Rating
“In my phone consultation, Ian laid out the audiobook process like a game plan—making recording smooth and predictable.”
-Scot Loyd
- Professional Sound Quality: Achieve crystal-clear audio recordings that enhance the listening experience and make your audiobook stand out.
- Acoustically Treated Studio: Benefit from a soundproof environment designed to minimize noise and maximize clarity, ensuring optimal recording conditions.
- Experienced Audio Engineers: Work with skilled professionals who understand the nuances of audiobook production and provide guidance throughout the process.
- Personalized Support: Receive tailored assistance to help you navigate the recording process, from script preparation to final edits.
- Flexible Scheduling: Enjoy convenience with flexible booking options that fit your busy schedule, making it easy to get started on your project.
- Quick Turnaround Times: Experience efficient production with prompt delivery of your final audio files, so you can share your work with your audience sooner.
Location & Hours
1007 West 19th Street Chicago IL 60608
M-F 8am-8pm, Weekends 10am-7pm
-Recording is $45 per hour, 4-hour minimum.
Deposits And Booking
-Monday to Friday: $45 non-refundable deposit is required to secure/book time, covering the first hour of your session.
-Saturdays: $180 non-refundable deposit is required to secure/book time, covering the first four hours of your session.
-Deposits must be paid within 15 minutes of scheduling to secure your session. No exceptions.
-Failure to show results in deposit loss. No exceptions.
Timing and Payments:
-Sessions start at the confirmed arrival time. No exceptions.
-Please arrive no more than 5 minutes early. If unable to accommodate, you’ll need to wait outside.
Reviews From Untold Stories' Artists
Welcome to Untold Stories Recordings, your premier Chicago recording studio for audiobook recording. We’re here to capture your voice with clarity and warmth, helping authors and narrators bring stories to life with state-of-the-art equipment.
Our Audiobook Recording Process
Recording an audiobook is all about capturing your narrative’s heart. Here’s how we make it happen in our recording studio:
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- Studio Setup: We create a quiet, comfortable environment with optimal acoustics in our sound proof and professionally treated booth to ensure your voice shines. Think of it as setting the perfect stage for your story.
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- Microphone Selection: We choose from our premium mics, usually a Neumann U87, to match your voice’s tone, whether it’s deep and resonant or light and expressive. Mic positioning is fine-tuned for clarity.
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- Recording: Using our analog gear like our Neve preamps we will use EQ and a bit of 76 compression to capture peaks and a wa2a to glue it all together, we capture clean, high-quality audio. Our focus is on raw recordings that sound professional straight out of the booth.
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- Playback Review: We provide real-time playback at either normal or 1.5x-2.0x (faster) speed so you can hear your takes and make adjustments, ensuring you’re happy with the performance.
Simplified Recording Process
We’re happy to record your audiobook however you prefer, but we’ve developed a method to streamline editing and production:
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- Step 1: Record an entire chapter.
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- Step 2: Playback the chapter and punch in to fix any mistakes.
Optional: Professional Audiobook Mastering
Publishing to ACX, Audible, or other audiobook platforms? We offer professional technical mastering to ensure your files meet all platform requirements. If you already have a mastering engineer or prefer to handle it yourself, no problem—you’re welcome to record with us and take your files elsewhere. We’re also happy to provide mastering referrals if needed.
What’s Included:
• ACX technical compliance verification (loudness, noise floor, peaks)
• Loudness normalization to platform standards (-18 to -23 LUFS RMS)
• Noise reduction and room tone optimization
• Peak limiting (prevents clipping, -3dB maximum)
• Professional file formatting (MP3, 192 kbps CBR, 44.1 kHz sample rate)
• Unlimited technical revisions if platform rejects for technical reasons
• 5-10 business day turnaroundWhy It Works: Because our recording process delivers clean, edited files from the session, mastering is purely technical processing—no additional editing or content fixes needed. Your files are already broadcast-ready; we simply optimize them for platform compliance.
Availability: Recording clients only (files must be recorded at our studio)
Rate: $150 per finished hour
Minimum: 1 finished hour ($150)
Payment: Full payment required before mastering beginsExample Pricing:
• 3-hour audiobook: $450
• 5-hour audiobook: $750
• 8-hour audiobook: $1,200
• 10-hour audiobook: $1,500One-Stop Convenience: Record AND master your audiobook in one place—no need to coordinate with separate mastering services or navigate file handoffs between vendors. Or record with us and handle mastering on your own—whatever works best for your workflow.
- Step 2: Playback the chapter and punch in to fix any mistakes.
Results
With this method, our high-quality recordings often need only light mastering, minimizing or completely eliminating the need for any additional editing or mixing.
Note: We specialize in audiobook recording and technical mastering for platform compliance. Our schedule with other clients does not allow for extended content editing (beyond the punch-in corrections made during your recording session). If additional content editing is needed beyond what’s captured in-session, we’re happy to provide referrals.
Cost and Booking
Recording Rate: $180 covers four hours of studio use. After four hours, recording is $45 per hour.
Optional Mastering: $150 per finished hour (recording clients only, see details above)
Book Now: Call us at (872) 444-6316.
Why Choose Us?
Our Chicago recording studio combines cutting-edge gear with a creative, welcoming vibe. We’re perfect for independent and professional authors and narrators who want high quality recordings with optional one-stop mastering for platform compliance. Let’s tell your story together.