What is all this rack gear?mor importantly why?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Elmo89m
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thane1200 said:
When was the las time you outboard gear "froze" or crashed? Ever get a outboard compressor virus? ;)
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whens the last time your computers' tube got busted, or needed recapping or caught on fire!(yes it does happen to outboard gear and not just cheap shit either!)... ;)
 
SonicAlbert said:
Remind me not to live in a house that you build! :eek:

How useful is that hammer going to be when you need to cut wood? What if the wood is not a 2x4 but trim? How about hammering a wood trim nail with the same hammer you used to frame the house? How about drills, with all the different types and sizes of bits? It goes on and on.

That contractor might have had a silly amount of tools, but certainly tools are not a one size fits all type deal. That's why there are so many of them, they are specialized. So the guy has specialized tools for every situation.

That's the same as having a different compressor for the mix buss as opposed to something that you can slam individual tracks like the drums with. The guy building houses might say you're an idiot because a compressor is a compressor, but you know there is a difference that is important. End QUOTE]


That was the point of my post. Some people said that having racks of equipment was not necessary for a pro studio. It is. If you make your living doing commercial recording day in and day out, those racks of equipment are extremely necessary and get built up over time with each session and learning that one more rack device is needed. A contractor buys his tools when he needs them. Over time, he has all the tools *when* he needs them with him in the truck. Same with a studio.
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I maintain that it is not necessary. It may be advisable, but not necessary to make a good album. What is it that makes you think that you HAVE to have racks full of gear to make an album? I think you really took my original statement way out to the extreme.
 
xstatic said:
I maintain that it is not necessary. It may be advisable, but not necessary to make a good album. What is it that makes you think that you HAVE to have racks full of gear to make an album? I think you really took my original statement way out to the extreme.
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You sure make some weird arguments. You HAVE to have racks full of gear to be a working professional recording studio. I don't think it, I KNOW it.


You don't HAVE to have racks full of equipment to make an album. That is a way different argument than the first.
 
I just don't think that you have to have racks full of gear to be a working professional studio. A nice room, a good engineer some sort of selection of outboard, good monitors and a nice console. I just think to say that you HAVE to have tons of racks is a little broad of a statement is all. I never said that it wasn't a good idea, helpful, or any of that. As long as what you do have fits the workflow of your prospected clientelle and is of quality. Not all professional studios need 24 channels of comps, 24 channels of outboard EQ, 24 channels of outboard preamps, 80 mics etc....
 
acorec said:
That was the point of my post. Some people said that having racks of equipment was not necessary for a pro studio. It is. If you make your living doing commercial recording day in and day out, those racks of equipment are extremely necessary and get built up over time with each session and learning that one more rack device is needed. A contractor buys his tools when he needs them. Over time, he has all the tools *when* he needs them with him in the truck. Same with a studio.
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Right, I missed the point of your post, but I agree with you wholeheartedly.

Also, there is a difference between running a pro studio and making an album with one's own gear in one's own home studio. I mean, you can make an album with a banjo and a portastudio if you want.

But when you go to a pro studio you expect them to have certain things. And since different clients are going to expect different things, the studio has to stock a wide variety of gear to meet all the expectations and needs.

On a typical session some or even much of the gear will not be used. But over time it will end up finding its way onto tracks.
 
If you want to take pro money, you have to look like a pro. I can advertise cheap rates for use of a two bedroom-based 'studio', but when they come in and see a 16-channel mixer, a PC, some mics and a couple of rack pieces, they aren't going to be impressed. That doesn't matter to me ... I can hear my own results and know whether I can charge a certain rate or not (I can't justify charging at all yet).

If you're a pro ... well you have to look the part. That's why Chessrock's website contains an extended apologetic for not having tonnes of gear but a select few items.
 
Chiming in here. You can cook a meal at home - a great meal, deserving to be on a menu in a fine restaurant. Can you cook 20 different great meals at home at the same time? Probably not.

In music today, you can tailor a home studio to your needs and get a great sound. Perhaps not perfect, but who cares, your not competing for studio time. If you were paying for your time at a pro studio, you would be MUCH more demanding on them than on yourself - because now your a CUSTOMER.

Therefore a pro studio has to be a notch above the home studio guys to survive. Not only that, their equipment get used ALOT - so it's not just sound, you also need quality build.

Pro studio's will forever have better results than a home studio - it's the nature of the business, they have to always be one step ahead to survive.

The real question I think people here are REALLY after (in the short time I've been reading this board) is "When is good, good enough?"

Personally I think a home studio can be good enough - no problem. Today it's about the engineer/producer. To get back with my original analogy; I could load your house with top of the line kitchen equipment but unless you have the skills in technique of cooking, your not going to get anywhere. And even more importantly, if you want to be great you have to have GOOD TASTE - if you don't, I don't think you can learn it. You have it or you don't.

The guy in the kitchen prepares all the ingredients of a sauce and proceeds to cook it. Once it is done the Chef sticks his finger in it and says "a little more salt please". And that my firends is the difference between a minimum wage cook and a $100,000/year Chef.
 
Yet another analogy:

I've got double stacked cabinet of tools in the garage. Used everything in it at one time or another... but when I'm away from home... there's not much I can't fix with a leatherman... it's just easier with the right tools
 
I think that perhaps a distinction also needs to be made between a space that is great for tracking and one that has the mixing toys. There are spaces that are used for tracking, and the mixes are done elsewhere--that happens all the time. The tracking studio does not necessarily need all the racks of outboard to do a stellar job.

Chessrock's studio seems to me to be oriented toward tracking. His approach about keeping the signal chain clean and going right into the DAW is totally correct as far as it goes, but for mixing I personally want to see some outboard firepower when I'm paying money for a mix. Maybe that's just me though.

My studio is the opposite of Chessrock--no good tracking spaces but a good mixing setup that rivals some smaller pro studios. Plenty of choices and capabilities as far as outboard compression/eq, reverb/fx, etc. for mixing outside of a DAW (or inside the box too). At least for a home studio. I guarantee that nobody would ever want to track at my place. But in addition to my own projects I do get occasional outside mix jobs, and I don't even advertise that.

It's really just a difference in approach, and it only applies in relation to the original question that started this thread, about racks of gear.

I'd love to put Chessrock's recording spaces together with my mix gear. That would be a *killer* setup. :D
 
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