Spending money on studio time .... needed anymore?

E

endserenading81

New member
Hello,
I am finishing up recording an album right now. I believe I have ample equipment and space to fully record the album in my home; Logic Pro, Studio Projects SP1 Mic, MOTU Interface, iMac computer, and Waves plugins .. etc.

However, even with all this that a lot of bands have, they still go into the studio ... and of course I know it's because the expertise of other mixers, engineers, etc.

I don't have much money .... but I am really wanting this album to be the best I can do.

If I could get together a couple hundred dollars this summer ..... when the album is fully recorded ... what would you guys spend that money on?

MIXING .... OR MASTERING? Or both?

Here is a little sample my past music ... so that you guys could tell me if I need NONE, or ALL. Ha ha.
https://soundcloud.com/stargraph/three-miles-outside-of-canada

Thank you!
Rob
 
Everybody's situation is different....me personally, I'd spend it on mastering. Most home recorders are competent mixers, but most of us either can't master or don't have the optimum facilities to do so. If, however, your mixing skills are lacking, mixing is more important than mastering so you may want to invest there.
 
I Would Recommend Try to mix the project as well as you can, once you have your best mix ask for oppinions from other engineers try to avoid clipping as much as possible make shure you are happy with your end project, then invest in your mastering although their are great tutorials on how to master tracks your self i actually learned of youtube and forums such as these you can a program called Izotope4 which is descent mastering plug in. I do most of my mastering on Cubase but that is just my prefrence... but i would agree aswell if your mixes are good then invest in mastering if not invest in your mixes.

Fernando Lamp - Levels Recording/whatsmusic911.blogspot.mx
"If you think Im Underrated that is your richest thought"
 
Spending money on studio time .... needed anymore?

It depends, some people are good at recording, have an ear for a good mix, and have the technical brains to make it all happen. Moby's lay album springs to mind. Link and Link2, just a side story, I bought this album the week it was released, and spent the next year wondering why it was not being played, then the rest of the world discovered it, to be this album was ground breaking.

Others buy tons of gear and will never be able to get anything to work, sound wise, software wise, or technical wise. We get 1000 posts a day right here to prove it, by the way that does not mean that they cannot record demos at home and use it as a work in progress, it's just that they won't get a professional product.

Also how many home recordists can record a drum kit, record a whole band together in the studio (to get a band vibe) have a sound proof, acoustically good room to record in? Most of my clients want to get on with making music and leave the technical side to me. If you are doing rap / hip hop there is no reason why you can't do it in a bedroom, if you are a loud rock band with guitars and drums the story is at some stage you may need a studio.

So the answer, some need a studio some don't.

Alan.
 
If the band has live drums, I'd record basic tracks in a studio with a good drum/live room .. if you were going to do all the overdubs and mix yourself, find a good ME that also does mix consultation ..there's also the possibility to work with stems which leaves a bit of flexibility.
 
Cool vibe to that song. It sounds like you have a "sound" and you know how to get there. In that case, I'd spend the money on mastering. But save more than a couple of hundred for a full album. A crappy mastering engineer can ruin an album just as easily as a good one can improve one.

endserenading81 said:
Hello,
I am finishing up recording an album right now. I believe I have ample equipment and space to fully record the album in my home; Logic Pro, Studio Projects SP1 Mic, MOTU Interface, iMac computer, and Waves plugins .. etc.

However, even with all this that a lot of bands have, they still go into the studio ... and of course I know it's because the expertise of other mixers, engineers, etc.

I don't have much money .... but I am really wanting this album to be the best I can do.

If I could get together a couple hundred dollars this summer ..... when the album is fully recorded ... what would you guys spend that money on?

MIXING .... OR MASTERING? Or both?

Here is a little sample my past music ... so that you guys could tell me if I need NONE, or ALL. Ha ha.
https://soundcloud.com/stargraph/three-miles-outside-of-canada

Thank you!
Rob
Click to expand...
 
To echo what a lot of other folks have said, it seems from the mix you posted that you basically know what you're doing as far as mixing goes. If you're happy with the mix, I'd say spend the money on mastering instead.
 
pop the odd mix in the MP3 Mixing clinic (one at a time specifically and not all on a day/week) for some mix feedback. If you get some help there (I usually do) and tweak things you'll be ready for an ME. If the mixes are good but there are some problems an ME may be able to help by "stem mastering" for you - costs more but can be very helpful - I found Stem work really helped my older recordings that had problems due to being recorded in different places and with widely varying quality is sound.
 
rayc said:
pop the odd mix in the MP3 Mixing clinic (one at a time specifically and not all on a day/week) for some mix feedback. If you get some help there (I usually do) and tweak things you'll be ready for an ME. If the mixes are good but there are some problems an ME may be able to help by "stem mastering" for you - costs more but can be very helpful - I found Stem work really helped my older recordings that had problems due to being recorded in different places and with widely varying quality is sound.
Click to expand...

Very yes on this! Budget yourself about a week per song to get feedback and tweak the mix, and the mp3 clinic will get you results. (You may take a day or two to get feedback on any new thread; just be patient and bump it every 24 hours or so.)
 
Maybe you can dry hire a mix room? This way you can take your own system, wire in and tweak with better quality monitoring and acoustics, that could be done fairly quickly get better results and not break the projects bank.

cheers

SafeandSound Mastering
Choosing the best mastering
 
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I think its a generic statement to just say MIX or Master..there has to be some credibility to the person doing the work. I could Master it for you but Ive never mastered before, and you'd wasted your money.
A friend sent his EJ Stratocaster neck to have redone, and the website looked professional and he was cheap and the neck came back messed up.

In the long run , probably finding a mixing engineer and mastering would allow you to focus on the writing and tracking. or at least do a lot of research into mixing and mastering and examples.

internet allows "zipping" tracks and masters around so that opens up a large possibility of keeping yourself from becoming burnt out and fried. my small experience with bands doing it all is burnout and squabbling amongst themselves.

I mean if it doesn't sell then the band can all blame it on the mix/master engineer together, as a tight knit band... because the ME ruined the song with too much cowbell.
 
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