Phil-osopher10 Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 I'm just curious what is needed to make a decent studio. We have a recording console that can direwire into a computer, a midi controller keyboard, speakers etc. I'm just wondering what else? compressors? outboards.. whatever they are? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimskidog Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 [quote name='Phil-osopher10' post='1182683' date='Mar 30 2011, 08:17 PM']I'm just curious what is needed to make a decent studio. We have a recording console that can direwire into a computer, a midi controller keyboard, speakers etc. I'm just wondering what else? compressors? outboards.. whatever they are?[/quote] It really depends what part of the Market you are aiming at. If you don't try to pretend you are something you are not you can do a lot itb with a decent interface and a range of mics. You'll have to price accordingly though. Main thing you need wherever you are aiming is chops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 A great sounding live space with enough room to get a whole band in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Rimskidog' post='1182749' date='Mar 30 2011, 09:44 PM']It really depends what part of the Market you are aiming at. If you don't try to pretend you are something you are not you can do a lot itb with a decent interface and a range of mics. You'll have to price accordingly though. Main thing you need wherever you are aiming is chops.[/quote] +1 I've had amazing results with some very very limited gear, doing mainly mobile recordings: ie going to a decent rehearsal studio and turning that into a live room for an afternoon, and mixing entirely ITB. Of course I wouldn't charge anything like what Rimskidog can, but then I havent invested anything like what he has either, and wouldn't be stupid enough to say I'm competing with him directly at all. Totally different area of recording, doesnt mean I can't get a great result, but I think its fair to say my workflow (and therefore the band's workflow) is severely restricted by my available kit. Edited March 31, 2011 by 51m0n Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 In short I guess we are saying what you most need (clearly) is a great deal more knowledge on the entire subject of recording before you should consider building/running a studio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 I think that an enormous factor is the engineer that you use, and the amount of effort they put into it (I suppose I'm talking more about mastering rather than recording, but often it's the same person) If you go to a very expensive studio, you are paying a lot for both the facilities and the engineer. In my experience, the pro engineer will spend as much time as he/she is being paid for. A cheaper setup tends to have an enthusiastic engineer who has a bit more time on their hands, and will spend more time getting it right, even if they're not getting paid for that time. With one band, our first demo was done at a hobbyist's home studio - he was really creative and went over and above the call of duty to get what turned out to be a pretty well produced ep. for the next recording, we had the opportunity to record at Sony studios in London with an engineer who had worked with some pretty big names. The result was clean and well balanced, but seemed a bit 'unfinished', and overall we preferred the first one. This is purely based on my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 Do not confuse mastering with tracking or mixing! It is a completely different dicipline, and requires a different (though vaguely related) set of skills. Its as different as live engineering to recording (tracking) is. Very few places set up for tracking/mixing have a dedicated mastering suite, and engineers. IME a hobbyist or a pro recordist can do so much with mastering, a mastering pro can usually take it to a different level in terms of polishing the result. I'm not talking about making something sound necessarily more polished either, but rather taking your 'finished' product (mixes) and making them sound like a single album that somehow just sounds better in every way, whilst not really sounding different at the same time. If you dont know much about recording and mixing then dont make the mistake of thinking mastering may be an easier or simpler route, it really isnt! You need seriously good ears to be a great mastering engineer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 [quote name='51m0n' post='1183082' date='Mar 31 2011, 10:42 AM']In short I guess we are saying what you most need (clearly) is a great deal more knowledge on the entire subject of recording before you should consider building/running a studio.[/quote] +1 as I found out! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=97039&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=97039&hl=[/url] I will say that it's all now running fine, and we A/B'd some of our work with some of the guys whose sound we were trying to emulate last week (through a decent sound system), and it turns out that we hadn't done too badly (and this is certainly in part thanks to the help guys on here like 51m0n provided on the thread above). I'll add one thing to this thread; don't believe the hype. The more you get into the recording culture, the more you start to believe that analogue is superior to digital, tape is superior to disk, valves superior to transistors, and expensive mics superior to cheap ones. In each domain, it's how you use the equipment that will determine 90% of the quality of the recordings, not what equipment you use. C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 [quote name='Beedster' post='1183146' date='Mar 31 2011, 11:31 AM']I'll add one thing to this thread; don't believe the hype. The more you get into the recording culture, the more you start to believe that analogue is superior to digital, tape is superior to disk, valves superior to transistors, and expensive mics superior to cheap ones. In each domain, it's how you use the equipment that will determine 90% of the quality of the recordings, not what equipment you use. C[/quote] MASSIVE [size=6]+1[/size]!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil-osopher10 Posted March 31, 2011 Author Share Posted March 31, 2011 Sweet! I'm not overly involved in it, just helped to set it up. Though maybe one day I will venture into it and create the greatest record known to man, probably not, but maybe. Hahaha. We have a pretty good space. and microphones seem to be sm57 or 58's not sure which one though. I would love to learn more about it. May even try it as a hobby. haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leprechaun Posted March 31, 2011 Share Posted March 31, 2011 [quote name='Beedster' post='1183146' date='Mar 31 2011, 11:31 AM']In each domain, it's how you use the equipment that will determine 90% of the quality of the recordings, not what equipment you use. C[/quote] +1 Never a truer word spoken. Also, to reiterate what others have said, a great sounding room for tracking and a properly treated control room are worth more than any bit of equipment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 [quote name='Phil-osopher10' post='1182683' date='Mar 30 2011, 08:17 PM']I'm just curious what is needed to make a decent studio.[/quote] This: [url="http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/in-pictures-abbey-road-studio-two-403975"]http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/in-...udio-two-403975[/url] We can but dream... ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimskidog Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 [quote name='Beedster' post='1183146' date='Mar 31 2011, 11:31 AM']+1 as I found out! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=97039&hl="]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=97039&hl=[/url] I will say that it's all now running fine, and we A/B'd some of our work with some of the guys whose sound we were trying to emulate last week (through a decent sound system), and it turns out that we hadn't done too badly (and this is certainly in part thanks to the help guys on here like 51m0n provided on the thread above). I'll add one thing to this thread; don't believe the hype. The more you get into the recording culture, the more you start to believe that analogue is superior to digital, tape is superior to disk, valves superior to transistors, and expensive mics superior to cheap ones. In each domain, it's how you use the equipment that will determine 90% of the quality of the recordings, not what equipment you use. C[/quote] I agree with that, but at the same time it's that last 10% that can takeyour work from a good amatuer job into a release ready pro job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironside1966 Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 A good sounding live room, good monitors in the correct acoustic space with the skill to use them. You need to be honest with yourself and clients how good you really are, the internet is littered with CD’S for sale that sound a lot worse than anything that has come from my home studio. Even so when anyone comes to me to for a commercial release I always advise them to pay the extra and go to an established studio. My ears a good enough to tell the difference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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