer
Know your way around a studio? Book the rooms on their own and bring your engineer. The studio is set up plug-and-play, with live, off-site video support from our studio manager available anytime during your session.
from $85/hrBook →
Producers & engineers: bring your bands
Need a proper room for your clients? Book Smokey Hollow by the hour, half day or full day and work the way you want.
from $75/hr on a half dayBook →
The rooms
Three rooms. Endless creative possibilities.
Each room has its own distinctive character and size, so you can track everything from a full band to a single voice.
837 sq ft
Studio B — the big room
Our largest live room, with bold acoustics, plenty of character and space to spread out. Built for bands, ensembles and anything that needs to breathe.
210 sq ft
Studio A — the all-rounder
A meticulously treated medium-sized live room. The Swiss Army knife of the building — right for soloists, small groups and everything in between.
52 sq ft
Studio C — the vocal booth
Small, controlled and fully treated for clean, focused takes. Vocals, voiceover, or a single instrument with zero distractions.
The heart of it
The control room
A hybrid workstation pairing the analog superiority of Neve with the digital control of Avid: Neve 1073 OPX preamps, Neve 8816 summing, Audioscape and SSL processing, a 32-fader Avid S1 surface, and Focal and ADAM monitoring.
The gear
What's in the building
Our Neve-Avid hybrid workstation is an ever-expanding, modular desk designed to capture the most premium sound. It's backed up by some of the industry's best audio processing equipment, instruments and mics.
32 channels, wired and ready
Every room converges in our workstation through 32 tie lines and a 32-fader Avid desk. Your key sources go through Neve 1073 preamps, captured by Neve quality and controlled by Avid excellence.
Control room & processing
- Universal Audio Apollo x16
- Neve 1073 OPX · 8 channels of 1073 preamp
- Neve 8816 summing mixer + 8804 fader pack
- SSL Fusion
- Audioscape Opto compressor
- Audioscape 76D
- Audioscape D-Comp
- Audioscape 260VU
- Audioscape MK 609
- Audioscape G-Series mix bus compressor
- Audioscape EQP-2A
- Audioscape XL-305R reverb
- Avid S1 × 4 + Avid Dock · 32-fader control
- Dangerous Music Monitor ST with remote
- 2 × Switchcraft 9625 patchbays
- Mac Studio (2026) with Apple Studio Display 27"
Monitoring
- Focal Twin6 · pair
- ADAM A7V · pair
- Avantone MixCube · mono
- Hear Technologies personal monitoring · 8 channels
Microphones
- Neumann U87 Ai · stereo pair
- Neumann KM 184 · stereo pair
- AKG C414 · stereo pair
- Sennheiser MD 421
- Shure SM7B × 2
- Shure Beta 52A
- Shure SM57s and SM58s
- 2 × Latch Lake mic King boom stands
Amps
- Marshall JCM900 100W stack
- Fender Hot Rod Deluxe IV · 40W 1×12 tube combo
- Ashdown ABM 600 EVO IV head + ABM 115H EVO IV 1×15 cab
- Blackstar Debut 50R
- Boss Katana × 2
- Fender Champion × 2
Instruments
- Yamaha five-piece studio drum kit with Zildjian cymbals
- Kawai upright piano
- Fender Stratocaster
- Fender Jazz Bass
- Gretsch semi-hollow electric
Rates
Studio time
All prices in CAD, plus HST. Half-day and full-day sessions are discounted compared to the hourly rate.
Room only
Bring your own engineer
| Hourly · 2-hr minimum | $85/hr |
|---|---|
| Half day · 4 hrs | $300 |
| Full day · 8 hrs | $560 |
With our engineer
A Smokey Hollow engineer runs the session
| Hourly · 2-hr minimum | $110/hr |
|---|---|
| Half day · 4 hrs | $390 |
| Full day · 8 hrs | $720 |
When you can book
- Weekdays in school term: start as early as you want; sessions finish and the studio is cleared by 3 pm.
- Weekends: start any time from 3 pm; sessions finish by midnight.
- School holidays: book any time during Christmas, March Break and long weekends. In July and August, weeknights and any time at weekends.
Remote support
If you run into an issue during your session, use the dedicated control room iPad to video call our studio manager, who will be on call, ready to support you. Only applicable for bookings without a Smokey Hollow engineer. Comes with an additional fee.
- $35 hourly booking · $50 half day · $75 per full day
- Required on your first room-only booking; optional after that.
Long days & lockouts
- Extended days: up to 12 hours. Each hour past 8 is $70 room only, or $90 with our engineer.
- Several days in a row: book full or extended days back to back.
- Holiday lockouts: the studio to yourself, around the clock, during school holidays. $700 a day, 10% off for 5 days or more. Room only.
Students
30% off studio time. Proof of student status may be required to be eligible.
All bookings are subject to our Booking & studio policies.
Book
Pick a time. Let's do this.
- Tell us who you are, then choose our engineer or room only, and how long.
- Pick an open date and start time.
- Pay securely by card. You'll get a confirmation by email.
Something not on the calendar, or a bigger project? Call (289) 768-9238 or email info@smokeyhollowrecords.com.
Mixing & mastering
Recorded somewhere else? Send it here.
Order online, upload your session, and we'll take it from there. Analog processing and Neve summing on every mix.
Mixing
Every mix starts with understanding the record. Before any processing, we listen closely to find what matters: what needs to shine, and what the song is really trying to say. Then we shape the mix with intention — clarity, depth and vibe — combining precision digital tools with analog processing and Neve summing.
| One song | $700 |
|---|---|
| Two songs | $1,400 |
| Three songs | $2,100 |
| EP · 4–6 songs | $3,500 |
| Album · 7–12 songs | $6,800 |
All mixes include one revision round per song: reasonable adjustments to levels, balances, tone, effects and automation. Major changes, structural revisions, a change of direction or extra revision rounds are billed at $100/hour, always discussed and approved in advance.
Order a mixMastering
Every master starts with a critical listen to the tonal balance, dynamics and how the mix translates. Then we refine with precision — subtle EQ, compression and limiting, combining transparent digital tools with analog processing — for clarity, impact and consistency on every system.
| One song | $150 |
|---|---|
| Two songs | $300 |
| Three songs | $450 |
| EP · 4–6 songs | $750 |
| Album · 7–12 songs | $1,500 |
Includes tonal balancing, loudness optimization and finished, ready-to-share masters. EP and album rates are for cohesive EPs and albums mastered as one body of work. Extra revisions or alternate versions are billed hourly.
Order a masterPrices in CAD, plus HST. EP and album prices are project rates.
How to prepare your files
For mixing — sending a DAW session
- Bounce in place anything that depends on plugins — virtual instruments, amp sims, creative effects you want kept, and any third-party plugin we might not have.
- Label every track clearly (e.g. "Kick In", "Lead Vox", "Gtr L"). No "Audio 14".
- Remove unused tracks and takes, or clearly mark the ones to use.
- Consolidate audio from the song start so everything lines up.
- Note the tempo, key and sample rate, plus anything that must stay as it is.
- Save the session with all audio included, then zip the whole session folder.
- Include a rough mix and any reference tracks you love.
Sending stems instead? Export each track as a WAV at the session's sample rate, all starting at bar 1, clearly named, in one zipped folder.
For mastering
A stereo WAV per song at the original sample rate and bit depth, peaking around −6 to −3 dBFS, with no limiter on the master bus (or tell us if the limiting is part of the sound). Include track order and any gaps or crossfades for EPs and albums.
Files over 20 GB? Email us first.
FAQ
Good questions
Where is the studio?
21 Mill St N in Waterdown, Ontario, a few minutes from Hamilton and Burlington. A quiet creative hideaway built for making music.
Can I bring my own engineer or producer?
Yes. Book a room-only session, and they can run it. Remote tech support is required on your first room-only booking, so you're never stuck.
I'm a producer. Can I bring my own artists?
Absolutely. That's what room-only booking is for. Book the time, bring your clients, and work your way.
Do I need experience to book?
Not if you book with our engineer. We'll guide you through everything. For room-only sessions, you or your engineer should be comfortable running a session.
What's the difference between hourly, half-day and full-day bookings?
Hourly suits quick sessions like a vocal or a couple of overdubs, with a two-hour minimum. Half and full days lock the studio for a set block at a lower effective rate.
Why are weekday sessions done by 3 pm?
We share the building with The CBY Academy, which takes over in the afternoons during school terms. Weekdays suit early birds; weekends suit night owls. In school holidays (Christmas, March Break, long weekends) there are no restrictions, and in July and August you can book weeknights and any time at weekends.
How does remote support work?
There's a dedicated iPad in the control room. Christian, our studio manager and lead engineer, is on call for your whole session: if anything needs troubleshooting, FaceTime him from the iPad and he'll talk you through it. He'll pick up within a few minutes. No need to use your own phone.
Can I bring people to my session?
Yes — bandmates, a friend, family. Just add the headcount when you book so we can prep the space.
Can you mix or master tracks recorded somewhere else?
Yes. Order online, then upload your session or stems. The prep checklist explains exactly what to send.
Do you offer a student discount?
Yes. 30% off studio time with valid student ID.
Find us
Come make something
A few minutes from Hamilton and Burlington, in the heart of Waterdown.
Email us