Is studio time worth it in my case?

[Steenamaroo]

if by sound card, you mean pc built in sound card, then your $300 ain't gonna cover this.

you can make plenty good recordings with a dmp3, a rode and a 58, but you're gonna need higher quality conversion, by way of an audio interface.(if that's the route you're taking)

 

[Jmoon79]

Kratos... take a breath buddy. Relax. You're getting good advice on here, and from a lot of different angles. Just do a little research, determine how you want to record your music, and take your time. I can promise you, like many others here have said, you won't get the results you're looking for if you rush in.

Please don't let some turd up the street from you with a Nuemann discourage you, it takes time bro... that's what he has... experience. You're about to finish school, or already have (?) Take a look at some colleges with production coursework. They can give you a great grasp on the basics, give you access to decent equipment, and arm you with the knowledge you need to do what you want to do. You're far more likely to get what you want that way man. Plus, your parents will probably come off of 2G's toward some college coursework much sooner than give it to the turd with the Nuemann.

Welcome to the wormhole man, have fun.

 

[grimtraveller]

Kratos, I probably sound like a real old fart saying this, and believe me, my first port of call is to encourage where I can.

But you're 17 years old.

I know it's your dream and no one here is trying to dash it and stop you, at least as far as I can see. But you're still at school and you shouldn't be saddling your head and life with headache and debt and tension with your parents

Plus i dont have this amount of money and my parents would have to fund it and they'll ask questions. Yeah i'm 17 and live with parents since i'm in school obviously.

and plus if my parents invest in it and dont get a return on it im kinda screwed.

.
Not to be presumptious because no one knows tomorrow, but assume you'll live to be at least 80. You've got so much living and discovering to do. If you're adventurous, it doesn't stop just because the realities and responsibilities of life crowd in.
To answer your question specifically, I'd say do it yourself - but learn your ropes. If you're lame at mixing, try and fix that. Most people that have ever gotten good started off at least a little lame. It's not unusual - it's normal. It's like anything that seems difficult the first few times. There comes a day when you reflect back and realize you've made great strides.
Don't be in such a hurry. You've got time......

 

[nate_dennis]

Man I'm using a sm58 with a dmp3 preamp direct to sound card. So yh the sound quality is less noise but sounds pretty dull not crispy. Dunno if a se reflect would help but I know the producer dude uses it co Ive been to his vocal booth which is in his house. He uses Neumann so that's the difference and plus has 1000$$$ worth of top preamps and comp which makes me look like a complete noon lol. Since it takes me like 8 hours to record just chorus and verse I'm thinking of just giving up onthe album since I can't do this by myself clearly for long. It's fling stressful when u gotthe lyrics and instrumental but can't record it the way I want.

Breathe man. It's cool. I know a lot of people will frown on this advice, but I really hope you consider it. Buy an old eight track cassette based unit. Tascam 488mkii is an awesome one. you can get these for $100-$200. Then buy a decent condensor mic. You can honestly get some really great recordings with this type of setup and you don't have the headache of sound cards and such. If you're set on digital; buy a standalone unit. I really think you can do this if you relax and move through it methodically.

 

[kratos]

Here's my take.

No don't pay for time. Invest in this in two ways;

1. Personal Equipment.
2. Time - get out and play.

VST's are great for sketching, and some people use them for recording. This is what I would do if I were you.

Save some money or borrow some. Whatever. Get yourself 3-4 decent mics. I assume you want to use a computer so get a decent interface with four inputs.

For pianos and such; check out local arts centers, schools, churches, etc. Chances are someone will let you use their piano (if even for a small fee.)

If you're worried about mixing you may try this idea....

Mix them the best you can. Burn off about 50-100 cds and sell them at $5 a disc. With some half decen DIY packaging you should be set. The cool thing is that you can do some hand-done art or whatever, individually number them and tell people that it's a limited run.

Once you have these sold you can take that money and pay to have them professionally mixed. Many places will mix for you and you can just send them your raw files. Then you can re-release your professional mix.

Start slow man. You've got nothing but time. Paying to DIY and learn is much better (IMO) than paying someone else.

just a thought.

Thanks for that idea I never really thought of that..
The thing is I was mainly intending to sell any of my songs by iTunes or amazon. Don't really want to go down the cd path but I will burn some just in case...people I know really Are on digital downloads pretty heavily and since it is the age of the download I thought that would be the best path to sell. The catch is the file sharing though if any of my stuff does get popular.

 

[kcearl]

remember the old saying...teach a man to fish and he can....er...fish...or something...

 

[Steenamaroo]

ricky gervais had a different view on that old saying. you see that?

 

[kratos]

Kratos... take a breath buddy. Relax. You're getting good advice on here, and from a lot of different angles. Just do a little research, determine how you want to record your music, and take your time. I can promise you, like many others here have said, you won't get the results you're looking for if you rush in.

Please don't let some turd up the street from you with a Nuemann discourage you, it takes time bro... that's what he has... experience. You're about to finish school, or already have (?) Take a look at some colleges with production coursework. They can give you a great grasp on the basics, give you access to decent equipment, and arm you with the knowledge you need to do what you want to do. You're far more likely to get what you want that way man. Plus, your parents will probably come off of 2G's toward some college coursework much sooner than give it to the turd with the Nuemann.

Welcome to the wormhole man, have fun.

I wish I did music production but believe it or not i'm doing physics at college. Long story but yh music is second nature anyways.
I've decided to upgade my sound card to soundblasters. possibly get a rode mic and a se filter. still looking round for an audio interface but I'll probably find one soon. I would say my room is ok acoustically. Then try this recording vocals shit again. I just realised I'm not multiplatinum producer with a million dollar studio......atleast not for now lol.

 

[nocarsgo]

Plus man, depending on the VST's, you can get some pretty good sounding stuff. Its not going to be like your favorite albums, but neither is a local studio. Recording on your own is not only rewarding, but a very valuable learning experience. Having this base knowledge will make things easier as well once you get into a nicer studio.

Another thought, what do you think of your material you were writing two years ago? Chances are you think your current stuff is a lot better, and you will probably feel the same two years from now. So my advice is work through some recordings (I often get ideas during this process), write more songs, rewrite songs, and start building a fan base. Two years from now you will have been able to play 18 and up shows for a good bit, grown roots, improved songs and more hopefully some money! Don't worry, no one is going to think your train has passed because you're 19.
-nocarsgo

 

[kratos]

Exactly. Why are you recording in a separate room? And please don't tell us you record vocals in a closet, home-made "booth", or any other ludicrous contraption. If your room is good enough to mix in, it should be good enough to record in.

The other room just sounds quieter as it has no electrical equipment than the room with my recording gear stuff. I dunno how but it magically just is good enough.
Plus my recording room is very messy anyways with wires all over the place.
I tried the closet thing lol. My closets made of wood. It does seem to isolate the vocals and make it sound dry but Icant tell coz Im I dunno what the slightest difference is since I'm no sound engineer.

 

[acidrock]

I've decided to upgade my sound card to soundblaster

I would do some more research before you do any "upgrades".

 

[Steenamaroo]

I've decided to upgade my sound card to soundblasters. possibly get a rode mic and a se filter. still looking round for an audio interface but I'll probably find one soon.

do you know that interface replaces sound card?

 

[nate_dennis]

Thanks for that idea I never really thought of that..
The thing is I was mainly intending to sell any of my songs by iTunes or amazon. Don't really want to go down the cd path but I will burn some just in case...people I know really Are on digital downloads pretty heavily and since it is the age of the download I thought that would be the best path to sell. The catch is the file sharing though if any of my stuff does get popular.

If I may, when was the last time you bought a download from someone you'd never heard of?

You're going to need to start somewhere solid man. You aren't going to move any CDs/Downloads/MP3s without people knowing who you are.

 

[Opivy]

Nate beat me to it.

With zero fans, and no body knowing about you - do you really expect to sell your songs on itunes?

Really... All my friends who record at home (And some very well) release their songs for free on myspace. And after the mp3's are available for download - put CD's up for sale.

I should mention that they don't make any money off it - but if people really like the FREE mp3s that much, they will buy your cds.

 

[Jmoon79]

I wish I did music production but believe it or not i'm doing physics at college. Long story but yh music is second nature anyways.
I've decided to upgade my sound card to soundblasters. possibly get a rode mic and a se filter. still looking round for an audio interface but I'll probably find one soon. I would say my room is ok acoustically. Then try this recording vocals shit again. I just realised I'm not multiplatinum producer with a million dollar studio......atleast not for now lol.

Good for you on the college career path... now... about soundblasters... not so much. Do a little more research man. You will just burn money there. Those are not meant for recording.

For just starting out, look into the entry level interfaces. Just read up on converters. If you dig physics, you won't have a problem learning the lingo, reading the specs, and culling the bad stuff. I will however make known my personal distate for anything Behringer, and would advise against them.

 

[FLYcrash]

Hi Kratos,

Cool you do physics. I do physical chemistry (I'm wrapping up year two of my Ph.D. right now).

My cousin sings jazz. She had a long history of gigs at good venues and a solid MySpace download history before putting together her first CD for sale. Strangers in Chicago had heard of her, and still her music generated very little revenue, even after quite a few years working the same scene (she's in her mid-thirties and is a nurse for her day job). At her CD release party, she was the headline act at one of the really standard, well-known live music venues in Chicago.

CDs have higher audio quality than mp3s and give the satisfaction of a tangible artifact with cool cover art, etc. The iTunes sales compete more directly with the freebies. I have trouble believing that a small-time musician, as opposed to a top 40 act, could generate a significant revenue stream with the online model. But that's an ignorant guess, so YMMV.

PLEASE don't spend money your parents are reluctant to part with. It isn't worth it. Until you have a loyal fan base, you are unlikely to make any revenue, much less profit. Their love and goodwill is the most valuable thing you have.

It sounds like you're a one person act, so I guess you'll need to record enough to be able to do live shows. To get material together to perform, my guess is that you'll need recurring access to recording capabilities, and the home recording route is the right one. Either that, or you'll need to get together a live band even if, like Trent Reznor, you ultimately put down every track of the recording yourself.

And learn your physics! I promise you that it will be much easier to pay the rent and put food on the table knowing physics than music. I had this same dilemma when I was your age and became a scientist, and I don't regret it. Physics is also a painfully competitive field, but it typically comes with a good training in math, computers, and quantitative reasoning, which make is short work to do all sorts of things - engineering, high-frequency trading at a hedge fund, etc.

Good luck!

 

[FLYcrash]

Here's my shameless plug: I just looked up my cousin on Amazon...not bad! Nice looking album cover shot, two five-star reviews, and #131,333 in MP3 album sales.

http://www.amazon.com/Archaeologist/dp/B00321ER1M/ref=dm_ap_alb1?ie=UTF8&qid=1278521166&sr=8-1

I'd hazard a guess that #131,333 in MP3 album sales translates to a revenue stream that looks more like a new outfit every few months than like rent. Maybe not even that. Maybe I'll get a chance to ask her at her next show. My point is...it's a tough business. Stay in school, and make it clear to your parents that any funding from them is a gift, not a loan.

 

[kcearl]

ricky gervais had a different view on that old saying. you see that?

nope...or maybe just forgot

 

[Steenamaroo]

some gag about a newsreport that detailed a huge fall in the number of fish in some area,

he was like,,,give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day,

give him a fishing rod, and he'll obviously just go fu**in mental!!

 

[kcearl]

lol...sometimes the fucker is funny