Why prep saves studio time
At Morigliolink you work in a booth of about 7 m² while an engineer guides you from the control room. Studio time is €105; a four-hour half day is €385. If your voice only opens up after an hour in the room, you spend budget on warming up instead of performance. Fixing lyrics, backing and tempo beforehand lets you focus on phrasing, breath and emotion in the booth.
Book inside our opening hours: Monday to Friday 10:00–20:00, Saturday 10:00–18:00. Closed Sunday. By appointment only.. Free cancellation applies up to 7 days before the session; after that a 30% deposit applies under terms and conditions.
Days ahead: treat the voice as a daily tool
In the days before recording, skip shouting at gigs, hours of singing in the car without breaks and last-minute lyric rewrites. Rappers and speakers: watch extra rehearsal load; singers: use short blocks with silence between them. Finalise lyrics now — changes mid-session cost focus and money.
Send your instrumental at least 1 business day ahead (WAV or AIFF, no brick-wall limiter). Include BPM, key and structure (intro, verse, chorus). Our engineer can load the session before you arrive via The studio is on Overtoom in Oud-West. Tram 1 (Overtoom stop) and tram 7 (Marnixplein stop) are a short walk away. From Amsterdam Zuid station, allow about 15 minutes on tram 1 towards Centraal. Bike racks are in front of the entrance; car parking is limited — use Q-Park Byzantium (Overtoom) or on-street spaces outside blue-zone hours..
The night and morning of the session
Sleep is the cheapest vocal upgrade. Alcohol dries mucous membranes; heavy, fatty meals before bed can cause reflux you will hear at the pop filter. Sip water through the day, not only on the way to the studio.
Pack lyrics (paper or offline on your phone), headphones if you rely on a familiar cue mix, neutral snacks and no menthol lozenges right before recording. Check travel time by bike or tram so you are not breathless when you walk in.
A twenty-minute warm-up you can repeat
Start in the lounge while we check mic and routing.
- Body (5 min): shoulders, neck, jaw; gentle head rolls.
- Breath (5 min): long « s » or « f » exhales; ribs move without lifting shoulders.
- Resonance (5 min): lip trills, « ng » sirens in your range; no forcing on high notes.
- Material (5 min): easy verse first, then chorus; articulation drills for rap or voice-over.
Stop on sharp pain or hoarseness. Reschedule and seek medical help rather than pushing through.
In the booth: distance, headphones and breaks
Typical distance is about a hand width from mouth to pop filter; step back slightly on loud passages. Ask for a cue mix change if you drop one earcup — otherwise bleed hits our 16 preamp inputs. Up to 8 headphone sends are available; you control level, we balance the mix.
Take ten minutes of silence every twenty to thirty minutes. Room-temperature water beats ice-cold. Tell us if your throat dries out; sometimes a different mic or less compression helps, not singing louder.
What we prepare and what you bring
For vocal and spoken-word recording we prep two or three mics based on your genre, load your backing and mark structure in the project. After the session we archive working files for 12 months as described in our privacy policy.
You bring: final lyrics, clean backing and optionally a reference track (not heavily limited). A single finished song baseline starts at €65 if you only need a lead on top of a home demo.
Combining with band sessions or mixing
Many artists track vocals here and instruments later, or the other way around. Read prepare your band session if you want the live room the same week; we schedule vocals and drums deliberately to limit bleed.
Recording often leads to mixing (€195 per song up to 48 tracks, 2 revision rounds included). Send raw vocals without aggressive limiting; we shape EQ and space against the full production.
Checklist and contact
- Lyrics and structure fixed; backing checked for clicks and tempo.
- Rested, hydrated, light meal about two hours before.
- Warm-up done before take one.
- Breaks planned; engineer informed about headphone preference.
Questions about availability or a tailored quote? Contact us via [email protected] or 020 737 0842. Minimum age in the studio is 16; younger artists need a parent or guardian on site.
