Commercial Studios

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antispatula

antispatula

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Man, I never thought THIS would happen, but I'm thinking of going into a commercial studio to record stuff. I like tinkering around with recording at home, but I'm inexpirienced, and to be honest, all I really want to to do is get my songs on tape, I don't care who records it. I've had these songs in my head for like 2 years, and I so desperately want to hear them through speakers or on a cd, and know that in reality I definitely don't qualify to make the songs the quality I want.

So anywho, who's been into a commercial studio? Tell me about it! I can't afford the 150 an hour type, or even the 75 dollars an hour type :D I'm thinking og trying to record a few songs here:

http://www.trakworx.com/index.ivnu

I looked at their gear, and what pictures they had, and their clients (papa roach and jojo.....both suck crap in my humble opinion, but well known none the less ;) ) And their 2 inch 24 track reel to reel and stuff, and their rates are VERY agreable...... :cool: So are they low because the studio is most likely not that great, or it's just a good deal do you think? I really have no expirience with this kind of thing.

And another thng: I'm a solo artist and kind of a minimalist. I like recording accoustic guitar and singing together, and then usually have piano and percussion in the backround or something. An 8 track can usually accomidate my needs. I've been playing all my parts A LOT and can play all my parts in one take no problem. Do you think I could get songs done relatively quick, or does it always take longer than expected?

Oh, and when they mix and master, is that the part that costs the most? People are always saying how long it takes......

Thanks. Sorry this is so long. You don't have to try to answer everything, but if you read it then give any advice about this kind of stuff, that would be great. And please no "TRAITOR!" remarks :D
 
If your gonna do acoustic guitty and vox, why do you really need a "commercial studio"? do you have any gear of your own?

I've done a lot of tracks for a friend that were just guitar and vocals at the same time and they turned out really good.
 
yeah I do, but I'd rather record the songs now with someone that knows what their doing than to try foolishly to do it myself. I'd rather take my time with figuring it out all myself, but I'd also like to record my songs right now!! See what I'm saying? And either way, recording at a studio will get me better quality either way, and I'd rather not ruch learning on my own.
 
commercial studio

It's been quite a while since I've been to a commercial studio but with the advances in technology available to home recording enthusiasts, the sound I get at home now is as good or better than some of the stuff I did in the commercial studio years ago.
Just a suggestion: it sounds like you really want someone to engineer while you concentrate on your performance. I understand. Sometimes it is too distracting to have to concentrate on all the mic placement, levels, EQ, etc., etc., etc. There are times my performance suffers because of these distractions.
I've thought about getting someone who knows recording to engineer for me in my home studio. I'm satisfied with the sound I get, I just want to be able to focus on the performance instead of the production. Maybe that would be an option for you if you can't find a studio in your price range.
Either way, good luck with your project.

edit: before I get pounded over this, ...the commercial studios I used in the past were commercial but not really professional. (meaning that the people who operated them charged an hourly fee but they didn't make a living from their studio.) If someone makes their living by operating a professional commercial studio, they can deliver the goods or they wouldn't make their living that way.
 
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There's a local guy I know that has a small commercial studio.. Ok so it's a small behind his house commercial studio, but he has worked up several albums for folks and has a pretty good grasp of what he's doing and can has contacts to get backing musicians for you as needed out of Nashville and Muscle Shoals, AL.. Most of his clients tend to fall into the accoustic realm.. Gospel and Blugrass..

His fees average $150 per song mixed and mastered.. Extra session musicians, equipment rentals, etc.. of course will cost extra...

--
Rob
 
Hey Anti - You traitor! :D

There's nothing wrong with wanting to go to a pro studio, and I'm sure you'll really enjoy and learn from the experience. It feels great to just be the artist, and to experience what it's like to have a real pro, a hundred grand or so worth of equipment, and a real facility all at your command. It is awesome, and I highly recommend you spend a little extra to go to a studio that has the feel of a real pro facility. You'l feel like a king for a day. ;)
Having some experience yourself, you should be able to work out a recording plan that will make efficient use of the studio clock (the hands on a studio clock move twice as fast as normal clocks, at least it seems so). Try to meet with the engineer ahead of time, off the clock, to discuss the project and any possible equipment/process issues. Most studios know they have competition, and need to spend a little time selling themselves to new clients. Working out sync issues and the like during the session makes the clock spin 3 times as fast, so try to work out any such issues ahead of time as part of the "deciding which studio to use" phase of your project.
If you truely have your parts down, as you say, and you have a plan, then tracking should go pretty quickly. Arrive early and have your gear 100% ready. Plan on leaving the session with a ruff mix to go and listen to a dozen times to evaluate the takes, any re-do's and any additional overdubs you want to add. Go back for a second session to do those, and to get on with the real editing and mixing. Leave that session with what you hope is the final mix, but be prepaired to go back one more time with notes for a couple of tweaks, probably just a one hour session. Make sure to use a studio with total mix recall. There's no reason these days to either have to live with your decisions or pay for the time to get everything back to where you left off before you can do the fine tweaks a week or a month later.

Good luck, take notes on what you learn, and most of all have fun!
 
Where do you live? Maybe somebody here can help you out.
 
hey guys, thanks for all the help! I live near San Fransisco. And yeah, I'd rather just be the musician for right now. Is 50 bucks per hour a good deal, or just an indication that the place I plan to record at is home based......I mean, he seems to have plenty of good stuff. U67, manely processors etc.
 
impressive equipment, but nothing tells the story better than previous work.

go have you a listen.
 
Basically, you walk in, talk to the dood for a sec, he figures out what to start with, you sit down and play and sing, he tinkers around for a few, you play and sing for realz, go listen, decide if you wanna try it again, repeat if necessary, move on to the next if not. Depending on what you pay for, and how much time the guy has he may even cut you a copy on the spot, I've always had to wait a few days in the past, but it all depends. Will still need mastered after that if you can get the guy to mix for ya. It's a great experience though. It will give you something to guide yourself at home. May even make a few contacts.

I played Bass as a call in for a friend of mine that had a part time gig at a local place while I was in college, all the beer and pizza a man could want. Too bad I was young and stupid, coin would have been sweet!
 
antispatula said:
And yeah, I'd rather just be the musician for right now. Is 50 bucks per hour a good deal, or just an indication that the place I plan to record at is home based......I mean, he seems to have plenty of good stuff. U67, manely processors etc.
Click to expand...

it sounds to me like you've got your head in the right place. there are times where you need to make that very decision. sometimes you lose the performance when you're worrying about the technical--good for you.

i'd say that a studio with U67's, Manley, etc., for $50/hr (assuming that comes with the engineer) is a bargain. Especially in the SanFran area. You can always take the tracks and mix at home (or somewhere else/cheaper) if you choose to do so later.


cheers,
wade
 
Hey Antispatula, you're in my neck of the woods! I'm down the coast, just south of Half Moon Bay. So the good news is that there's a ton of recording studios up and down the peninsula, and where there's competition, there's deals, which is why Trakworx is so low. If you can record late at night, some of the big studios have great off hour rates. You end up with the B-team, but even the interns at these facilities are recording school grads. Definitely do some shopping around. Trakworx looks pretty good, they're right over by where I keep my sailboat. But equipment is one thing......how the facility sounds and feels to you is another. Go over and pay them a visit, but check out some other places too. It's so much fun shopping for a studio, enjoy the process and find one that you're really excited about recording at.
 
Hey! No way, you live in Santa Cruz, I saw your myspace. I've been there quite a few times!

Guess what, I LIVE in Half Moon Bay!!!!

Small world isn't it?
 
hehehehe well, I actaully have 2 of them....I was planning on keeping both, one as a parts unit, but I don't know, I could really use the money for studio time..... A few switches don't work, but I have strong reasons to believe it is simply dirty switch contacts, and am going to deoxitize them and most likely fix them all tonight or tommorow, even though the switches are rarely used for anything.

I'm keeping at least one though, so I can bring that into the studio, so I can take it back home and A. add more tracks B. mix and master myself.
 
If you want someone else to record you (and this is fine), and you are on a budget, here's what needs to happen:

1 find yourself someone willing to do the work with your budget
2 confirm that they are sympathetic to your musical goals and tastes
3 confirm that they can deliver something at least close to your expectations
4 point 2 and 3 can be done by talking to them and listening to what they've done
5 make sure you have your part of the bargain under control: know your material, your arrangements, your starts and finishes. Bring your chord charts along, and your lyrics. Get new strings and work them in. Bring spares. Stay sober. Be fresh.
6 if you use studio time to experiment, that's fine, but it will cost you
7 when performing, aim for perfection, but don't sweat if you don't achieve it. Perfection is highly elusive.
8 when you make a 'mistake', ask yourself whether it matters. Who's going to notice? Does it detract from the production? Does it perversely improve the production? In my book there are no such things as mistakes; there are only things you like to listen to, and things you don't. If something turns out differently to what you expected, don't chuck it unless its the latter.
9 the best takes are usually found in the first two or three times you record. After that you can easily slip into diminishing returns.
10 things take longer than you think. Don't try for too much at once.
11 expect to spend as much time on mixing down as you do on tracking.
12 don't settle on finality straight away. The atmosphere of a session can trick your brain; you will hear things you want to hear, and you will not hear things you should hear. Time helps this. Take what you've done away with you. Play it over and over for the first couple of days. This will get it out of your system. Put it away and listen to it a week later. Then you will start hearing significant things.
13 Don't ask family, friends, relatives or lovers for their opinions. They tell lies. If you want an objective review, find someone who can do that. Be prepared to be hurt.
14 I probably should have mentioned this first. Ask yourself what you want to achieve. Are you doing it simply for the sake of doing it, or are you seeking the recording to advance your musical career? Or are there other reasons? Answers to these questions will help form your views on how deeply to get into the project.
15 Set up expectations with whoever is doing the recording. Confirm dates. Get agreements on when things will happen.
16 There's probably other stuff . . . that's all that came to mind qucikly
 
man, that stuff is gold, thanks!



that's a song recorded at where I want to go. Sounds great!

Someone that recorded an album I know of said it cost about 10,000 dollars......Holy crap I can't afford that. I plan to TRY mixing and mastering them myself. And I know all parts I plan to play, all songs can fit on a 8 track. I can play all parts pretty much the first time through, and I plan on strumming guitar and singing at the same time. That'll save time. Hopefully it won't cost 10 thousand dollars! What's realisitic, when it comes to money? After reading the above, what's a good ballpark range do you think? Remember, I may mix and master myself, and the guy I want to record with costs 50 an hour.
 
I think you'd be better off tracking it yourself than getting someone else to mix and master it.

-MD
 
on playing guitar and singing at the same time . . . yes . . . theoretically it will save you money, because you kill two birds with one stone.

There is a possibility you may want to kill the birds separately. By tracking guitar and vocals separately, you have better control of both, and if one is not so hot, you can fix it without having to fix the other. Doing both at once often creates isolation problems for the engineer (i.e. keeping vocals off the guitar track and vice versa). Tracking separately may end up being a cheaper, and maybe less stressful, way of doing it, because you are not striving for two ideal performances in the one hit.

Think also about how tightly structured your songs are. If the tempo is regular, you might like to consider working to a click track. Again, if your songs lend themselves to this approach, it makes subsequent editing and synchronisation easier. If your songs are irregular in tempo, this becomes difficult, but if that irregularity is part of the song, don't compromise the song.
 
antispatula said:
Hey! No way, you live in Santa Cruz, I saw your myspace. I've been there quite a few times!

Guess what, I LIVE in Half Moon Bay!!!!

Small world isn't it?
Click to expand...

Smaller than that..... I live in Pescadero, just 15 minutes from you! We should hook up for a taco and a beer at Kelly ave. and talk music and recording some time soon.
 
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