Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

Students rock the Red Room

Red Door Recording opened Sept. 29, 2012 inside Off The Beaten Path music store and allows students and community members alike to rent the room for $45 for a four-hour minimum.
Red Door Recording opened Sept. 29, 2012 inside Off The Beaten Path music store and allows students and community members alike to rent the room for $45 for a four-hour minimum.

Kailey Decker, For The Miami Student

Red Door Recording opened Sept. 29, 2012 inside Off The Beaten Path music store and allows students and community members alike to rent the room for $45 for a four-hour minimum. (Mike Zatt | The Miami Student)

Oxford offers students plenty of clothing stores and restaurants and now students have access to Red Door Recording, a recording studio located inside Off The Beaten Path.

Off The Beaten Path sits at the obscure address of 119½ A W. High St. and prides itself on being "Oxford's Music Store."

According to owner Johnny Helfinstine, the music store opened in August 2008 and after chasing his dream, he opened the inner recording studio Sept. 29, 2012.

"For me, it was always about opening a studio," Helfinstine explained. "It was kind of like Field of Dreams. If you build it, they will come."

Helfinstine said there are a few recording studios in Hamilton and assumes there are some home studios too, however to his knowledge, Off The Beaten Path's Red Door Recording Studio is the only commercial recording studio in Oxford.

"Not many small college towns have recording studios, so I've definitely never seen anything like this in Oxford," sophomore Stephanie Leinbach said.

Helfinstine said that although he has not been in business long enough to get any repeat recording studio customers, he said he believes he will since it is open to both students and Oxford residents.

He said that nearly 85 percent of his clients are Miami University students, which he said he appreciates because he is a Miami alumnus.

"I love going to tiny music stores like Off The Beaten Path," first-year Allie Merkelson said. "They have great music but you often don't see recording studios in them, so that's definitely an attraction for Miami students."

According to Helfinstine, anyone can contact the store to set up a recording time that is convenient for both parties. Sessions cost $45 an hour for a four-hour minimum.

Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter

However, Helfinstine said he can negotiate the price with the musician for sessions less than four-hours. Customers bring their own instruments and microphones and at the end of the day they will get a CD of their work.

"One of the biggest surprises was when two Americans came in and sang in Chinese for a school project," Helfinstine said. "It was cool because they said it was going to be heard in China. But honestly I just like to see it work."

To contact Off The Beaten Path or Red Door Recordings you can call 513-523-5800 or email OfftheBeatenPath@live.com or Reddoorrecording@live.com.