Go To School Or Pay Studio

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RJMJ87

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Hi,

I am not looking to be a music producer or audio engineer; I am an artist who writes, sings, and performs my own material. Since creative stuff is my strong point and technical stuff is not (I have tried recording and editing my vocals before and it is SO frustrating), I am trying to decide whether to spend my money on option A: going to school (the Recording Connection) to learn how to record myself, or B: going to studio and paying someone to record for me. I know in the long run it costs more money for the studio time than if I could do all this myself, but I have several concerns about going to school. Quality is EXTREMELY important to me, and since I know recording and mixing is a science as well as an art form, I am concerned if I can make that jump from basic noob to someone who can record vocals and mix/master everything to sound like a CD you would buy in the store. I have a respect for what you recording engineers/producers do and do not know how long it really took you guys to reach the professional level you have and if it is possible for me to reach it within a six-month training period at the Recording Connection, or if I would be better off focusing on what I AM good at (being a musician) and leave the tech stuff to the pros (though it is SO hard out here in Illinois to find really good producers to work with! Another challenge for me :) ). Please advise as this is a very important decision to me and once the money is gone it is gone! LOL Also, as a side note, I do not need necessarily to learn how to record acoustic instruments because majority of my music is futuristic pop/electronic. I am having trouble concerning the vocals and putting it all together with the music. Please be brutally honest what you think or/and would do. I appreciate any advice and thank you in advance.
 
Go to school, but for something practical.
Then get a good job, then use the money to do both those things and more.
 
Maybe I should clarify. I am in mid-twenties, have a job, and am not looking to go to school for anything else. I am just a cheapo who dislikes spending time on things I am not particularly good at because I want more time to focus on things I am good at. So that is why I am weighing pros and cons to either going to school to learn recording or paying a studio to record for me. But I appreciate and thank you for your reply!
 
IMO you don't really need much school to learn recording, as there are so many online resources these days. If you enjoy it, you will improve. But since you're saying you don't, I'd just pay a studio. Good luck.
 
You are definitely right on that about if it is something one enjoys they will learn it with or without schooling and will improve on their own; what you said made a lot of sense. Even though it is common sense, a lot of times it is the simple things like that a person (me) forgets or does not look at when they are overwhelmed with the "bigger" things and pulled in a million directions. I agree with you 100% and since I HATE recording I think I will follow that advice and have the pros at the studios do their thing so I can enjoy mine. :) Thanks again for your help and you have a blessed day!
 
I'm going to cloud your question a little. I got into recording strictly to get my song ideas to a listenable condition, not for the sake of recording, turning knobs or watching flashing lights. But I'm a technical guy, so I understand most everything about recording. (It still took a few years to get my skills to the level I'm happy with!!)

I have found that recording has become part of the songwriting process. The creative side isn't really complete until I do a mixdown. Now, I can't see myself relinquishing this part of my songwriting to anyone else. I would love to get teh qualty of a pro studio by someone who really knows what they are doing, but I simply can't afford it and my music certainly doesn't pay for itself.

I would suggest to you a little of both. Learn to record you ideas in your home, to a useable point. Then go to a studio to get it done properly. With your own recordings in your hand when you walk in, a lot of the pre-production is done and you can get straight to recording. This will save a lot of time and money in the studio, reworking songs, etc. You don't want to be paying a studio while you're still writing a song.

I don't think you need to go to a school. There is a lot to be learned just from reading and following forums like this place. Enough to get your ideas into a rough form so the songwriting part is done.

Just my two cents.....
Good luck and have fun!!!
 
Chili said:
I'm going to cloud your question a little. I got into recording strictly to get my song ideas to a listenable condition, not for the sake of recording, turning knobs or watching flashing lights. But I'm a technical guy, so I understand most everything about recording. (It still took a few years to get my skills to the level I'm happy with!!)

I have found that recording has become part of the songwriting process. The creative side isn't really complete until I do a mixdown. Now, I can't see myself relinquishing this part of my songwriting to anyone else. I would love to get teh qualty of a pro studio by someone who really knows what they are doing, but I simply can't afford it and my music certainly doesn't pay for itself.

I would suggest to you a little of both. Learn to record you ideas in your home, to a useable point. Then go to a studio to get it done properly. With your own recordings in your hand when you walk in, a lot of the pre-production is done and you can get straight to recording. This will save a lot of time and money in the studio, reworking songs, etc. You don't want to be paying a studio while you're still writing a song.

I don't think you need to go to a school. There is a lot to be learned just from reading and following forums like this place. Enough to get your ideas into a rough form so the songwriting part is done.

Just my two cents.....
Good luck and have fun!!!
Click to expand...

If you absolutely hate recording then forget it; There's no point.

But if there's even a slight bit of interest there, do what Chili said.

I work with a guy who (now) relies on at least a basic recording as part of his songwriting process.
Whether that's recording it live with me and having me add piano/lead/hand percussion, or whether it's just recording it on his iphone so he can jam along or think the lyrics through better.

I think recording at a basic level is so accessible now that it'd be a shame not to use it, at very least as a songwriting tool.

This is good timing because I opened a session from last november. It was live scratch recordings of a CD we ended up doing for real in March.
I'd say about 50 or 60% of the November material carried over to the final record, but without that session and others in between, the takes in November would probably have been the final cut.
We learned a lot from those sessions, and FWIW they are terrible sounding, but sound quality wasn't the goal.
 
If you pay a studio to record you - And pay attention to what's happening at the studio - take a little extra time, ask a few extra questions - you're probably going to learn an awful lot during the sessions.
 
Massive Master said:
If you pay a studio to record you - And pay attention to what's happening at the studio - take a little extra time, ask a few extra questions - you're probably going to learn an awful lot during the sessions.
Click to expand...

This is true too. I had no interest in recording myself when I first went to a studio, but I found myself hovering around the engineer asking questions.
I definitely got my moneys worth that day! lol.
 
Chili makes some really good points too.

I think a lot depends on the level of sophistication of what you want to do. When I played in bands and rented studio time, we'd have a couple 8-hour days to track and mix a bunch of songs. I still have those recordings and, although they were well tracked, mixed, and mastered, they were pretty bare bones in terms of arrangement etc. because out eyes were always on the clock. No time to, say, go out in the street and record traffic sounds, mic up a giant heating-oil tank, or even do much embellishment with non-traditional rock instruments etc.

I also thought I knew how to record from making Portastudio demos and standing behind a studio engineer and saying "I think the guitar should come up." Buying my first digital equipments quickly put an end to that notion.

But right now, make no mistake, you will get a more polished result renting time.
 
Steenamaroo said:
This is true too. I had no interest in recording myself when I first went to a studio, but I found myself hovering around the engineer asking questions.
Click to expand...

The first time I went in I had no clue what the engineer was talking about 3/4 of the time.
 
Wow, I appreciate all your guys's responses. Sorry if this might be a tad long, but I will elaborate some more on my recording situation. I do some level of recording as it is in that I produce my music and have it completely arranged and set the way I want it because almost everything I do is off my Yamaha Motif XS 8 workstation (my baby!). So I definitely agree that a person wants to be able to record at least SOMETHING on their own because you guys are correct that the studio is the WORST place to be trying to figure out musically what you want. I recorded in someone's home studio once and it was not super pleasant because you do feel pressured by the clock, even though I was just recording vocals. I think the hardest thing for me when it comes to recording my vocals is since my music is electronic pop, when I put raw vocals with it I get really lost trying to make the two mesh together great. I know I need to use things like compressors, EQs, effects, etc., but after spending just one hour messing around with all that I feel like I need a drink (and I don't even drink! HA!). I thought of trying to learn through books, articles, sites like this one, and YouTube, but for some reason I do not seem to "get" it until I actually do it and I have someone there to walk me through my specific problem. I am just at a point in my life in which I feel super short on time to mess around with figuring this out when all I really want to do is just get my songs out there. But I am also thinking of the long-run too and the cost for studio time that will eventually accrue to way over the cost of tuition. If only a person could truly have it all! :) If six months learning hands-on through this school would enable me to do the professional, perfectionist quality of work I desire, then I will grin and bare it, but if that is an unreasonable expectation then I am better off going to the studio. That is why I thought I would ask on here because you guys know generally how long it took you to get to the level of expertise you are at now. I know one producer guy out here once told me it took him SIX YEARS to learn how to truly mix properly. Yikes! Yet a vocal coach I once had heard my stuff and said I could figure it out and to not give up on my production skills because I do very well for an "amateur" and it is not rocket science. Sure feels like it sometimes though! Recording is frustrating. But I thank you all again for your time and input and hope this next step in my music career will work itself out somehow.
 
You mentioned vocal tracking and electronic music, so what exactly is it that you'd be recording in a studio?

If it's just vocals, then I'd suggest maybe you need to learn how to track vocals well, and then just look for a mixing engineer.
You'll be tripping over guys who'll do it for you online.

If there's gona be tracking of drum kits and acoustic instruments involved, then yeah, maybe a studio is the best place for you.
Mastering all of that in six months is a tall order for anyone.
 
All the music and drums I pre-record in my workstation and edit them to how I like, so all I would need to record is vocals and then of course have everything mixed again to make the vocals go well with the music. From that point I don't mind sending them to Diskmakers for mastering since not all studios do that well, but it is the vocal recording and mixing that is killing this for me and where my angst is. I do agree with you that I am doubting six months is enough time for me to become the next Bruce Swedien, ha. But are there people who can really mix things for someone online? Is that a reputable, safe thing to do? I know once something is in a physical format it is already "copyrighted" but I am still protective of my work and wondering how "safe" sending my music to someone on the Internet would be. But it sounds like a fantastic idea actually because out here it is difficult finding studios/engineers that are great at pop music and actually know what they are doing. It is a really cool idea and I will definitely check into that. :)
 
There are certainly people online who'd mix for you. I, for example, would sell my granny for a bit of work. lol

You can find people on forums who are semi pro or very serious hobbyists, or you can look for established studios who offer online services.

If vocal tracking is all you'd be doing in a studio, I'd just knuckle down and read/watch some tutorials.
A great vocal recording setup can be had for very little time and patience, IMO.

As long as your room doesn't sound bad and you steer well clear or clipping and plosives, it's not difficult.

As far as copyright, I suppose registering your works (even demo versions) with royalty collection agencies would keep you covered if you're worried. I'm not 100% about that though. You'd need to confirm.
 
Thanks so much for the advice! I will watch some more videos about recording vocals tonight and continue researching it and see what comes of it. I think my biggest dislike about recording my vocals is the volume changes which I have heard a compressor fixes, and also how the vocals do not seem to "fit" into the music because electronic music is compressed and vocals are raw so they need to be edited to blend. But I will see what more I can find without pulling my hair out (too much). If I can get a decent raw track of vocals and can cover the protection of my work part of things, I would be very open in looking for online help to mix my songs and if you are interested I know where to find you! LOL I am the kind of person who once I find someone who does a really good job, whether it is a hairdresser, doctor, etc, I always stick to that person and give them all my business, so if you or anyone interested is really good and would enjoy mixing futuristic/pop music and making it sound pro, you would always be hearing from me because I have literally hundreds of songs I want to release so you will never get bored. : ) Thank you again to everyone here for your responses and fantastic ideas.
 
Volume variations are dealt with in two main ways.
One is to try to control them when you sing, by 'working the mic' properly.
The other is volume automation when mixing.

If you do hand mixing over to someone else, that becomes their job so don't sweat it. ;)


Best of luck. :)
 
Give a man a studio and he can record for a day. Teach a man to record and he can mix for a life time. Or something like that.

As others have said, for basic home recording you probably don't need formal training. There are lots of online resources (including this forum) that can get you churning out pretty good, if basic recordings.

Similarly, as Chili said, a bit of both might be the best for you. If you look at documentaries about musicians and composers, you'll see that most have some kind of project studio at home they use to test things and try out ideas. However, when they want the "real" recording they move to a professional studio and pay to have things done at the best quality. Similar could work for you.
 
Steenamaroo said:
This is true too. I had no interest in recording myself when I first went to a studio, but I found myself hovering around the engineer asking questions.
I definitely got my moneys worth that day! lol.
Click to expand...
That's one of the reasons I got suckered into being a mastering engineer. I used to be the liaison from the studio to the mastering studio (I'd be the one attending the session in lieu of the client) and just to keep from dying of boredom, I'd ask a lot of questions --- If for no other reason, it made me a much better mixing engineer and it put me 'in the know' of what the mastering engineers would consider an "ideal" source (levels, heads, tails, fades, etc., etc., etc.).

I still remember doing my first digital edit... I used to think it was like magic -- No razor, no tape, no scrubbing heads, no blood all over from cutting my finger on a sharp edge of the block --

Admittedly, I did have a bit of a problem with it when the boss first told me that basically it was my new job... That said, I guess it worked out in the long run to some extent. :facepalm:
 
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