thercman
New member
Hey everyone! Well I am enrolling in an audio engineering program at the local community college. My plan upon completion of the program is to set up a local recording studio for clients. Since this is going to take a fair amount of planning I figured I would start with the collective inputs from all you knowledgeable people. I have built a personal studio in my house so I have some very basic acoustic and equipment knowledge. (image below) This project however is going to take it to the next level I need to do as much homework as I can.
General Outline:
- I would like to cater to vocalists and small bands etc..
- Start basic and expand as the business progresses. (i.e. equipment)
This is just a preliminary gathering of ideas so bare with me. To start I am looking to rent a building. Since location will be of concern it will probably be in a strip mall location so I am thinking a Starbucks size area. (I would prefer a stand alone facility but I won't know what's available until I am actually looking.) Also, rent is going to play a huge role in choice selection. The good thing about a strip mall facility is that they are generally an open floor plan which will allow me to add walls etc.. Which brings me to my first question. How to lay it out? In the entrance area I am thinking a small lounge with couches. Once clientele pick up maybe have a pretty secretary out front. I will need a control/mixing room and at least one recording room. Should I have separate rooms one for solo vocalists/guitarists and another for full bands? Having a smaller and a larger room will give me some different physical acoustics outside of digital editing. Any thoughts on number of rooms and sizes? Of course each room will be treated, that's a given. Next is going to be the audio equipment. This is going to vary based on your personal preference I am sure, but if you were setting this up what gear would you buy to get you started? For example, would you buy a 32 channel mixer or a couple interfaces? What other rack gear would you consider staple in a studio? I know you can do just about everything in a DAW but... How much gear would you provide to the client, or have available to use? Various guitar and base cabinets and have them bring their own amps? How many mics/cables would you have on hand? Enough to set up a standard band with a couple back up mics? Then a few different vocal mics to suit various individual voices, ribbon, condenser etc.? What about instruments? Would you have a few on hand, say a couple types of guitars, maybe a digital piano? What about about a drum set? Would you include these items as part of the studio fee or charge additional fees? I know there is a lot here and this is just scratching the surface. With all of that said, think budget! All of this costs money, a lot of money and I am not rich. The wall construction, sound treatment is going to set me back a chuck of change. Like I said, the gear and other equipment can be added as I progress. Thanks in advance for any constructive feedback.
Here is an image of my home studio. I think these color would work well in the new studio as well... Since this was taken I have changed to a liquid cooled PC with duel 24" monitors and have added a Maschine to the equipment line up.
General Outline:
- I would like to cater to vocalists and small bands etc..
- Start basic and expand as the business progresses. (i.e. equipment)
This is just a preliminary gathering of ideas so bare with me. To start I am looking to rent a building. Since location will be of concern it will probably be in a strip mall location so I am thinking a Starbucks size area. (I would prefer a stand alone facility but I won't know what's available until I am actually looking.) Also, rent is going to play a huge role in choice selection. The good thing about a strip mall facility is that they are generally an open floor plan which will allow me to add walls etc.. Which brings me to my first question. How to lay it out? In the entrance area I am thinking a small lounge with couches. Once clientele pick up maybe have a pretty secretary out front. I will need a control/mixing room and at least one recording room. Should I have separate rooms one for solo vocalists/guitarists and another for full bands? Having a smaller and a larger room will give me some different physical acoustics outside of digital editing. Any thoughts on number of rooms and sizes? Of course each room will be treated, that's a given. Next is going to be the audio equipment. This is going to vary based on your personal preference I am sure, but if you were setting this up what gear would you buy to get you started? For example, would you buy a 32 channel mixer or a couple interfaces? What other rack gear would you consider staple in a studio? I know you can do just about everything in a DAW but... How much gear would you provide to the client, or have available to use? Various guitar and base cabinets and have them bring their own amps? How many mics/cables would you have on hand? Enough to set up a standard band with a couple back up mics? Then a few different vocal mics to suit various individual voices, ribbon, condenser etc.? What about instruments? Would you have a few on hand, say a couple types of guitars, maybe a digital piano? What about about a drum set? Would you include these items as part of the studio fee or charge additional fees? I know there is a lot here and this is just scratching the surface. With all of that said, think budget! All of this costs money, a lot of money and I am not rich. The wall construction, sound treatment is going to set me back a chuck of change. Like I said, the gear and other equipment can be added as I progress. Thanks in advance for any constructive feedback.
Here is an image of my home studio. I think these color would work well in the new studio as well... Since this was taken I have changed to a liquid cooled PC with duel 24" monitors and have added a Maschine to the equipment line up.