Hear YOU in The TANK
It’s never been easier to have the TANK’s totally unique sound environment all to yourself… from anywhere in the world. Come to Rangely, Colorado for the incomparable experience of being inside the TANK, or experiment and record remotely using Sonobus low latency softare. Either way, the TANK’s professional engineering staff will guide you throug the process. It all starts with you sending an email to info@tanksounds.org.
There are just a few simple steps to get started.
The Skinny
Decide whether you want to be on-site or remote.
Contact us at info@tanksounds.org to schedule.
Your message to info should include the number in your party, your preferred date and an alternate date.
Let us know what you’d like to do during your session, and if you’d like to book a half or whole day.
Once your date is arranged, we will send you a payment link. We require payment in advance in order to confirm the reservation. We’ll also communicate with you about your visit, to give our staff needed information to prepare. Reservations that are cancelled more than one month before the visit are refundable, otherwise not.
Experience The TANK In Person - Reserve an On-Site Recording Session
The Tank is available for visiting and on-site recording from May 1st to October 31st.
You can reserve The TANK to play in it, with or without our professional recording services. You’ll hear yourself as never before. (Read about Ben Neill and Todd Barton’s TANK experiences on our home page.) Your TANK experience will be hosted by one of our on-site musician-engineers, and we have a wide array of sound-making devices and instruments, should you want to experiment with them.
Contact us at info@tanksounds.org to start your booking process. Requests should include the number in your party, your preferred date and an alternate date. Let us know what you’d like to do at The Tank, whether you plan to record, and if you’d like a half or a whole day.
Once your date is arranged, we will send you a payment link. We require payment in advance in order to confirm the reservation. We’ll also communicate with you about your visit, to give our staff needed information to prepare. Reservations that are cancelled more than one month before the visit are refundable, otherwise not.
Please note that the session costs described below are for use of The Tank directly by musicians, sound artists, and sonic pilgrims. They do not pertain to high-end work involving remote professional recording studios, venues, and the like. Please contact us at info@tanksounds.org, or at +1 (970) 368-2657 to discuss these special situations. At no time, either at The Tank or in a remote session with The Tank, is impulse response recording allowed.
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$45/hour
$180 for four-hour “half day” session
$360 for an eight-hour “full day” session
You are, of course, free to record yourself at these rates.
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$110/hr, 2 hour minimum
$440 for four-hour “half day” session
$880 for eight-hour “full day” session
Want to add video services from the TANK ? Talk to us about whether you want a single stationary camera or something more complicated with live camera people.
Are you bringing your own video crew? Again, tak to us to make sure there won’t be any additional costs (lighting, etc.)
Reserve a Remote Recording Session
Put Your Head In The Tank
The TANK’s engineers are expert at a system of remote connection which allows you to hear yourself playing in the TANK. This allows you to to record there from wherever you may be. Our Slow Beethoven album was recorded this way, from New York City’s National Sawdust, as was the Hainbach and Simon Spiess album, We Collide, We Shatter, We Grow, from Berlin, Germany. Our binaural head (we call her Miranda) and our other network of microphones – some of them hung high in the tower – capture the most transparent overtones in the reverberation.
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$110/hr, 2 hour minimum
$440 for four-hour “half day” session
$880 for eight-hour “full day” session
While it’s possible to book only two hours, we highly recommend a longer booking. It’s going to take a little time to introduce you to the Sonobus low latency software we use for remote recordings, and it’s going to take your ears a little time to adjust to being in two places at one time.
The TANK's Sonic Qualities
The profound reverberation inside the TANK is totally unique. With interior dimensions of 65 feet tall and a diameter of 40 feet, there is plenty of airspace for huge sonic response.
The Tank has a conical dome ceiling and a convex parabolic floor, the combination of which allows a dimensional rich swirling reverb largely devoid of slapback echoes.
It is constructed with hard surfaces of ½” steel which absorbs very little and keeps the reverb spinning.
First reflections are bright and shiny, with not much dispersion.
Nothing else sounds like this space. Many musicians consider The Tank to be a musical instrument that you play with a trumpet, or a drum, or whatever sound you bring. Johnny 5 from the Flobots says it all with his rap about “Swimming in the TANK”.
Technical Information about Recording at The TANK
The doorway to the Tank is 80”x40” for easy load in of you and your instrument(s)
120v power is available everywhere.
We have theatrical lighting, with LED spots and upwashes, and a theatrical fly system to lift microphones into almost any position.
We have a standard 6 microphone setup which can be adjusted to most situations. More about our microphones below.
Meyers Sound UPJunior speakers are available for within the Tank amplification.
The control room is housed in a bespoke acoustically treated shipping container steps away from the TANK door, and is connected to The TANK by
12 XLR input lines, 4 XLR return lines, 2 category 6 ethernet lines, and 2 BNC lines for video.
A large diameter spare conduit is empty awaiting additional future demands.
Gear available for Recording:
(2) DPA 4006 omni condenser mics
(2) Rode NT5 omni/cardioid
(2) Charter Oak E700 large diaphragm multi pattern condenser mics
(1) 3DIO Pro binaural microphones
(1) Grace Design m108 provides 8 channels of pristine transparent microphone preamplification
(1) RME 802 audio interface
Pro Tools and/or Ableton Live for recording software
(2) KRK Rocket 8s, with KRK S12 subwoofer
Accessibility
The Tank is committed to making visits and recording sessions broadly accessible to everyone. We will work with you individually to provide help with filling out an application, providing descriptive print materials in accessible formats and tailoring accommodations for concert events and recording sessions. And we’ve worked hard to make access to The Tank easy for people with disabilities, including wheelchair use. Please talk to us about your special needs.
To find out more, or to make alternative arrangements for applying to and visiting The Tank, write us at info@tanksounds.org, or call us at (970) 368-2657.
Climate and Conditions
The Tank is in the high desert at 5,297 feet above sea level. Weather conditions can be extreme and unpredictable, with high winds, strong thunderstorms, and widely variable temperatures, from 100 degrees in the day to the 30s at night. Bring a sun hat, sunscreen, bug repellent and clothing in layers. You might want to bring nasal saline to counter the desert aridity, as well as a water bottle of your own. (TANK regulars are fond of putting salt in their Arnold Palmers to help stay hydrated.) Please note, we ask everyone to remove their shoes before entering The Tank.
Location and Directions
The TANK Center for Sonic Arts is located at 233 County Road 46, in Rangely, Colorado 81648. The nearest airport with rental car service is in Vernal, Utah, about an hour away. By car, Rangely is roughly five hours from Denver, four hours from Salt Lake City, and two hours from Grand Junction, Colorado.