What is a good recording studio to get?

[Mrfishingexpert]

New here to the forums.. I'm in high school and i'm frontman for a Metalcore/Pop Punk/Country/Christian Rock band named Poseidon. We have a lot of fans at our school and they keep telling us we need to record and burn it on some CD's to give out, because a good deal of people want them! So I'm here to ask what is the best recording studio/software to get for what we are doing? We don't want any cheap junk, but we don't want any thing WAY up in price. We aren't "amateur" musicians, we want to sound like a professional recording. We are looking for a quality recording system, and editing software to shine up our voices and instruments like they do in real recording studios, and looking to burn our songs (12 on this album) on to CD's. What do you guys recommend? And if it matters, we play with 2 guitars, 2 vocals, a bass, and drum kit. I'm completely new to this stuff and have never recorded, but my buddy that i hired as our producer takes a video tech class and is SUPER smart with this kid of stuff. Thanks for your help guys!!

---------- Update ----------

 

[Steenamaroo]

New here to the forums.. I'm in high school and i'm frontman for a Metalcore/Pop Punk/Country/Christian Rock band named Poseidon. We have a lot of fans at our school and they keep telling us we need to record and burn it on some CD's to give out, because a good deal of people want them! So I'm here to ask what is the best recording studio/software to get for what we are doing? We don't want any cheap junk, but we don't want any thing WAY up in price. We aren't "amateur" musicians, we want to sound like a professional recording. We are looking for a quality recording system, and editing software to shine up our voices and instruments like they do in real recording studios, and looking to burn our songs (12 on this album) on to CD's. What do you guys recommend? I'm completely new to this stuff and have never recorded, but my buddy that i hired as our producer takes a video tech class and is SUPER smart with this kid of stuff. Thanks for your help guys!!

---------- Update ----------

And if it matters, we play with 2 guitars, 2 vocals, a bass, and drum kit.

Hi there,
Not to sound defeatist but how much money can you get together between you?
Honestly, unless someone in the group has a particular interest in recording long term, I'd just go to a studio.
If you aren't amateur musicians then a studio is ideal....Spend your time getting the songs 100% solid.

That's not to say it can't be done, but it's incredible how many people spend all their money on gear then realise there's a steep enough learning curve.

EDIT: Please keep it to one post.
If the spamshow is any reflection of your patience, definitely don't take up recording.
I'm going to move this to newbie section for now.

 

[Massive Master]

(snip) we want to sound like a professional recording.

Then go to a professional studio with professional engineers as Steenamaroo suggests. A "super smart buddy who takes a video class" does not an audio engineer make by any stretch. You could plunk down anywhere between "several thousand" for a pretty basic setup to tens of thousands and up and then spend several years learning how to make recordings that even pass as "reasonably listenable" -- Or you can go to a place that's already invested that money and time and come out with something decent.

 

[Bobbsy]

Yup.

You can "get" a recording studio by spending a million or two buying an established business but you'd still need somebody to run it. Otherwise, you don't get a studio. You research lots, buy a lot of fairly expensive gear, acoustically treat a space and go through a long learning curve figuring out how to get the best out of it.

So...unless you have an actual interest in going through that learning curve, the advice to book time in a professional studio is spot on. You'd have to spend a lot of cash and a lot of time to get the professional results you say you want.

 

[Mrfishingexpert]

Maybe I'm miss leading you guys, although thanks for the responses. I'm talking about a home studio. Like one that i can do the editing on my computer and what not here at home. Like the ones i've seen for 500-$1000?

But then again, i guess it would be best to hit the real studio?

 

[Steenamaroo]

Maybe I'm miss leading you guys, although thanks for the responses. I'm talking about a home studio. Like one that i can do the editing on my computer and what not here at home. Like the ones i've seen for 500-$1000?

No, I get what you're asking. You could have a modest recording setup for under $1000 I'm sure but the gear won't necessarily get you a good record just like a having scalpel won't make you able to do heart surgery.
If you're interested in learning recording and want to put a whole bunch of time into trial and error and practice that's cool and we can recommend gear,
but if the goal is a good record I'd seriously just go to a studio.
You get to spend your precious time perfecting the material, and take advantage of the years someone else has put into learning recording.
*Hands up if it took you more than 2 years to realise your recording/mixing room sounded awful.....*


Sure, some new-starts have a knack but most people make countless shit records before they make anything half decent.
If you're doing it right the editing and software are the least important parts.

 

[jimistone]

No, I get what you're asking. You could have a modest recording setup for under $1000 I'm sure but the gear won't necessarily get you a good record just like a having scalpel won't make you able to do heart surgery.
If you're interested in learning recording and want to put a whole bunch of time into trial and error and practice that's cool and we can recommend gear,
but if the goal is a good record I'd seriously just go to a studio.
You get to spend your precious time perfecting the material, and take advantage of the years someone else has put into learning recording.
*Hands up if it took you more than 2 years to realise your recording/mixing room sounded awful.....*


Sure, some new-starts have a knack but most people make countless shit records before they make anything half decent.
If you're doing it right the editing and software are the least important parts.

Yeah, I have a library of crappy recordings of really good performances. It really sucks to have great performances recorded horribly....but, I guess it"s better than not having anything.
I can finally get decent results on my recordings now....but, I'm too old to get those stellar performances anymore.
LOL
I agree 100% with steen. Get your songs tight and go to a good pro studio. It would be way cheaper than buying all the mics and studio gear to do it yourself. Plus, even if you have the gear it's doubtful you would yield good results in the first year or 2.

 

[Mrfishingexpert]

No, I get what you're asking. You could have a modest recording setup for under $1000 I'm sure but the gear won't necessarily get you a good record just like a having scalpel won't make you able to do heart surgery.
If you're interested in learning recording and want to put a whole bunch of time into trial and error and practice that's cool and we can recommend gear,
but if the goal is a good record I'd seriously just go to a studio.
You get to spend your precious time perfecting the material, and take advantage of the years someone else has put into learning recording.
*Hands up if it took you more than 2 years to realise your recording/mixing room sounded awful.....*


Sure, some new-starts have a knack but most people make countless shit records before they make anything half decent.
If you're doing it right the editing and software are the least important parts.

Thanks for the suggestion. For right now honestly, I guess it would be better to just go trial and error right now. So what would you recommend?

 

[jimistone]

If you are determined to give the home recording a shot....Here is the gear I would recommend.
Use the computer you already have. People will tell you that you have to have a really powerful computer but I am working on an old windows xp computer that dosent even have a dual core processor or much RAM. It hasn't given me any problems...you can always get a kick ass computer later on if you need more.

Next I would get an interface that is capable of recording at least 4 tracks at the same time. That way you can track drums with 2 overheads, a snare/high hat mic, and a bass drum mic. (you could also plug your drum mics into a mixer board and run the stereo out into the recorder. That would put you drums on 2 tracks and you would have 2 tracks to record bass and a guitar while you're recording the drums) I have a Prosonus that I like. They have great preamps and come with a DAW (a DAW will cost you). They are between $200 and $300.

Next you will need some mics...A couple of shure SM 57's, A shure SM 58, A Large diaphram Condenser mic or 2, and a set of drum mics. On condenser mics I love the Electa Voice RE410 and RE510. Thier sound is stellar on vocals, guitars, and drum overheads and you can get them used from guitar center for $100 a piece

Next you will need some studio monitors to mix your recordings with. decent ones are going to cost you out the ass. If you dont have good ones its very difficult to mix recordings that translate well on all audio devices. Your recording will sound great on one system and sound like dog shit on another. Get good monitors and be done with it.

Next you will need a room to record in and another to mix in. You will need to treat your mixing room with bass traps, sound diffusers, and auralux foam. If you dont treat your rooms you will get a boxy sound out of your recording room, and in your mixing room you won't get an accurate reading of your mix, no matter how much money you've sank into recording equipment.

Side note...
You can mix on consumer grade stereo speakers in your untreated bedroom. You will just have to take your mix and play it in 15 or 20 different type sound systems like the DVD player that is hooked up to your TV, your car stereo, your boom box, so on and so forth. After doing that for a year or 2 you will learn you speakers and your room and compensate for its shortcomings and what frequencies are hyped and which ones aren't.

Or you could go to a studio and be done with it

 

[Massive Master]

You can use free or near-free software - Software doesn't make a hoot of difference for the most part. Reaper.

Now your monitoring chain and room treatments on the other hand** Mic selection, preamps, converters, etc., etc., etc., several years of experience -- If all goes well, you might get something listenable by the time you get out of college.


** Rule 1: No matter what else, no matter thousands and thousands in gear, years and years of practical experience with the very best source material, years of intense listening experience and study, you will only ever be/hear as accurately and consistently as your monitoring chain allows you to be.

Rule 2: No matter how amazing your monitoring chain, no matter how fast the amp, no matter how "perfect" the clock and converter, no matter how transparent the monitoring controller, your monitoring chain will only ever be as accurate and consistent as the room allows it to be.

I know people who have been recording for DECADES that can't make a decent recording to save their own lives -- 90% of the time, it's because they didn't invest in decent monitoring and room treatment. And by that, I don't mean 5" speakers that say "Studio Monitor" on the side and a bunch of foam. Setting up a decent chain in a decent room is a study unto itself. And the most important part of any and every recording rig.

And objectivity... You won't have that no matter what. You can't buy it, you can't rent it. But you could go to a decent studio with an experienced engineer and get it.

I'm not saying not to get some sort of recording rig -- Personally, I think one of the biggest problems with a lot of home-brew is a lack of pre-production. Home rigs - even the crappiest of home rigs, are PERFECT for such things. Writing, arrangement, tracking order, practicing with a click, development of ideas -- That can turn weeks in the studio into days.

 

[Mr Clean]

Maybe a good start would be to tell us what you want to do and how? "I want to make CD's for our fans" is not a great start, information wise.

What equipment do you have already that might be of use?
Do you have a computer acceptable for recording?
How many inputs are you wanting to record? Drums first and then layer the band or the whole band live?
Where are you planning on recording and what is the room like?

Personally, I go to a studio and record. If your band is tight, well rehearsed and ready. Go spend a few $'s in a studio and get some recording experience first. (It's surprising how much you'll learn from watching and listening to others with the experience.) You can always get yourself a little 4 Input Interface to plug into your computer and practice recording/making demos/etc at home but it'll more than likely take years for you to get good/great results on your own.

 

[gecko zzed]

We aren't "amateur" musicians, we want to sound like a professional recording. We are looking for a quality recording system

The bit quoted is the tricky bit. There's nothing wrong with wanting to record your band, nor in wanting to do it yourself. In fact you can do it without spending a huge amount. Just about any old computer these days will accept a USB interface. Software is free (e.g. Garageband) or very cheap (e.g. Reaper), and are capable of very high quality professional results.

But there are two parts to getting a 'professional recording': the first is having the necessary skills, experience and knowledge. There is no short cut to this . . . it's the same as learning to play an instrument: it takes time and practice. The second is having a recording environment and monitoring system that will allow you to hear when you are getting something close to 'professional recording'. Recording in, say, an echoey hall using little PC speakers is not going to help you.

That's why others are suggesting going to a studio. You are most likely going to get excellent results more quickly and for less money than if you tried it yourself.

If time isn't an issue, and you think this project might be a useful first step, then go for it.

 

[John Willett]

New here to the forums.. I'm in high school and i'm frontman for a Metalcore/Pop Punk/Country/Christian Rock band named Poseidon. We have a lot of fans at our school and they keep telling us we need to record and burn it on some CD's to give out, because a good deal of people want them! So I'm here to ask what is the best recording studio/software to get for what we are doing? We don't want any cheap junk, but we don't want any thing WAY up in price. We aren't "amateur" musicians, we want to sound like a professional recording. We are looking for a quality recording system, and editing software to shine up our voices and instruments like they do in real recording studios, and looking to burn our songs (12 on this album) on to CD's. What do you guys recommend? And if it matters, we play with 2 guitars, 2 vocals, a bass, and drum kit. I'm completely new to this stuff and have never recorded, but my buddy that i hired as our producer takes a video tech class and is SUPER smart with this kid of stuff. Thanks for your help guys!!

---------- Update ----------

Your best option from what you describe would be to hire a studio with a professional engineer and make a professional recording.

The quality comes from two things:-
1) The quality of your playing
2) The quality of the recording engineer.

Even a simple system will cost sevaral thousand - personally I don't think I have any condenser microphone that costs under £1,000, and I have quite a few.

I would suggest hire a studio and use the opportunity to learn how it works, which will help you in the future when you do start to do it yourself.

 

[Mrfishingexpert]

That's probably what we'll do then. Like I said, I am completely new to any recording systems, so I had no idea you had to do all that kind of stuff. We have a good deal of mics, and we would be recording with an electric drum set so we can just plug it straight in. Also, we are looking to record invidually, not as a whole band. But when it's all said and done, I guess we'll probably find us a legit recording engineer. Once again, thanks for everybody's help.

 

[John Willett]

That's probably what we'll do then. Like I said, I am completely new to any recording systems, so I had no idea you had to do all that kind of stuff. We have a good deal of mics, and we would be recording with an electric drum set so we can just plug it straight in. Also, we are looking to record invidually, not as a whole band. But when it's all said and done, I guess we'll probably find us a legit recording engineer. Once again, thanks for everybody's help.

My personal recommendation is to record as a whole band, not individually.

Recording individually tends to be dry and boring and the CD would be listened to once and then never again.

Recording as a band, you are in "performance" mode, adreneline is running and you are putting your whole heart and soul into the music.

This comes through on the CD that makes it exciting and it will be listened to over and over again.

 

[miroslav]

Recording individually tends to be dry and boring and the CD would be listened to once and then never again.

I don't disagree that recording as a whole band has its merits...but this broad statement is wrong on a few levels, considering the HUGE amount of recorded music that has been recorded as multiple, individual tracks and then mixed together, and that has sold millions of copies and been listened to millions of times by millions of fans.

"Dry and boring" is the result of dry and boring songwriting, arrangement and mixing and overall production decisions...and not so much about tracking individually VS as a whole band.
That said.. tracking as a whole band will give you a more "live band" sound....IF that's what you want...but it can still be dry and boring in the end due to all the other things I mentioned.

 

[RAMI]

but this broad statement is wrong on a few levels, considering the HUGE amount of recorded music that has been recorded as multiple, individual tracks and then mixed together, and that has sold millions of copies and been listened to millions of times by millions of fans.

Yeah, you're being polite. It's a ridiculous statement.

 

[Steenamaroo]

Yeah, you're being polite. It's a ridiculous statement.

Agreed. Let's not let that debate engulf the original topic, yeah?
That's not directed at anyone in particular, btw.



Heavily edited - Sorry OP, I missed your most recent post.
Sounds like you've settled on going to a studio?

Home recording is a great hobby and a great set of skills to have if you're any way serious as a musician but that's the key point - Set of skills.
Maybe go get a rate at a local studio and come out with a great album then at your leisure dabble with home recording for future projects, if that still interests you?

Since you were talking about electric drums, do a bit of research on local studios. Find one with a decent house kit and make sure you can use that.
It'll be waaay better than the sounds out of an electric drum module or even the software sample libraries you can trigger.

I hope we didn't come across as unhelpful here but all the guys chiming in know the pitfalls and they know a good recording isn't a simple as a shopping list.

Best of luck either way.

 

[Kleudde]

Hello,
So if I understand what you're looking for, you don't want to go to a studio and want to record on your own but since you already have all your song don't want to wait too long to record them and don't want to spend tons of money right now since it's your first recording (demo).
I will tell you what I did when I was in high school and I was pretty impressed by the result.
I was in school so didn't have tons of money to spend on software and equipment.
At the beginning I was recording my guitar with only the little mic from creative that came with my sound card. Surprisingly it gave pretty good result. After I got better real mics. For the software I used Cool Edit Pro. The easiest program to learn I'm sure, everything was so intuitive and easy to learn I didn't had to spend long hours to master it.
When I was ready to record the drummer I went to the music store and rented a real kit of drum mics for like 60$/day. We didn't had a mixer or a sound card with lots of inputs but I had a Crate PA6FX.
I hooked up the drum mics in it and put the speaker in an other room where the drummer was not but the computer was. Took another mic on the speaker connected to the sound card and recorded it.
Sounded great for a demo. The singer added his part on top et voilà.

Another time we went to a real studio for a couple of hours just to record the drums then recorded the rest home.

My point is, it doesn't have to be expensive and long to learn and complicated. You start with what you have and go up gradually and at the same time you get experience and confidence to try more complicated pro stuff and add equipment when have a little more money.

You can also ask friends, we recorded a demo in our jam room one time. Two of our friends where good at recording and brought an mixer, few mics and a good tape recorder (long time ago hehe) and it gave a good sound four our first demo.

Now I'm no longer using cool edit pro and moved to Reaper because I needed to record midi and wanted to try something more professional but it is really different and more complicated to learn, a real daw ... That might take years to master like they all say. But I've got the time and interest in learning which you might not have.

So good luck, have fun and I hope it helped you. When I started to read all the replies I felt bad for you, telling you that all the recording softwares all had a steap learning curve and costs hundreds of dollars and that it took years to record something good. Well of course good is a relative term. For them that are sound engineers and works for years and spent thousands they will spit on every recordings that are not ear candy you listen to the radio.
Hope they didn't discourage you too much and you know what you can try to record and if the sound is ok but not exactly as good as what you want you can ask someone with experience to mix and master it after.

 

[RAMI]

Hello,
So if I understand what you're looking for, you don't want to go to a studio and want to record on your own but since you already have all your song don't want to wait too long to record them and don't want to spend tons of money right now since it's your first recording (demo).
I will tell you what I did when I was in high school and I was pretty impressed by the result.
I was in school so didn't have tons of money to spend on software and equipment.
At the beginning I was recording my guitar with only the little mic from creative that came with my sound card. Surprisingly it gave pretty good result. After I got better real mics. For the software I used Cool Edit Pro. The easiest program to learn I'm sure, everything was so intuitive and easy to learn I didn't had to spend long hours to master it.
When I was ready to record the drummer I went to the music store and rented a real kit of drum mics for like 60$/day. We didn't had a mixer or a sound card with lots of inputs but I had a Crate PA6FX.
I hooked up the drum mics in it and put the speaker in an other room where the drummer was not but the computer was. Took another mic on the speaker connected to the sound card and recorded it.
Sounded great for a demo. The singer added his part on top et voilà.

Another time we went to a real studio for a couple of hours just to record the drums then recorded the rest home.

My point is, it doesn't have to be expensive and long to learn and complicated. You start with what you have and go up gradually and at the same time you get experience and confidence to try more complicated pro stuff and add equipment when have a little more money.

You can also ask friends, we recorded a demo in our jam room one time. Two of our friends where good at recording and brought an mixer, few mics and a good tape recorder (long time ago hehe) and it gave a good sound four our first demo.

Now I'm no longer using cool edit pro and moved to Reaper because I needed to record midi and wanted to try something more professional but it is really different and more complicated to learn, a real daw ... That might take years to master like they all say. But I've got the time and interest in learning which you might not have.

So good luck, have fun and I hope it helped you. When I started to read all the replies I felt bad for you, telling you that all the recording softwares all had a steap learning curve and costs hundreds of dollars and that it took years to record something good. Well of course good is a relative term. For them that are sound engineers and works for years and spent thousands they will spit on every recordings that are not ear candy you listen to the radio.
Hope they didn't discourage you too much and you know what you can try to record and if the sound is ok but not exactly as good as what you want you can ask someone with experience to mix and master it after.

You completely missed the point. Go back and read. He doesn't want a "decent sounding demo". He said he wants "Professional sound". Nobody said he needs to spend hundreds of dollars on software. If anything, people are being extremely helpful by telling him to go to a studio because he wants "professional sound". He won't get that with the lack of experience he has. Are you sure you're reading the same thread as everyone else? He got GREAT advice from (almost) everyone.