Alta Mira Studios

Alta Mira Studios

Alta Mira Studios is Joe May’s recording studio in Charlotte, NC equipped with state of the art recording equipment and myriad musical toys to inspire creativity and curiosity.

“In pursuing my debut album, I wanted to create a space where I could have fun with the recording process and also serve as a conduit for others to do so, connecting with the local music community. Through continually cultivating this space, I ended up with a retro-inspired recording studio capable of tracking and mixing anyone’s dream album, using outboard analog audio gear to capture that vintage warmth we all grew up loving. “ -JM

    • Song/album recording sessions

    • Mixing

    • Full band tracking

    • Instrument and vocal overdubs

    • Keyboard session musician

    • Podcast post-production

    • Adding analog warmth to digital recordings with outboard gear

  • Alta Mira is tucked into a newly renovated 1942 cottage in Charlotte’s historical NoDa arts district.

    • Mixing Room: A cozy acoustically-treated space to refine tracks, record isolated parts, and polish a track

    • Live Room: Can fit a 6-piece band, with gobo’s to keep drums out of your mic and ears

  • Full-day recording session: $500

    Half-day recording session: $250

    One song mix: $200

    One song live video edit: $150

Recording Equipment:

Instruments:

  • 1970’s Wurlitzer 200A Electric Piano

  • 1972 Rhodes Stage 73 Electric Piano

  • 1970’s Hohner Clavinet D6

  • Nord Stage 3 HP

  • Nord Electro 5D

  • Squier Classic Vibe Jazzmaster

  • Fender Blues Deluxe

  • Pearl Export Series Drum Kit

Preamps:

  • 2x BAE 1073 MPL

  • 2x CAPI VP312 Heider

  • Universal Audio 4-710D (Tube/Solid State Blend)

  • Audio Scape Golden 58 Stereo Tube Preamplifier

  • Audio Scape V108 JFET

  • Cranborne Audio Camden

  • Warm Audio WA412 (API Clone)

  • 2x Cloudlifter CL-1 Mic Activator

Compression:

  • Audio Scape Stereo Bus Comp (SSL)

  • Audio Scape 76A (1176 Rev A)

  • Audio Scape Opto-Comp (LA-2A)

  • 4x UA 710D ‘76 style comp

EQs:

  • 2x AudioScape EQP-1A (Pultec)

Microphones:

  • Mojave 301FET Large-Diaphragm Condenser

  • Warm Audio U47Fet

  • 2x Beyerdynamic m160 Ribbon

  • Alder Audio H44 Ribbon

  • 2x 1980’s Audio Technica ATm33a Small-Diaphragm Condenser

  • 2x Lauten Audio LA120 Small-Diaphragm Condenser

  • Shure SM7B

  • 2x 1980’s Shure MD421

  • EV 635a

  • Sennheiser e609

  • 3x Shure SM57

  • sE Electronics v7x

  • 2x Shure SM58

  • 3x sE Electronics v7

  • Audix ADX60

  • Audix D6

  • 2x Audix D4

  • 2x Audix D2

Monitoring:

  • Focal Solo6 Studio Monitors

Effects:

  • 1970’s Mutron III Envelope Filter [THE Jerry Garcia sound]

  • Electro Harmonix Memory Man Analog Delay

  • Dunlop Classic Wah

  • Ibanez Tube Screamer

  • MXR Phase 90

  • MXR Uni Vibe

  • MXR Dyna Comp

  • MXR Carbon Copy Delay

  • TC Electronic Spark Boost and EQ

  • TC Electronic Juno Chorus

  • Electro Harmonix Hum Debugger

  • Universal Audio Dream 65

A/D Conversion:

  • Motu 828ES

  • UA 4-710D ADAT

  • Behringer x32Rack for live applications

Plugins:

  • Oeksound Soothe2

  • Soundtoys 5 Bundle

  • UAD PulTec collection

  • UAD LA-2A collection

  • UAD 1176 Collection

  • UAD API Vision Channel Strip

  • UAD Century Tube Channel Strip

  • UAD Oxide Tape Recorder

  • UAD Pure Plate Reverb

  • UAD Galaxy Tape Echo

  • UAD Studer A800

  • Oxford Inflator

  • Izotope Ozone Suite

  • Izotope Neutron Suite

  • Izotope Nectar

  • Celemony Melodyne Essential

  • Valhalla Vintage Verb

  • Waves Scheps 73 Equalizer

  • Wavesfactory Trackspacer

  • Ableton Suite Library

Browse the library of songs recorded or mixed by Joe May, tallying over 1,000,000 streams below:

Videos:

Submit form or email joemaymusic@gmail.com for any inquiries: