How to spend money...

[newcomputeruser]

voice of reason

I think that part of the problem is the scope of this project as compared to his previous album.

He wants a jazz/Motown vibe, using a number of instruments he's never recorded before. What mics for the cello, violin, and accordion? Ribbons, dynamics, or condensers? Mic placements? A horn section? Does he know the old Motown trick of having the horns players facing a wall, with the mics behind the horns? Does he know about KM86's?

In the best of circumstances, it's gonna be a difficult recording session - if he doesn't have someone experienced running things. This is a pretty ambitious project for a home studio, with a limited selection of equipment.

Other than using a professional studio (and assuming he has a decent space and equipment), the OP could hire a good engineer and take the role of executive producer, telling the engineer what he wants, and leaving it to the engineer to get the desired sound.

+1

and you dont need an official "studio" to have studio quality space. school auditoriums, theatres, churches, may rent space to generate some cash when the facilities are not in use.

 

[miroslav]

the music mags are frequently showing some stars home studio. expensive gear but a lot of the rooms are no better than where i live.

And yet many DO get exceptional results.
I think if one could somehow catalog the number of well recorded albums (big name or no name) done in "home" studio environments of all sizes, shapes and budgets...it would really show how much pro recording has moved out of the huge, million-dollar spaces and into people's living rooms, garages, basements and bedrooms.

Solid experience, some good gear in decent spaces, the right songs arrangements and solid performances can certainly yield commercial/pro quality results.

 

[Chibi Nappa]

My gut is telling me that I want time and space at home to do my voice, guitar, and piano tracks. I think I can get great performances on all 3 of those if working on my own time, no pressure of a clock in a studio.

You rehearse on your free time. Then you get a great take in no time. Many people hire a producer to nail down every little arrangement detail before hitting the studio as well. A ticking clock can be a great motivator to keep moving forward, avoid unnecessary edits that drain the soul of a song, and keep it natural and lively. You just have to be rehearsed and proficient enough to live with that clock.


Anyway, you certainly can add home tracks to pro drums and make it work. The key is more in tracking than mixing however. You have to record "home" that fit in the first place. Yes, a pro engineer can hammer incompatible tracks together and make it work (sometimes amazingly so), but it will never be as good as getting the recording right in the first place. It takes an experienced and obsessive ear to know if the recording is appropriate (especially at home). So again, if the album itself is your top priority, go all studio. If your desire to learn engineering takes priority over the album, go either all home or half studio/half home.

If you've been doing this for a decade and already have the (trained) ear, then the home thing is not nearly as much of an issue for a few instruments here and there. As a novice, make no mistake the recording will be at its best if you go all studio.

As far as giving priority to "learning engineering" or "making the best recording", both are equally valid and both are admirable goals. Just be aware you can't have both in this situation.

 

[newcomputeruser]

twist the cube

You rehearse on your free time. Then you get a great take in no time. Many people hire a producer to nail down every little arrangement detail before hitting the studio as well. A ticking clock can be a great motivator to keep moving forward, avoid unnecessary edits that drain the soul of a song, and keep it natural and lively. You just have to be rehearsed and proficient enough to live with that clock.

...

or
a ticking clock can be a good way to shove money down a rat hole if you panic and can't get any takes cause you are thinking of the clock ticking and every tock is another dollar gone.

best to do as much as you can at home on your own schedule and pace before you even think about paying a studio, imho.

 

[kcearl]

the music mags are frequently showing some stars home studio. expensive gear but a lot of the rooms are no better than where i live.

id have to say thats true...especially in electronica, I see loads of either software I use or equipment (other than orig 303's etc) that I could afford.....

There was one producer using the oldest set of tannoys to monitor because he said he knew how music sounded through them so well

Im not sure thats where their tracks are finished off mind you...but if i had the chance of ever producing an album I doubt mine would be finished off in my apartment either..

 

[Todzilla]

How about this approach?

$2K on home recording equipment
SM7 & Rode NT1A mics - $600
RNP Preamp - $500
Reaper - $76
MAudio Iface - $200
Maudio BMXA monitors - $500
Existing computer - gratis
headphones - $100

Record, experiment, figure out how to get the best sounding demos from this setup.

Then, spend $8K on pro studio time