While Chinese New Year generally means heading for the sun, sand and rampant sex tourism of Southeast Asia, for a large number of expats living in Shanghai, the extra week off is also the perfect time for local(ish) music types to bunker down in any one of the city’s recording studios to lay down that elusive demo, EP or LP.

It’s true that proper recording gear in Shanghai is in short supply, but rather than hunting down every last SM57 microphone and M-Audio interface to produce your tracks on a shoestring, Shanghai actually has some accessible recording studios at entry-level budgets.

Every record begins with the drums and although the pragmatist may want to save some cash, the savvy artist will head over to Acid Juice Studios on Panyu Lu. While the ¥1,800-per day price tag is a bit steep, engineer Kim Young-Jin’s microphone selection is unparalleled, boasting a set of 57s, an AKG 112 and a Neumann u87 and m149.

Acid Juice, which also features a DDA AMR24 16-track consul, a pair of Avalon 2044 compressors and a ProTools 7 rig, has been frequented by Swing Dynasty and Mortal Fools, and was the recording site for an upcoming release from the Dovetail Joints.

If Acid Juice is a bit out of your range and you’re more interested in stellar guitar tones, Wu Jun’s 13D Studios (13916808544) on Damuqiao Lu may be your ideal hit. Anchored by its PreSonus Studiolive 16.4.2 mixer, 13D features an extensive range of amps, including a Fender Deluxe Reverb and Bassman 70, a Mesa Boogie Triple Rectifier and Marshall JCM 900, and will run you ¥200 per hour or ¥1,500 for the whole day.

Over on Huashan Lu, at JuJu / Postape Studios, manager Li Wei has a similar focus on guitar sounds, offering a number of more obscure, but equally heavy amp heads, ranging from the Eddie Van Halen-endorsed Peavy 5150 to a couple of vintage Traynor heads. The studio of choice for Muscle Snog, Top Floor Circus, Hard Queen and Boys Climbing Ropes, JuJu / Postape operates a ProTools 7.4 rig, for the reasonable price of ¥200 per hour.

While these studios provide the gear and space, you'd be wise to seek out an audio veteran to mix your raw data. While Kim and Wu Jun both offer mixing services, Adam Gaensler of Luwan Rock, who's currently at the helm of sessions for Stegosaurus?, is an emerging engineer who will leave you with a quality finished product to play to your returning friends when they tell tales of Bali beaches and tranny love.