Recording in an Apartment vs. Studio

[Jack Russell]

Here's a dilemma:

Would you: (A) Record in a living room of an apartment in the middle of a city, or (B) take the time and money to build a reasonably neutral studio space in a basement, way out in the country away from any noise and hold off on recording until the studio is completed? The band I'm in wants to get to trackin' soon, so the first alternative looks very inviting.

What kind of technical issues can make the first option detrimental? Hum? Bleed? Street rumble? Bothering neighbors? The second option will take months of time to realize.

Any ideas or suggestions?

[P.S.: the band to be recorded is a rock power trio, with a loud drummer.]

 

[NYMorningstar]

Build a studio and in the mean time rent a rehearsal room.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

How about just going to a studio? Depends on how serious the project is, but if you're new to it, then it's going to be a long time (several years) before you see anything close to resembling good sounding results!

 

[Track Rat]

If you're in the St. Louis area, I'll track your band.

 

[Jack Russell]

How about just going to a studio? Depends on how serious the project is, but if you're new to it, then it's going to be a long time (several years) before you see anything close to resembling good sounding results!

Well, we're serious, we have great tunes, but no budget (of course!), and no label (of course!). We all have day jobs, we have a place to practice, and we have done many recordings before, all in 'artist demo' form, using ADATs, tape, or a DAW (most recently). The quality of our recordings hasn't been too bad, in my humble opinion, so I'm just trying to weigh what is really to be gained by the more long-term professional approach.

My philosophy has always been, why blow money in a studio when you can invest it in your own recording gear instead?

 

[Jack Russell]

If you're in the St. Louis area, I'll track your band.

Wish I was!! I'm a HUGE Cardinals fan. Go Morris! We gotta kick the Stros tonight and send them back to Houston. I'm in Baltimore/DC.

At least the Braves are out of it. I hate them even more.

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

My philosophy has always been, why blow money in a studio when you can invest it in your own recording gear instead?

Well - the answer is (and I'm not suggesting this necessarily applies to you!)...

Just because one can buy recording equipment doesn't mean they have the skills to use it effectively!

 

[manning1]

well i dont necessarily agree you have to go whole hog building neutral spaces. ive done it both ways. great rooms and terrible spaces.
some of my songs done in terrible spaces hasve done better than some ive done in great rooms. ive found sometimes its how one approaches the song.
i dont think there are hard and fast rules. i went the whole hog on a couple of occasions and the songs turned out not so good as the ones done at home base. one big name band i heard of (of several) did the album in a poor space. the label decided to redo the songs with everything hi end but then
decided that the original was better (the could never recapture the original energy of the songs), and the originals went on to get country wide airplay. one thing i have found is if a song is done well,
a good mastering engineer can really make a big difference. once years ago i had a stereo tape master which was slightly noisy (but i didnt want to
redo the tracks as they were a texture i liked) and the mastering engineer amazed me with his ability to make it sound great. i learned a lot from the guy. a true pro who shared a lot of knowledge with me who i highly respected.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Well, we're serious, we have great tunes, but no budget (of course!), and no label (of course!).

So? Only a few people have those things, but it doesn't stop thousands of bands from going to a recording studio.

My philosophy has always been, why blow money in a studio when you can invest it in your own recording gear instead?

Because for a fraction of the cost you can go to a decent studio and have something that doesn't suck.

In my opinion the MINIMUM buy in to record and get decent results with live instruments (as opposed to direct instruments like Line6 guitar, drum machine/samplers, synths, software drums, etc...) is six grand. This includes your mixer, recorder, software, *microphones*, cables (more expensive than you think and you'll need more than you realize), utilities like direct boxes and so on.

Plus, simply by asking this question convinces me you lack the know-how to actually record anything with decent results for a few years. And by that time you'll have figured out that you bought all the wrong equipment.

And recording in an *apartment*? Are you nuts? Prepare to have everything ran direct unless you want the cops called on you every time the drummer starts jamming. That is unless you have the most tolerant neighbors in the universe.

 

[teainthesahara]

What kind of technical issues can make the first option detrimental? Hum? Bleed? Street rumble? Bothering neighbors? The second option will take months of time to realize.

Im in the same situation. All of the above - noise from cars, trucks, unidentified hums and squeels, and yeah, neighbors. I time doing drum tracks when most people are likely to be at work. You got to restrain the drummer (volume) to a point where it throws off the tone and playing style. And then there's the room. Boxy apartments tend to sound like....boxy apartments, and this really carries over to how your drums sound in the final product. You can work around things, and get decent vocals, guitars etc. in an apartment, but drums are where the deficiencies of your space really show up, and in a not so subtle way (if you have a loft apartment with hardwood floors and tolerant neighbours, then theres nothin to worry about, eh?).

But so what. If your interested in recording, and are making plans to record in the future, and not just for this project, you gotta start sometime...it takes a while to get good, so theres no time like today. Start with your apartment, and you will truly appreciate your country house when the time comes. Oh yeah - if your recording with an portable mult-tracker, its easy to rent out good sounding spaces for the drums, and then do the rest in the apartment.

good luck

 

[teainthesahara]

So? Only a few people have those things, but it doesn't stop thousands of bands from going to a recording studio.



Because for a fraction of the cost you can go to a decent studio and have something that doesn't suck.

In my opinion the MINIMUM buy in to record and get decent results with live instruments (as opposed to direct instruments like Line6 guitar, drum machine/samplers, synths, software drums, etc...) is six grand. This includes your mixer, recorder, software, *microphones*, cables (more expensive than you think and you'll need more than you realize), utilities like direct boxes and so on.

Plus, simply by asking this question convinces me you lack the know-how to actually record anything with decent results for a few years. And by that time you'll have figured out that you bought all the wrong equipment.

And recording in an *apartment*? Are you nuts? Prepare to have everything ran direct unless you want the cops called on you every time the drummer starts jamming. That is unless you have the most tolerant neighbors in the universe.

Yeah, I agree with all of the above. It's rational. But it doesn't address one thing. Motivation. If you got the drive to do it, then regardless of your current understanding of engineering, then ya gotta get off your tail and do it. Like anything else in life, you will probably not be that good and make not-so-hot choices when you start out. So what? Big friggin deal. Why should that stop anyone? That is the natural learning process, and with the right attitude it will push you to better things. With the right attitude, you will care that you suck only to the extent that you wanna make it better. We would all be talentless, lime-green gelatinous globular oranisms of extreme efficiency at one and only one thing if we never pushed out limits just for the sake of pushing!

And if its a question of skills, and not equipment, then why the total of 6 grand to get decent results? As compared to what?

T

 

[Jack Russell]

Great points all around!

Some more background. I have probably invested close to $10,000 over the years in equipment. Although I'm 'self-trained' I feel confident that I know the basics about recording: mic placement, e.q., isolation, conmpression, reverb, effects. etc. I agree with the point about what a mastering tech can do. I've released a CD that was recorded in a loft of an apartment back in 1996, and the mastering stage was truly money well spent before release. It even had very brief airplay. I've paid money to lay tracks in other studios before. The money disappears fast, and the stress of meeting dealines can really crush your free spirit to be creative.

Even though I've invested that much money over time, I still feel that i could easily spend more to improve results (don't the 'pros' all feel the same way?)

At one point I was actually doing this professionally, but I'll confess, it was extremely short-lived and just wasn't my cup o' tea. I am a songwriter first and a studio engineer second. I make money faster by doing other things, so it was a no-brainer to get out of the biz.

The drummer that I'll be recording is a concientious fellow, and he has been able to appease his neighbors about playing times, as surprising as this sounds!

Of course, all this comes to the obvious conclusion: I'm nuts! That is very true, since, after all this money and time, not making a living at songwriting might just mean that I ought to give it up!! Truth is, I did for a few years, but the fire burns deep, and I still believe in my music.

 

[Jack Russell]

Well - the answer is (and I'm not suggesting this necessarily applies to you!)...

Just because one can buy recording equipment doesn't mean they have the skills to use it effectively!

Good point. I do have a pro whom i can consult for advice if I get lost.

 

[chessrock]

Yeah, I agree with all of the above. It's rational. But it doesn't address one thing. Motivation. If you got the drive to do it, then regardless of your current understanding of engineering, then ya gotta get off your tail and do it.

If your goal is to someday be an audio engineer / producer, then yea, I think that's a great theory you got there. All the power to ya -- good luck.

But on the other hand, if you are a musician and your goal is to make music . . . then get off your tail and make great music. Getting involved in all the audio engineering stuff will only distract you from that goal, and will suck a lot of time and money out of you over time.

I'll quote something Jack Russel just said that pretty much sums it up to me:

. I am a songwriter first . . .

Great. Then write songs.

 

[teainthesahara]

But on the other hand, if you are a musician and your goal is to make music . . . then get off your tail and make great music. Getting involved in all the audio engineering stuff will only distract you from that goal, and will suck a lot of time and money out of you over time.

Yup, good point. Not everyone can or should do both. Some artists can 'blur the definitions' and become profficient at both (even to the point where it's synergistic). Sometimes the recording proccess enhances the song writing process, sometimes it distracts. Very personality/skill dependent...

 

[LRosario]

Because for a fraction of the cost you can go to a decent studio and have something that doesn't suck.


That about sums it up. You can have the best gear on the face of the planet, but if you don't know how to use it, you might as well record fart sounds in the bathroom.


I think it's sad everytime I hear that someone bought all this great gear only to find out they didn't have the ability to get the sounds they wanted.

I personally would have you go to a pro studio at least once before you decide to risk buying expensive equipment you might not be familiar with.

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Even if you do have good recording gear (for a home recordist) you are still usually short on a few areas that studios have:

-space for one

-convenience (not having to route 12-14 balanced cables one by one across a room to a mixer) is another

-monitoring for another

-isolated control room is another (how great it is to create sounds WITHOUT being in the same room as the blaring amp or pounding drums)

-microphone selection (and usually quality... how many home recordists have a matched pair of AKG C451's and 414BULS????)

-easier mixing capabilities

-usually better mixer/preamp quality

-let's not forget the fact that you will add another person to your 'team' to make the recording sound good. Most bands *cannot* produce themselves objectively and everything ends up muddled because nobody wants to be softer in the mix.

 

[Jack Russell]

Well, aren't we getting to the industry-wide dilemma of today, which is, with all the new user-friendly technology, and more musicians "doing it for themselves" especially with DAWs, then aren't the pros with studios just refusing to accept that great recordings can be made in apartments by musicians with a fraction of the investment made by a big studio?

In short, how can you say a recording made in an apartment would suck without hearing it?

 

[chessrock]

I really don't know if it's really even an issue of "can" anymore.

Sure, you *can* do just about anything yourself if you want. And over time, you can probably figure out how to get satisfactory results.

But is it really practical or even a good idea in the long run?

Do you cut your own hair? Probably not. But why is that? You certainly could. Scissors are pretty cheap. You probably have a sink and a mirror where you live. Why can't you cut your own hair? Apply the same logic to groceries. You don't have to go to the grocery store for everything. You could grow your own vegetables. You could raise cattle and slaughter your own meat. Why don't you do that?

Obviously, the answer to these questions are that it just isn't practical. You'd never get anything done. The bandwidth of your brain is finite as are the hours in your day. It's not practical to be an expert in everything, and to do everything yourself.

 

[Henri Devill]

If you are set on doing your own recording then I'd suggest ..Tracking your Drums "pro" and your scratches also..then do your dubs ect. at "home" possibly your mix at a studio also...One more thing,make multiple backups if you go this direction..Its really hard to be the songwriter,producer and engin. Good luck