Today we’d like to introduce you to Mudnoc.
Mudnoc, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Artist/Producer/Engineer turned studio owner. Mudnoc Studios is owned and operated by Mudnoc (Jonathan Carter) and was started in 2002. Mudnoc is a songwriter, producer and engineer from Louisville, KY. He graduated the Art Institute of Atlanta in 1995 with a degree in Music Business Management. In 1994 he started working for CNN and that following year he joined the staff at MC Breed’s label One Puff Music (O.P.M.) serving as studio manager. Mudnoc also formed the hip-hop group C.O.M. Unit around that same time with fellow members, Dice, Devine, Undadowg and Money Supreme. The group was signed to Purpose Records in 1998 and were active thru the year 2001.
Shortly after the group disbanded and members focused on other endeavors and solo careers, Mudnoc started Mudnoc Studios in 2002. Realizing the landscape of music and recording had forever changed due to technology Mudnoc took the studio in the direction of providing high quality sound at rates the average person could afford. That niche proved successful and started to build quickly thru word of mouth. After having locations in Doraville and 10th & Howell Mill Mudnoc moved the studio to its current location (The Metropolitan Lofts) on December 29, 2004. The current studio has three rooms (A, B and C) and has a vibe like no other studio in the city while providing clients and engineers with top of the line equipment.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
To be still doing music in 2020 is a blessing. Technology has allowed any and everybody to be a musician, producer, singer, rapper, DJ, engineer, etc. It’s a gift and a curse. I recall a conversation I had with a client in 2009 and I was telling him that I didn’t see my business still being viable by 2014 (five years later.) That was because I saw that if you had a laptop and a mic you essentially had a “recording studio.” Before technology got to what it is today you really had to invest in yourself. Meaning the hardware that was required to deliver professional results in yesteryear were out of reach from the average person. But now, very little money is required, A lot of the software and plugins have been cracked. People damn near can get everything they need for free.
I had a few clients that left to record at home and end up bringing it back to me for mixing and wonder why it didn’t sound the same. I recall one of my favorite female MC clients leaving and recording at home and calling me up one day and asking me why her vocals sounded the way they did on her set up. She told me she went to Guitar Center and bought a mic package that included a mic, the mic stands and some headphones for $70. She said her mic “looked” like the mic that I had. When it comes to music it’s not about how anything looks it’s about how it sounds and there’s definitely a big difference between a $70 mic and a $3000 mic. With that said, the greatest tool any engineer has in their arsenal are their ears. And coming from humble beginnings you learn to maximize what you have to work with.
I’m now moreso in a position of being a studio owner. The main crutch I see in the past few years is a lot of engineers would be lost without their template. For anybody lost with that term, a template is what us engineers use to speed up the process. Meaning, instead of us having to load up a new blank session track by track we already have a “template” session that we can pull up that has all the audio tracks with compressors, reverb, delay assigned to them. Bells and whistles that’s ready to go at a push of a button. All we do is calculate the tempo to set delay parameters and to make editing easier and then we add the bells and whistles and the client is happy. Don’t get it confused. That’s the MAIN goal. To make sure the client is happy. But a lot of “template engineers” have difficulties when you throw them a curve. Meaning, if 99% of the people they record do trap music the template they have set up probably isn’t going to yield the best results for a ballad or spoken word piece. And that’s when you really need to know your tools and how to use them.
Mudnoc Studios – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Mudnoc Studios is an audio/visual company. We are mainly known for audio but I’ve also been doing video since 1994. Video paid the bills the first few years allowing me to pursue music. But I love both fields as long as I’m able to be creative.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Small minded I’m sure but I’ve always defined success as being able to live your life and get paid to do what you want to do. I haven’t gotten to that point yet. I still do a lot of things that I don’t want to do just to bring in money. 99% of the people that’s reading this do the same thing. We make a lot of decisions based off money. But that’s the infrastructure we live in.
Pricing:
- A Room (without engineer) $30 (with engineer $60)
- B Room (without engineer) $20 (with engineer $50)
- C Room (without engineer) $25 (with engineer $55)
Contact Info:
- Address: Mudnoc Studios
Attn: Jonathan Carter
675 Metropolitan Pkwy Suite #2032
Atlanta, GA 30310 - Website: www.mudnocstudios.com
- Phone: 7709121392
- Email: mudnoc@gmail.com
- Instagram: Mudnoc
- Facebook: Mudnoc
Image Credit:
Mudnoc Studios
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