studio time

T

trax

New member
Im gonnna open up a studio in about a month.How much should I charge for studio time.
My setup:
motif6
amp
turntable
mad vinyl
002rack(gettin in 3 weeks)
decent size booth
mackie 16 track mixer
event monitors
have a good mic,but forgot the name
fruityloops
mpd-16
protues 2000
 
Yeah I second that gordone...
If 3 months ago you had to ask what mixing down was...
You may not want to open a studio.

Also, your gear list doesn't look all that extensive... to be honest.
You have "A" mic, but you forgot the name of it?
Seems like you have a basic home studio set up capable of doing,
Well, capable of handling demo stuff for your own needs.

But, I don't know that I would pay to go to your "studio"

Sorry, if I sound harsh, but I'm a very cynical person...
 
Yes, I agree that you should learn the craft (and not just because I am in the business of teaching it) If you are at the level your posts would imply, there is still a lot left to learn before you start charging money.

I would get a bunch of projects in for free so you can cut your teeth and get your skills up. The problem is, that if you charge people money, even if its only a few bucks an hour and you do a bad job PEPLE WILL TALK!!! Musicians love to talk about it if they feel like they have been screwed or thrown their money away.

What you should do is find some local musicians and tell them that you are learning to record and you would love to use them to test out your studio for free so that you can practice on them. Its a win-win
 
Ronan said:
What you should do is find some local musicians and tell them that you are learning to record and you would love to use them to test out your studio for free so that you can practice on them. Its a win-win
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Good advice. That is exactly what I am doing (other than my own stuff).
 
guinea pig bands! :)

my band managed to get a reasonably high quality four track CD recorded and produced for free (including inserts and extra copies) by someone who *thought* he didnt really know what he was doing :P.

its a good way for everyone to practise their skills and no one feels like theyre getting ripped off at the end, because if any good sounds come out at the end then its more than the band/musicians had at the start and the studio people can feel a bit more confident, and if you hardly achieve anything Everyone can learn from their mistakes.

*shrugs* thats how i saw it anyway.
 
Wow, I'm impressed. You're getting 002 in 3 weeks and opening a commercial studio in 4! That gives you a week to learn everything about Pro Tools! What'll you do with the other 5 days? The cool part is you've got a good mic, but don't know what it is. It's great to see someone concentrating on the important thing (money) without getting caught up in that silly gear thing. You are not even remotely ready to go commercial.-Richie
 
andydeedpoll said:
guinea pig bands! :)

my band managed to get a reasonably high quality four track CD recorded and produced for free (including inserts and extra copies) by someone who *thought* he didnt really know what he was doing :P.
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Damned, and stealing our fucking job :)!
 
andydeedpoll said:
my band managed to get a reasonably high quality four track CD recorded and produced for free (including inserts and extra copies) by someone who *thought* he didnt really know what he was doing :P.
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Except in this case, he really doesn't know what he's doing!
 
I do songleading/worship service leading/religious school music for Jewish events, I've been doing it professionally for about 9 years, been playing guitar for about 15. I charge between $100-$200 for a ~2 hour event (depending on drive time). What Trax is asking in my terms is:
"I just got a guitar in the mail, It's blue but I don't know the brand. I can sort of play G, and C, but it takes me a long time to change between them. I want to charge churches/synagogues to go and lead them in worship. I was thinking about $500 to show up with my blue guitar and play Hava Nagila..."

Seriously, I have nothing against wanting to learn the craft, and I am more than willing to help new folks out (with guitar playing/songleading/recording/skiing), but it just rubs me the wrong way when folks want to start charging folks when they obviously don't have the skills/knowledge yet.

BTW, I could probably do a whole gig playing just Am, Dm, E, C, G, D, but I can change between them pretty quickly :)
 
gordone said:
BTW, I could probably do a whole gig playing just Am, Dm, E, C, G, D, but I can change between them pretty quickly :)
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I think you're gonna want A in there as well. Maybe some cowbell too.

Hey, did you ever consider this for an avatar:

bios_townspeople_krusty.gif
 
I tried setting that up as my Avatar, but it's too big. I guess I can resize it at home. Besides, I don't smoke! Now if I could find a picture of Krusty with his yarmulke on (from the Bar Mitzvah episode) that would be cool.
Homer is still my favorite character on the show, so I'll probably just keep Homer!

NO COWBELL! :)

mshilarious said:
I think you're gonna want A in there as well. Maybe some cowbell too.

Hey, did you ever consider this for an avatar:

bios_townspeople_krusty.gif
Click to expand...
 
gordone said:
I tried setting that up as my Avatar, but it's too big. I guess I can resize it at home. Besides, I don't smoke! Now if I could find a picture of Krusty with his yarmulke on (from the Bar Mitzvah episode) that would be cool.
Homer is still my favorite character on the show, so I'll probably just keep Homer!

NO COWBELL! :)
Click to expand...

Check me out now . . . you're welcome to it if you want it. I could have cleaned up the lines a bit though. Maybe I'll go look for a Rabbi Krustofski.
 
if you have got the basics down and are possibly dealing with younger kids who just want a cd of their own and are not looking to do things professionally then just charge significantly less than a real studio in your area. i live in the suburbs and there are tons of garage bands that would pay to have themselves recorded and if you're novice and they dont really have a preference as far as sound quality and such then it would be decent to charge them a cheap rate so everybody is happy. i wouldnt go crazy calling yourself a professional and trying to attract serious bands though. also, the guinea pig bands is a good idea. if you are dealing with a possibly more serious band then just offer to do it for free or a minimal charge to cover costs. work your way up and feel your way around it first. possibly take some time before trying to start your studio. just because you have gear doesnt mean you have the skills.
 
Yeah, Guinea Pig idea is a good idea. That way, if it comes out crappy, the band was probably expecting that beforehand, and nobody's really mad. If it comes out great (or even just halfway decent), the band will love you, and tell all their friends about this awesome person who was nice enough to record them for free and did an excellent job.

Judging from your equipment, I'm assuming you're trying to record some sort of rap or techno/electrica. I really really hope you're not trying to do a full band with one mic. Anyway, please don't be a jerk and go take advantage of somebody who doesn't know how to find a good studio or how much to pay and ends up giving you money for something really bad and unprofessional. There are enough jerks in the music industry, so please, be cool; get some expieriance, do some freebies.
 
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