Nestled in a charming, private residence in Amherst, NH, Hilltop Recording offers a cozy and professional space for your recording needs at an affordable price. Whether you’re a solo musician, band, or voice talent, we specialize in bringing the creative vision of local artists to life with quality sound and a personal touch.
Our studio is equipped to support a wide range of projects, including:
On-Location Recording: If you need recording services at a rehearsal space or live event, we’re happy to bring our expertise to you. Just tell us about your project, and we’ll see if our mobile gear and schedule can accommodate your needs.
Editing and Mixing: Already have your audio recorded? We also offer editing and mixing services for music, podcasts, video, and more.
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What You’ll Get:
While commercial studios can be ideal for big-budget projects, they often come with high costs and a formal atmosphere—especially for independent musicians. What many don’t realize is that home studios can often produce similar results, without the hefty price tag or intimidating atmosphere.
From legends like Boston, who famously recorded their groundbreaking album in a basement studio, to modern stars like Billie Eilish, who created a chart-topping release in a family bedroom, home studios have proven time and again to be the birthplace of incredible music.
At Hilltop Recording, you’ll enjoy a welcoming, creative space where you can focus on your music. Whether you’re recording vocals, guitar, or an entire album, you’ll have our full attention and expertise—without the stress or expense of a traditional studio.
Check out some examples of the diverse projects we’ve produced, engineered and mixed over the years.
The studio is based around a Universal Audio Apollo system and Avid Protools software. Whether you want to record each part individually or track a band live, we have the mics and channels to accommodate a variety of situations.
Though many artists prefer to bring their own instruments to record with, we have many house instruments available for use on your session.
This all depends on how well-planned and rehearsed a client is, as well as the complexity level the a song or project. A simple vocal and acoustic guitar song might only take 1-2 hours to record. A song with a dense arrangement (dozens of instruments, programming and multiple vocal layers) might take several multi-hour sessions to complete.
Pre-production planning is essential to getting the best end result and being as efficient and cost-effective as possible.
It is always best to discuss the details of your session with Jesse ahead of time so that you have what you need and don’t bring things that will be unnecessary.
You are also welcome to use any of the guitars, amps, pedals, drums, etc. that we have here. Feel free to View the Studio Gear List.
If there’s a particular instrument, mic or other recording gear that you want for the session, please let us know ahead of time so that we can do our best to get it prior to your session.
Mixing is generally a separate process performed at another time after tracking is complete.
One exception to this is if a client just wants a rough mix performed during their scheduled tracking session.
Many of the studios, big and small, who offer “mastering” services are not proper mastering facilities. They may do a decent job making things louder, applying some master EQ over the stereo track, arranging multiple songs for an album, etc., which may be good enough for the client they are working with. However, they are generally not at the same level as a true mastering engineer. True mastering engineers have a certain set of skills, special tools, and a listening environment, that many mix engineers do not have. There is also benefit to having another set of ears on your final recording.
Here at Hilltop Recording we try to be transparent about our capabilities. We can certainly apply some faux mastering once you are happy with your final mix. Depending on the scope of your project, that may be good enough.
But if you want true mastering, we recommend sending your final mix to an established mastering engineer. We are also happy to interface with that mastering engineer on your behalf at no extra charge.
Jesse can play just about any guitar parts you might need, as well as some bass, mandolin, keyboard, background vocals and programming.
For other parts, we have connections to local musicians as well as resources to collaborate with other musicians remotely (keys, vocalists, arrangers, strings, horns, etc.)
A typical individual session player will cost between $50-100/hr, on top of our hourly fee. We typically encourage clients to pay session musicians directly to get them paid quickly and avoid additional administrative fees that we would have to charge.
If you have any specific session player needs for your project please let us know ahead of time and we will do our best to find either a local musician or a remote collaborator to meet your project’s needs.
We’re happy to welcome friends and family to the studio, as long as we have enough space to accommodate everyone comfortably alongside the talent being recorded. However, it’s important that all guests respect the studio environment and avoid causing any distractions that could impact the recording process.
If you’d like to bring someone to capture photos or videos, feel free to do so—just ensure they don’t interfere with the session or the work we’re doing.
Please note: We reserve the right to ask any guest to leave if their presence disrupts the session or if they pose a risk to the property or others. We have a zero-tolerance policy for recreational drug use, excessive drinking, or disorderly behavior. In such cases, the session will be terminated immediately, and no refunds will be issued.
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