Starting all over

  • Thread starter Thread starter I-AM
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I-AM

New member
Dear Forum,

I've been creating music for a little time now, and I have purchased many items, which I would say, give ok-to-good results, but now I am starting to realize that's there is nothing better than a full fledge studio.
So in a comple of months I am going to start all over.
Instead of trying to spend tons of money to purchase equipment to do at home (until I make it big to buy my own studio) I am wondering what type of equipment is standard for recording at home and then taking it into a complete studio for mixing/ mastering and laying down vocals.
Let me explain what I am thinking of doing.
I come up with a few tracks, and record and edit on computer. Next I record these tracks in a format that I can take into the studio for further mixing and mastering, and or vocals. Basically, what is a standard format that big studios use, ie: ADAT, or etc.
Thanks for any replies to this post.
 
Hi-I-Am
Do as much as you can on your own. Because, the standard format is money. And the second standard format is time. If you have both formats, you got nothin' to worry about.
 
Unless your'e Ken D Webber (ck the search function of this BBS),your biggest concern is what is your budget.
 
gotta learn to "milk" your equipment. that is take what you got, and learn every in, out, if, and, or but about it. Keep trying all kinds of stuff---whenever you think youve gotten the best out of what you got, try something else, im sure you can make it better. even something as small as adding a 100 dollar effects box into your gear can open up so many new possibilites.

after a while if you start listening to the old recording you have, and play them back chronologically, i think you will notice that they gradually get better as the time passed on.

almost all studios will probably have an adat machine-but like misterqcue said, it depends on how much you are willing to spend to start over again.
 
Ok,

I get what you all are saying about using everything that I got so far to it's fullest.
I'm going to keep a lot of the important things I have such as compressor and EQ, but I am going to try and upgrade my controller, mixer, and software.
I'm hoping that I can do as much as possible with this stuff, but as far as when I want someone to lay down vocals, I'm always thinking that a dedicated studio is better than the setup that I will have.
I guess I'm really talking as far as vocals are concerned. I can usually get a pretty good sound from all of my stuff, but when it comes to vocals, it's hard to get the right sound in my room. That's where I would like to go into a studio and lay those down, and at the same time learn something from the engineers in there.
 
Recording vocals is indeed tricky.

I never thought I could ever get a decent vocal sound with my setup. Everytime I tried, it sounded so lousy that I just gave up hope.

However, since I became an hr member, my interests in vocal recording were rejuvinated. I started picking things up here and there and applying them. There is so much posted here on it - search the archives for ways to improve your vocal recordings. Mics, pre's, techniques, etc., it is all here.

Don't count yourself out, give yourself a chance - you might be pleasantly surprised.
 
I often wonder if recording is an "Art" or a "craft".
Even if I could get a big studio sound out of my home set up. would I try.
for me recording at home is best possible senerio.
My time is unlimited. which means my creativity is always at play.
I can remix a thousand times, I can retrack after dinner.
Freedom.
I would probably lean towards a pro tools set up.
 
being far from rich I can appreciate making the most of what I have.Before I converted my garage into a dedicated studio for recording and practice with the two bands I am in, I used to do my recording solo(on a 4 track cassette) in my kitchen after the girls went to bed. I used a sock on my beta 58 to dampen esses and pops and picked thru effects on the used art 200se to get a better "room" sound... experiment and keep on trying... I was able to get some nice vocal tracks with that meager set up.Luck!
 
"Because, the standard format is money. And the second standard format is time."

bball, you have a way with words - truth plus poetry.

Charlie, I understand what you're saying about the luxury of having unlimited time with your own studio - it's a great way to learn. But there's also something to be said for getting something done under pressure or with a deadline. My guess is that a lot of people here, especially the ones who gig, would do really well to do as much as they could in their own studio, and then hire a pro studio when it came time for tracking, mixing and mastering the magnum opus. People usually perform better when they're face to face with the standard formats bball jones correctly identified.
 
To job or not to job

dobro

In the oyster dive of life, one may occasionaly pull up a pearl . . .

If I was a giggin' dude, I wouldn't have the time to mess with the mix - what with checks to cash and groupies to screw. Been there - done that . . . and kinda miss it.
 
The more I play and listen to music the more I tend to think that the best music out there is not the music that gets the best production.

I have a very small recording setup:

- One Tascam 424 MkII four-track cassette recorder.
- One dynamic microhone that is a cut below an SM57
- One cheap soundcard on an old computer
- My guitars and a very old keyboard

When I record I concentrate on making the recording clean. That is, I do my best to make sure the recording itself doesn't get in the way of the music. I am not trying to get a guitar sound that will blow your mind or a vocal track that is like crystal. I am trying to blow your mind with a great song and a great performance.

Even with my little tiny setup I can get a very clean recording that people are impressed with.

I think of it like this: even if I spend another thousand dollars I won't have a pro recording. But I can make my songs and my playing better all the time without spending any money.

I think most people don't listen to the recording - they listen to the music...if the music is good and the recording is clear enough so that they can hear it people will enjoy it.

Listen to the album "McCartney" recorded on a four track with no mixing board and then listen to "No Strings Attached" by NSYNC and recorded in a fancy studio and tell me which is better.

Tucci
 
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