Pro Studio vs. Home Studio

  • Thread starter Thread starter marpstar
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If you don't have any recording gear, I would definately say record at a local studio. Even with the equipment, you need to know how to use it and develope the skills of engineering. You don't automatically assume the role of master mixer upon buying recording gear.
 
All that money on gear, just to end up in the 79c cutout bin,... if you're lucky!

;)
 
If you are a rock band with a drummer and everything just go to the studio...you could also try buying an old analog 4 track and 1 decent mic and a decent preamp.....do an old school 1 mic recording. before the flames begin a lot of bands have done this...it wont sound great but at least you ll get the band practiced up...

you are only 16 so you should just have fun and work on the songs and the performances


on the other hand, depending on the type of music you do you might want to use the studio as a tool....if you plan on using samplers and sequencers you ll probably want all that stuff for your own to mess around with at your own convenience

good luck

47ronin
 
Too bad you're too far away to track here.
It's a worthy hobby and you can achieve decent results with limited equipment you mention. The more you do it, the better you get at it. It's exactly like playing a musical instrument in that the first year or so, you'll stink on ice. After you've done it for a while, you start figuring out the little things that go into making a good recording, and 90% of that is developing your ears, not gear. If you want instant gratification, go to a pro commercial studio. If you want to go for the long haul and spend some cash and do a shit load of research and learning (trial and error), get some gear and start having fun. I can think of worse ways to dispose of your disposable income.:D
 
i guess it really depends on your expectations, what you want out of it, and what your goals are.

sure, you can get a "starter package home studio" for around $1000, no problem. but you won't get "pro" results out of it. you'll get results that are similar to your demo, most likely, maybe a little better.

granted, you might not get great results out of a "pro" studio either. especially given your age and your budget, a lot of studios write off youngins and they don't care about you or your music--just your money. not all studios, but some.

given your age (of which i was not previously aware) and the level of your band, i'd recommend getting some gear and playing with it. get some books and do a LOT of reading. experiment with what you've read, and just get in there and get your hands dirty. it'll give you good experience as to what works and what doesn't, and you might discover some cool stuff in the process.

but don't expect it to sound like something you'd hear on the radio.


wade
 
Also, if you've never been in a real studio, it might be worth recording there just to see how it's done and what's involved, think of it as a mini-mini-mini course, just to see the process once, it would be money well spent (if the guys any good).
 
mrface2112 said:
but don't expect it to sound like something you'd hear on the radio.
Click to expand...

Actually with must modest digital recording gear, you can easily get a sound as good as you hear on the radio. This assumes you can already play and sing as good as others on the radio.

Virtually any digital recorder can produce CD quality audio. It boils down to the performances, and the effort/time spent recording the result. It you expect to hook it up one night, play some songs, and then get a CD, that won't yield must on average.

If you understand your gear, have good mics and performers, and then plan how to record your music, you'll get a CD quality product.

Much of Led Zeppelin's original work was done with full band takes using a 2 track stereo recorder. Even the most modest digital recorder of today already has better fidelity.

Ed
 
Alright...just so you guys can get a taste of what im talking about...

Heres the recording of my band:


Equipment Used...
A Couple of Cheap mics
Radioshack DJ Mixer
Cool Edit Pro 2
Soundblaster Live Value

Here's a recording done at the studio we are considering:


We spent $0...they Spent in the upwards of $2000. If I'm going to throw out $2000 for studio time, I'd like it to be better quality than theres... I like to think I have a knack for this stuff...maybe I'm wrong??
 
Well.... you've got a ways to go before your recording sounds close to pro... on the other hand - the studio clip you posted is horrible, so I suggest you not deal with that particular studio if that truly is a sample of their sound...

I gotta wonder if that's just a very lo-res copy of that studio clip though -- ask them for their demo reel on CD to really get a sense of the sound quality they're capable of.
 
not a half bad recording considering the equipment....not exactly my kind of music but thats no big deal. drummer loses the beat sometimes. i liked the guitar tone and the vocals were kind of cool.
just keep working on the songs...if you just want to make a demo you are fine already.

47ronin
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
Well.... you've got a ways to go before your recording sounds close to pro... on the other hand - the studio clip you posted is horrible, so I suggest you not deal with that particular studio if that truly is a sample of their sound...

I gotta wonder if that's just a very lo-res copy of that studio clip though -- ask them for their demo reel on CD to really get a sense of the sound quality they're capable of.
Click to expand...

I dont know...My friend owns the actual CD, so I'll give that a listen. I'll take a listen to some of the studios other stuff..
 
This I will say about Home Recording: It can get really frustrating. Aside from the issues of sonic quality there are so many things to think of. If you're going the PC route, like it or not you will, and I reiterate WILL learn the nuts and bolts of a computer whether you like it or not. For over a full month last year I turned into a true blue computer geek just trying to find out whats wrong with the system, what to buy, how to optimize...etc.

Bottomline though, it can be very enjoyable and personally rewarding. Just keep the goals realistic.
 
I know a lot about computers, so keeping that running wont be a problem. I know cool edit pro fairly well also. I'm not expecting to buy all this stuff and record that same day, after a couple months of working with the stuff, I'd like to be able to throw something down that sounds decent.
 
What about you guys that own studios...what would you say if some newbie came in and said they'd like to volunteer their time to learn the ins and outs? Would you jump on that, or turn them down? I've often thought of doing this to supplement using the gear I've purchased. There's a couple of small studios around here.

Just a thought, sorry if it's off topic.
 
kgirl72 said:
What about you guys that own studios...what would you say if some newbie came in and said they'd like to volunteer their time to learn the ins and outs? Would you jump on that, or turn them down? I've often thought of doing this to supplement using the gear I've purchased. There's a couple of small studios around here.

Just a thought, sorry if it's off topic.
Click to expand...

I jump it if it was you ;)

Just kidding..my wife wouldn't allow it Im sure.
But seriously I would take a newbie in as long as the newbie understood the terms of agreement. In fact, my next project will have my own intern, and the guy can solder with the best. He is an ex Air Force communications technologist and want to get into the audio engineering business. I love to educate people smarter than me. Which means all of you can learn something. Internships are great if the situation is not hostile or the studio owner is a schmoe!


SoMm
 
The last studio I dropped in on, to check the scene, was quite a nice studio, indeed.

After the basic tour, and a little studio Q & A, I asked about being an intern, and offered my services as such.

The friendly reply, was that he already had NINE interns, and taking on another one would be useless, and is not in the present game plan.

Can't hurt to ask, though!;)
 
sorry to intrude again...

Well, I've been recorded in a couple of them, so I don't think they have any interns...they're mostly local musicians, younger than me, that have a studio so as to record all the other local musicians. None of us are making any money, but the studios are operating, so, I might check that out myself.

We're no big city, and music is sadly under appreciated in this area. I'll never understand that...football is God, live entertainment is not worth $2 dollars to a lot of people around here. Sorry to all those sports fans, if it didn't create a bunch of freaks around here, I'd change my tune.

Hell, I'd settle for even just 'watching and listening'--I could glean a lot from that too. Observation is a good thing at times when you're open to it.

It's a good thing I've got a day job, that's all I can say.;)
I'm also a bit chicken to even go in there and ask, but I think it would be GREAT!

see ya guys,
Kirstin
 
Yeah, Kgirl, I've been to Nebraska, so I think I know what you mean!

Except for the humidity and the smell of cow manure, it's a really great place, with some great people: real people.

-[Not like the so-called 'people' in the LA/Hollywood-media complex! Everyone in Hollywood and LA is made of PLASTIC!]-
 
Sometimes, when the breeze is just right (wrong) my yard smells like shit. Damn farmers.

LOL.
Kirstin
 
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