River City Studios, Ltd.

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Grand Rapids, MI
River City Studios, Ltd.

Michigan's longest running recording and production studio - located in beautiful Grand Rapids! We'd love to hear from you! ft "live room"
(2) 200 Sq. ft.

Under new ownership and management as of 2012, River City Studios strives to establish the most comfortable, creative, recording and production experience possible for all artists. River City Studios and our staff specialize in audio production for: Music, Film, Television, Radio, Web, Video Games, New Media. After 35 years in business along with the combined experience and talent of our engineer

s that is rarely matched in today's world, we absolutely know how to deliver top "industry" sounding productions every day, that we can guarantee will compete directly along side (and in some cases exceed) anything you might expect to hear out of the bigger studio markets such as NY, LA, Chicago, Nashville etc. From platinum selling recording artists, to Hollywood movie productions, to our favorite home-town Michigan based music artists... we've done it all here at River City. For more information or inquires about bookings, the studios, our staff, equipment etc. please visit our website : www.rivercitystudios.com
or give us a call at (616)-456-1404. Equipment list:

Studio A:

1,000+ Sq. Attached ISO rooms
Avid Pro Tools 10 HD 3 -32 Input/Output. Apogee Rosetta 800 AD/DA conversion
Switchcraft Gold TT Bantam 96 point patch bay systems
Avid C24 - Pro Tools control surface
Tannoy System 800A time-aligned near-field monitor systems
Yamaha NS-10M near-field monitor systems
Vintage UREI 813b time-aligned mid-field "Mains" monitor systems
Urei 6250 and Hafler P500 power amps for monitors

Outboard compression (Always expanding, and subject to change) :

(2) Vintage UREI 1176 LN Rev E 'Blackface' compressor/limiters restored by Vintage King Audio
(2) Vintage DBX 160x w/Revive Audio 'Burr Brown' modifications
(4) Vintage Valley People 'Dynamite' dynamics compressors

Microphone Locker:
(2) Vintage original Neumann U87 restored by Vintage King Audio
(3) Vintage original Neumann KM84 restored by Vintage King Audio
(2) Neumann KM184
(1) Neumann TLM 103
(2) Peluso 2247 SE (U47) tube mic clones
(2) Royer R-122 ribbon mic
(2) Royer R-101 ribbon mic
(4) Vintage AKG C-414 B-ULS
(2) AKG C-414 XL-II (Matched Pair)
(1) AKG C-414 TL-II
(2) Vintage Sony C-48
(2) EV RE-20
(1) Shure SM7b
(1) Sennheiser MD 441
(7) Sennheiser MD 421
(1) Shure KSM 27
(7) Shure SM 57
(5) Shure SM 58
(1) Shure Beta 87
(2) Shure Beta 52a
(1) Shure "Green Bullet" Dynamic Microphone
(2) AKG D 112
(6) Sennheiser MK-416 shotgun microphones
(1) Neumann KMR-81 shotgun mic
(2) Oktava Mk-012 ('Bills Recording' Mod)
(2) Rode NT-1A
(1) Rode NT-2
(4) Crown PZM boundary microphones
(1) Audio Technica AT 4040
(2) EV 664 (ZZ-top Mic)
(3) Sanken wired Lavalier

Microphone preamplifiers (As of current. Always expanding and subject to change) :

(4) Grace Design 101
(2) Great River MP-1NV (Neve styled preamps)
(2) Original Universal Audio M610 tube microphone preamps with EQ (the good ones with the bigger-better power supplies + lower noise)
(2) Focusrite ISA 110
(2) Earthworks 1022 ZDT stereo mic preamps
(4) Focusrite Platinum Twin Track
(1) vintage Ted Fletcher designed JOE MEEK VC1Q mic preamp
(16) Avid C24 mic preamps

Outboard FX processing:
(2) Eventide H3000 SE stereo multi-fx (blue face & grey face)
(1) Eventide DSP 4500 stereo multi-fx
(1) Lexicon PCM 90 stereo reverb
(1) Lexicon PCM 80 stereo multi-fx + reverb
(1) TC Electronic 2290 stereo digital delay
(1) TC Electronic FireWorx stereo multi-fx
(1) TC Electronic D-Two stereo digital delay
(1) TC Electronic M-One XL stereo multi-fx
(1) Sony DPS D7 stereo digital delay
(1) Sony DPS M7 "stereo modulation" fx
(1) Digitech Studio-Quad multi-fx
(1) Yamaha R1000 mono reverb
(1) Boss SE-50 stereo multi-fx
(1) Vintage AKG BX-10 stereo spring reverb
(1) Ensoniq DP4 Quad multi-fx
(1) Akai S1100 stereo sampler
(1) Akai S6000 stereo sampler+fx

Instruments:

(Drums)
(1) Pearl MDX 6 piece shell kit w/ vintage Pearl 14x5 "Free-Floating" snare. (1)DW Performer 5 piece kit
(1) Sonor Custom 4 piece shell kit
(1) DW Custom 4 piece shell kit. (1) Slingerland vintage snare
(1) DW custom snare

Ziljian "K Custom" crashes, hi-hats, rides... various sizes. Paiste 2002 rides and crashes... various sizes
Sabian AAX hi-hat and rock crash

(Synthesizers, Pianos, Keys, and Drum Machines)

(1) Clavia Nord Lead 2 w/expanded voice upgrade and PCMCIA card memory card
(1) Access Virus kB (61 key semi-weighted keyboard version) w software version 3.2 and expanded voice option. (1) Kurzweil K2000 VP Edition with tons of additional loadable sound banks
(1) Kurzweil K2500
(1) Kurzweil PC 2X
(1) Roland JP-8000
(1) Roland JP-8080 rack mount synth w/external audio inputs to filterbank
(1) Roland Super JV-1080 rack synth module w/expanded x4 voice card. (1) Waldorf MicroWave I 'wavetable' rack synth w/orignal PPG analog filter bank
(1) Waldorf Q rack synth module (big, bright & yellow!)
(1) Native Instruments Maschine drum machine and groove sampler
(1) Native Instruments REAKTOR 5 modular synthesizer
(1) Native Instruments ABSYNTH synthesizer
(1) Propellerheads Reason version 5. w/tons of additive sound banks
(1) Propellerheads ReCycle 2.1
(1) Korg DDD-1 vintage drum machine
(1) MOTU Midi Time Piece 8x8 MIDI Interface
(1) M-Audio Midi Sport 2x2 MIDI Interface
(1) Vintage Hammond M3 organ w/Leslie speaker
(1) Yamaha C1 Baby-Grand piano

Guitars/Amps:

(1) Gibson Les Paul standard
(1) Washburn Idol WI-64
(1) Epiphone Les Paul standard
(1) Fender American Stratocaster
(1) Fender Jazz Bass

(1) Marshall JCM 900 tube 100w head
(1) Vintage Orange 2x12 cabinet

-Assortments of guitar stomp boxes:

Pro Co Rat, Pro Co Turbo Rat, Electro-Harmonix Big M**f, Metal M**f, Deluxe Electric Mistress, Boss DS-1, OS-2, PH-3, DD-3, CH-1. Metal Zone... We have a stock pile of stomp boxes. If we don't have it, we can get it. Tape Machines:

(1) MCI Sony JH-24 Two inch/24 track analog tape machine
(1) Studer A810 1/2 Inch-two track tape machine
(1) Ampex ATR-102 1/2 Inch-two track tape machine
(1) Otari 1/4 Inch-four track tape machine
(2) Tascam DA-88s DAT machine
(2) Panasonic SV 3800 DAT machine

Plug-ins:

Waves V9.1 Mercury (Native/w select TDM versions)
Waves SSL bundle (Native)
McDSP Emerald bundle (Native)
Slate Digital VBC, VCC, VTM, FG-X
Avid "Digi-Rack" and AIR plug-ins
SPL Transient Designer
URS Console Strip Pro (Native)
Softube Cl1B compressor ( TDM/Native)
Abbey Road TG12345 compressor package (Native)
Sonnox Oxford: Inflator, Transmod, Dynamics, EQ, SuprEsser

-Mogami gold, Canare "star-quad", Pro Co "Dyna-Mike" microphone & Instrument cabling
-Mogami & Monster 'Pro-Link" TT Patch Cabling
-Mogami & Gepco studio and rack wiring.

01/14/2025

Happy Birthday to one of our studio engineers, Koty Schoenberg! May your day be as perfectly tuned as your soundscapes. Thank you for everything you do here at RCS. Wishing you a day as epic as the tracks you create! 🎧🎉

12/11/2024

OUR RCS GIFT CARD DEAL RUNS ALL MONTH LONG!
Our gift cards make a great gift and experience for that special musician, songwriter, band, artist, producer, engineer, voice over narrator, audiobook author, and creator in your life!

Buy a gift card between now and December 31, 2024 and get: 25% off total price for a 4 hour block booking ($380 value), OR 35% off total price for an 8 hour block booking ($760 value). Your purchase of a gift card grants you studio time for recording, production, mixing and/or mastering with our professional engineers. Call us at (616) 456-1404 or email us at [email protected] to purchase!

*Authorized RCS Gift Card valid for 1 year and must be redeemed within 365 days from purchase date.

12/09/2024

Happy Birthday to our rockstar owner at RCS, Roy Wallace! Your leadership is the rhythm that keeps us all in sync, and your passion is the beat driving our success. Thank you for all that you do and we hope you have a great birthday today! 🥁🎉

11/27/2024

Get ready for a RCS Black Friday sale! 🎧🎶
Our gift cards make a great gift and experience for that special musician, songwriter, band, artist, producer, engineer, voice over narrator, audiobook author, and creator in your life!

Buy a gift card between November 29 and December 31, 2024 and get: 25% off total price for a 4 hour block booking ($380 value), OR 35% off total price for an 8 hour block booking ($760 value). Your purchase of a gift card grants you studio time for recording, production, mixing and/or mastering with our professional engineers. Call us at (616) 456-1404 or email us at [email protected] to purchase!

*Authorized RCS Gift Card valid for 1 year and must be redeemed within 365 days from purchase date.

11/22/2024

Local Spins spotlights the bassist and singer, and debuts tracks by Third Coast Swing, Hannah Laine, Squatch, Hannah Rae & more.

10/28/2024

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to our chief audio engineer, Austin Mark Ruhstorfer! Thank you for all that you do for the studio, including being the Beat Suite King™ 🎧

Have a great day today and cheers to completing another year around the sun🥂 Thank you for being such an awesome part of our team!

10/26/2024

Join Asamu Johnson and The Associates of the Blues this evening for the CD release party of their newest album, True Freedom!
Recorded, mixed, and mastered at River City Studios.

Be there tonight, October 26th, from 6-9pm at the Horrocks Market Garden Stage! Congratulations again Asamu and friends! 🎶🎷

Address: 4455 Breton Rd SE, Kentwood, MI 49508
Event info link: https://www.facebook.com/share/xGtWAfGgrY8pcnjp/

07/04/2024

Happy 4th of July from River City Studios! 🇺🇸

05/29/2024

Sarah E. Westfall in the studio recording her narration for her newest book, "The Way of Belonging!"

It was so great getting to have her in and we're so excited for the release of her book on June 11th! Available for pre-ordering and purchase at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more! To learn more, check out her website at www.sarahewestfall.com

Stay tuned for more information regarding the book! Congratulations on your upcoming release, Sarah!

05/25/2024

These keys were left at the studio - we are trying to locate their owner. Please message us if they are yours!

04/22/2024

Welcome to another Mic Monday! Today, we're featuring River City Studios' pair of Oktava MK-012s. This Monday our excerpt about these mics is written by our very own, Joe McCargar!

"From the human hand (or voice) to the instrument (or voice)... A great player or singer is the first in an artistic path that ends in beautiful music or drama.
Then it’s the microphone.

Years ago, I was prepping a recording for the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra in Grand Rapids’ DeVos Hall. Standing on stage, looking up to the acoustic ‘clouds’ above the stage, I saw the fairly usual array of microphones directed at the different orchestra sections. The array naturally contained numerous microphones that are often called, instrument mics or miniature condensers. They’re small, cylindrical mics that are meant to be unobtrusive, close to invisible, so they don’t call attention to themselves.

Looking up, I saw some unusually shaped instrument mics, with a flair (see photo) at the front end of the mic. I asked the Stage Manager what they were. He said, “They’re Oktava’s™. They’re actually built in Russia.”

River City has 60+ microphones, and our top instrument mic is a pair of Oktava MK-012’s. We modified the mics to reduce “self noise” to make the sound cleaner. The larger-than-standard capsule makes the mic sound warmer (or “fuller”) than the standard instrument mic.

The Oktava™ comes with three interchangeable threaded capsules (see photo) that change the mic’s directionality from all-around to just in front.

At $550./ea. (with modification), they’re amazing to use on piano, other stringed instruments, drum overheads and choral voices.

Mics mean a lot. And River City has nice mics!"

04/16/2024

Each year, RCS has the pleasure of welcoming the students from Goodwillie Environmental School and Wright McCargar for their annual recording of “We Are the World.” They did such a great job singing and we love showing them around our space!
Thank you again for coming in!

04/12/2024

"ANY PLEASANT NEWS" - STRANGE SKIN

A few weeks ago, River City Studios had the pleasure of having STRANGE SKIN (in the studio to record their newest single, "ANY PLEASANT NEWS." Out TODAY on all music streaming platforms!!

04/08/2024

Introducing our Community Spotlight series! We're all about community here at RCS, and we have so many great clients and community partners to be grateful for! This month, River City Studios will be featuring Jerry Ford.

When the folks at River City think of Jerry Ford, we think not of U.S. President, Gerald R. Ford from Grand Rapids. Although, he deserves great honor and recognition. We think of Gerald D. Ford, founder of The Eighth Day, an independent advertising agency with whom we’ve had a nearly 40-year relationship.
Our Jerry is a warm, friendly, softspoken southern gentleman with an outside-the-box creative mind. We first met him in the early 1980’s, when the studio itself was brand new.

Jerry is a skilled and persuasive advertising copywriter who understood that music was the door to brand recognition and long-lasting loyalty. That’s why we think of him as The Jingle Man.
With Jerry’s creative foundation and Studio Manager Steve Thrall’s songwriting, Jerry produced dozens of music “hooks” that invited consumers to “sign up and stay with” area businesses. Some of them are still in the game.
The most notable is The Beltline Bar jingle with its Latin inspiration and instrumentation: “the great taste of Mexico, right in your neighborhood.” Even younger Grand Rapidians can sing the tune and the lyrics when they hear the restaurant name.

There’s a long history of area retailers and services that have benefitted from the creative mind of Jerry Ford:

Alger Schwinn Bicycles
Emdin’s Children’s Wear and Toys
Gar’s Honda
The Texan Restaurants
Murray Lake Marina
O’Neil’s Transmissions
The Auto Spa

These businesses owe part of their livelihood to Jerry, as do we. But more importantly, we have a friendship that makes him the perfect client.

03/31/2024

Happy Easter from all of us at River City Studios! 🐣🐰

03/25/2024

Welcome to the first edition of a new RCS series: Microphone Monday! Each month, we will feature different types of microphones that River City Studios has in our equipment artillery - and we have a lot :)

River City’s first Microphone Monday features the sE VR-1™ (we have two; mic’s are often purchased in pairs). The brand sE™ pays homage to: sound engineering

The sE VR-1™ is in a class of mics called “ribbon mics.” They change soundwaves in the air to sound in an audio recorder using a very thin, corrugated ribbon of metal suspended between two poles of a strong magnet. When the soundwave moves the ribbon, an electrical current is generated. The current is “understood” by an amplifier and then is converted into 1’s and 0’s (digital information) in a digital audio app.
Among many useful things about a ribbon mic is that it can handle quite loud sounds in a very clear and “transparent” manner. So ribbons are great for brass instruments and louder guitar amplifiers. However their transparency makes them very good at reproducing the less-loud character of an acoustic piano.
Another practical advantage of the VR-1™ is that it’s quite small. Most ribbon microphones are “substantial,” so sometimes they require some surrounding real estate to place them properly. A VR-1 can be easily slipped into even the tightest places.

03/17/2024

Top of the mornin' to ya!
Our favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day - anything that has to do with our friends, The Moxie Strings!
This video is a throwback to our RCS Live session with them in 2018. No matter how long ago this session was, it makes you want to do a jig either way! 💚🍻🍀

Address

1935 Monroe Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI
49505

Telephone

+16164561404

Website

http://www.rivercitystudios.com/

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Videos

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Top of the mornin' to ya! Our favorite way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day - anything that has to do with our friends, The Moxie Strings! This video is a throwback to our RCS Live session with them in 2018. No matter how long ago this session was, it makes you want to do a jig either way! 💚🍻🍀

Shortcuts

The Run Down

At River City Studios we specialize in Audio and Video production for Music, Film, Television, Radio, Social Media, Video Games, and New Media. Driven by a standard of professional excellence and with over 40 years of experience, we guarantee that our work competes with any of the larger studio markets in the U.S. For more information about bookings, tours, our gear, staff, etc. please visit our website, message us on FB, or give us a call at (616)-456-1404.

www.rivercitystudios.com

Equipment list: Studio A: 1,000+ Sq. ft "live room" (2) 200 Sq. ft. Attached ISO rooms Avid Pro Tools 10 HD 3 -32 Input/Output. Apogee Rosetta 800 AD/DA conversion Switchcraft Gold TT Bantam 96 point patch bay systems Avid C24 - Pro Tools control surface Tannoy System 800A time-aligned near-field monitor systems Yamaha NS-10M near-field monitor systems Vintage UREI 813b time-aligned mid-field "Mains" monitor systems Urei 6250 and Hafler P500 power amps for monitors Outboard compression (Always expanding, and subject to change) : (2) Vintage UREI 1176 LN Rev E 'Blackface' compressor/limiters restored by Vintage King Audio (2) Vintage DBX 160x w/Revive Audio 'Burr Brown' modifications (4) Vintage Valley People 'Dynamite' dynamics compressors Microphone Locker: (2) Vintage original Neumann U87 restored by Vintage King Audio (3) Vintage original Neumann KM84 restored by Vintage King Audio (2) Neumann KM184 (1) Neumann TLM 103 (2) Peluso 2247 SE (U47) tube mic clones (2) Royer R-122 ribbon mic (2) Royer R-101 ribbon mic (4) Vintage AKG C-414 B-ULS (2) AKG C-414 XL-II (Matched Pair) (1) AKG C-414 TL-II (2) Vintage Sony C-48 (2) EV RE-20 (1) Shure SM7b (1) Sennheiser MD 441 (7) Sennheiser MD 421 (1) Shure KSM 27 (7) Shure SM 57 (5) Shure SM 58 (1) Shure Beta 87 (2) Shure Beta 52a (1) Shure "Green Bullet" Dynamic Microphone (2) AKG D 112 (6) Sennheiser MK-416 shotgun microphones (1) Neumann KMR-81 shotgun mic (2) Oktava Mk-012 ('Bills Recording' Mod) (2) Rode NT-1A (1) Rode NT-2 (4) Crown PZM boundary microphones (1) Audio Technica AT 4040 (2) EV 664 (ZZ-top Mic) (3) Sanken wired Lavalier Microphone preamplifiers (As of current. Always expanding and subject to change) : (4) Grace Design 101 (2) Great River MP-1NV (Neve styled preamps) (2) Original Universal Audio M610 tube microphone preamps with EQ (the good ones with the bigger-better power supplies + lower noise) (2) Focusrite ISA 110 (2) Earthworks 1022 ZDT stereo mic preamps (4) Focusrite Platinum Twin Track (1) vintage Ted Fletcher designed JOE MEEK VC1Q mic preamp (16) Avid C24 mic preamps Outboard FX processing: (2) Eventide H3000 SE stereo multi-fx (blue face & grey face) (1) Eventide DSP 4500 stereo multi-fx (1) Lexicon PCM 90 stereo reverb (1) Lexicon PCM 80 stereo multi-fx + reverb (1) TC Electronic 2290 stereo digital delay (1) TC Electronic FireWorx stereo multi-fx (1) TC Electronic D-Two stereo digital delay (1) TC Electronic M-One XL stereo multi-fx (1) Sony DPS D7 stereo digital delay (1) Sony DPS M7 "stereo modulation" fx (1) Digitech Studio-Quad multi-fx (1) Yamaha R1000 mono reverb (1) Boss SE-50 stereo multi-fx (1) Vintage AKG BX-10 stereo spring reverb (1) Ensoniq DP4 Quad multi-fx (1) Akai S1100 stereo sampler (1) Akai S6000 stereo sampler+fx Instruments: (Drums) (1) Pearl MDX 6 piece shell kit w/ vintage Pearl 14x5 "Free-Floating" snare. (1)DW Performer 5 piece kit (1) Sonor Custom 4 piece shell kit (1) DW Custom 4 piece shell kit. (1) Slingerland vintage snare (1) DW custom snare Ziljian "K Custom" crashes, hi-hats, rides... various sizes. Paiste 2002 rides and crashes... various sizes Sabian AAX hi-hat and rock crash (Synthesizers, Pianos, Keys, and Drum Machines) (1) Clavia Nord Lead 2 w/expanded voice upgrade and PCMCIA card memory card (1) Access Virus kB (61 key semi-weighted keyboard version) w software version 3.2 and expanded voice option. (1) Kurzweil K2000 VP Edition with tons of additional loadable sound banks (1) Kurzweil K2500 (1) Kurzweil PC 2X (1) Roland JP-8000 (1) Roland JP-8080 rack mount synth w/external audio inputs to filterbank (1) Roland Super JV-1080 rack synth module w/expanded x4 voice card. (1) Waldorf MicroWave I 'wavetable' rack synth w/orignal PPG analog filter bank (1) Waldorf Q rack synth module (big, bright & yellow!) (1) Native Instruments Maschine drum machine and groove sampler (1) Native Instruments REAKTOR 5 modular synthesizer (1) Native Instruments ABSYNTH synthesizer (1) Propellerheads Reason version 5. w/tons of additive sound banks (1) Propellerheads ReCycle 2.1 (1) Korg DDD-1 vintage drum machine (1) MOTU Midi Time Piece 8x8 MIDI Interface (1) M-Audio Midi Sport 2x2 MIDI Interface (1) Vintage Hammond M3 organ w/Leslie speaker (1) Yamaha C1 Baby-Grand piano Guitars/Amps: (1) Gibson Les Paul standard (1) Washburn Idol WI-64 (1) Epiphone Les Paul standard (1) Fender American Stratocaster (1) Fender Jazz Bass (1) Marshall JCM 900 tube 100w head (1) Vintage Orange 2x12 cabinet -Assortments of guitar stomp boxes: Pro Co Rat, Pro Co Turbo Rat, Electro-Harmonix Big M**f, Metal M**f, Deluxe Electric Mistress, Boss DS-1, OS-2, PH-3, DD-3, CH-1. Metal Zone... We have a stock pile of stomp boxes. If we don't have it, we can get it. Tape Machines: (1) MCI Sony JH-24 Two inch/24 track analog tape machine (1) Studer A810 1/2 Inch-two track tape machine (1) Ampex ATR-102 1/2 Inch-two track tape machine (1) Otari 1/4 Inch-four track tape machine (2) Tascam DA-88s DAT machine (2) Panasonic SV 3800 DAT machine Plug-ins: Waves V9.1 Mercury (Native/w select TDM versions) Waves SSL bundle (Native) McDSP Emerald bundle (Native) Slate Digital VBC, VCC, VTM, FG-X Avid "Digi-Rack" and AIR plug-ins SPL Transient Designer URS Console Strip Pro (Native) Softube Cl1B compressor ( TDM/Native) Abbey Road TG12345 compressor package (Native) Sonnox Oxford: Inflator, Transmod, Dynamics, EQ, SuprEsser -Mogami gold, Canare "star-quad", Pro Co "Dyna-Mike" microphone & Instrument cabling -Mogami & Monster 'Pro-Link" TT Patch Cabling -Mogami & Gepco studio and rack wiring.