I've been doing basement recordings of mine and putting out my own music, and I have loved it all, and the whole experience has been amazing. I want to start helping other bands have this experience and help get local music out there for as cheap as possible, but I feel like I should have a space to do it. My boss has been really into my stuff and I think I could try to get him to let me start a studio in the basement of his store. How should I approach this? I think I should try to make a business plan of some sort and cut a deal of splitting the cash I make off this. Right now I just have a small audio interface and condenser mic, and I'm gonna pick up a mixing board and like, 5 more mics. So obviously I am not in this as a professional several thousand dollar studio, I just want to help get bands music out there. I don't want to charge anything but I know in order to have the space and get the equipment I need some cash, so what should I charge? I'm really new to this but once I started doing this it just clicked and it's really what I want to start doing, so I need a plan, sorry for the long post and my forgetting to insert paragraphs.. If I could get any help or advice on this I would really appreciate it.
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I'm wanting to start a small studio to record other bands?
- Thread starter jtm3183
- Start date
Keep it a hobby. Once you start charging you will be expected to have the knowledge, have the gear, and be able to perform like a professional. If you really want to record you will need a great sounding space to record in. Unfortunately for you there are lots of folk's with great gear, some knowledge, and experience who are charging way to little just so they can be in the recording game - sort of like muscians eh?
Yeah I'm trying to get it a little more than just a hobby, but not my main gig. Like, I don't want to go rent a space and buy multi thousand dollar things just yet, at some point I want to go to school for it but if I can get this basement for little to nothing and I have decent gear I feel like I could do it really cheap, I already have bands that want me to record for them I just feel weird not having a space for it
best way to do that is to treat the space you have with sound panels (carpet/egg crates) so you can get a nice quiet dead room.
Then get to work making the best sounding recordings you can.
When you have a few ready, in a few different genres, then show them to people.
make a promo CD, and show it to folks, tell them you will record their demo for like $100 bucks for 1 day, and it will sound like on that CD.
have all your stuff plugged in and ready to go when they arrive.
work methodically and efficiently, and remember to take breaks to rest your ears.
get a nice pair of monitors with stands.
a comfortable chair and some bar stools for the band people.
don't take on more than you can handle, tell them you will do 1 or 2 songs in that one day, with overdubs, mixing, and some ghetto mastering if they want it.
If it really sounds good, they will promote their music, and they'll say, "Yeah, we did it for $100 bucks with (insert name here)!!"
and people will be like, "WHAT ??? gimmie his number!"
then you charge them $120.
Then get to work making the best sounding recordings you can.
When you have a few ready, in a few different genres, then show them to people.
make a promo CD, and show it to folks, tell them you will record their demo for like $100 bucks for 1 day, and it will sound like on that CD.
have all your stuff plugged in and ready to go when they arrive.
work methodically and efficiently, and remember to take breaks to rest your ears.
get a nice pair of monitors with stands.
a comfortable chair and some bar stools for the band people.
don't take on more than you can handle, tell them you will do 1 or 2 songs in that one day, with overdubs, mixing, and some ghetto mastering if they want it.
If it really sounds good, they will promote their music, and they'll say, "Yeah, we did it for $100 bucks with (insert name here)!!"
and people will be like, "WHAT ??? gimmie his number!"
then you charge them $120.
I've done the same thing, but slightly different.
I too enjoy recording and have my own modest studio.
What I have done in the past (no longer) was to offer to record decent demos for local bands and soloists.
But I would go to their rehearsal space or house to do it. Sort of a mobile recording situation. These recordings were meant to be demos only, but many came out very nicely.
I charged a flat fee for 4 hours time, not including my set up and tear down. 1/2 down when the agreement was signed, 1/2 upon arriving at the session. Mixing, mastering & burning their CD fell within the 4 hours. I would leave them with a finished couple song demo.
If 3-4 tunes were recorded within that time - great. Sometimes only 1 or two songs were done depending on the preparedness of the band, equipment failure, string breakage, them taking bathroom breaks ect..
If they wanted or needed more time, it was an hourly rate paid up front to continue recording. It was all in writing beforehand.
It worked pretty good for awhile. I did have to tweak my contract/agreement written statement.
For instance, if I arrived at a location and there was any rowdiness, underage drinking or any illegal activities going on, they would forfeit their deposit and I would leave.
I did some nice demos for bands. I declined recording some groups due to the "flakey factor"
I did it this way, cuz I didn't want unknown people in my home studio.
I stopped doing it cuz I was concerned about repeated moving and setting up of expensive gear.
I too enjoy recording and have my own modest studio.
What I have done in the past (no longer) was to offer to record decent demos for local bands and soloists.
But I would go to their rehearsal space or house to do it. Sort of a mobile recording situation. These recordings were meant to be demos only, but many came out very nicely.
I charged a flat fee for 4 hours time, not including my set up and tear down. 1/2 down when the agreement was signed, 1/2 upon arriving at the session. Mixing, mastering & burning their CD fell within the 4 hours. I would leave them with a finished couple song demo.
If 3-4 tunes were recorded within that time - great. Sometimes only 1 or two songs were done depending on the preparedness of the band, equipment failure, string breakage, them taking bathroom breaks ect..
If they wanted or needed more time, it was an hourly rate paid up front to continue recording. It was all in writing beforehand.
It worked pretty good for awhile. I did have to tweak my contract/agreement written statement.
For instance, if I arrived at a location and there was any rowdiness, underage drinking or any illegal activities going on, they would forfeit their deposit and I would leave.
I did some nice demos for bands. I declined recording some groups due to the "flakey factor"
I did it this way, cuz I didn't want unknown people in my home studio.
I stopped doing it cuz I was concerned about repeated moving and setting up of expensive gear.
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Stick_Player
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- Nov 13, 2009
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Oh great! A serious fire hazard!
When is this "Carpet/Egg Crates" myth going to die? They do absolutely nothing other than to cheapen the look of any room.
OP, unless you are a trust fund-baby, you will NOT make any money. Recording studios are money pits. Why do you think the Major Labels dumped them YEARS ago.
Going to a "Recording School" (especially on a student loan) is a scam. After graduating, you might find a gig running live sound at a bar.
Dismal isn't it?
A basement load in, no thanks. Be a new innovative studio that goes to the band or venue. Figure out the techniques to get clean raw tracks from anywhere you take your pc or tablet. Then work on the post processing to pull them together into song.
Hi.
Yeah, go mobile would get my vote as well if this was a poll.
Hardly anything innovative or new about the approach, but it places very different demands on the tracking and workflow than doing it in a familiar, fixed location/environment.
Regards
Sam
Yeah, go mobile would get my vote as well if this was a poll.
Hardly anything innovative or new about the approach, but it places very different demands on the tracking and workflow than doing it in a familiar, fixed location/environment.
Regards
Sam
I operated a small studio in the '90s, and IME tangentmusic has it right. If you need to make cash recording local bands, have a business plan. If having a space is the difference b/w needing to turn a profit and being able to do it for love, then mobile is a great idea.
Mobile makes setting up mics and lines more of a headache, and you're at the mercy of whatever sonics the bands' recording spaces provide. (Chances are, your mixes will start to feature a lot of close mic'ing.) Business-wise, a set fee for X hours makes sense when working with relatively inexperienced bands, most of whom have unrealistic expectations about how much attention to detail is involved in every stage of the process.
If your motivations are like mine, the real payoff is in producing a great recording. You might want the option to track the sessions in the band's space, but then take the tracks back to your home studio to polish the mixes. Some bands might still get the Navy Seals mix (get in, get the job done, get out quickly). But the bands that seem to be doing something special, you can give some extra time to. In order to decide whether to work with bands and what sort of job it would be, I always wanted to hear bands gig or rehearse to get an idea of what I could do for them. That was (almost) always an hour or two well spent, although in some cases you know in 3 minutes what the deal is.
Mobile makes setting up mics and lines more of a headache, and you're at the mercy of whatever sonics the bands' recording spaces provide. (Chances are, your mixes will start to feature a lot of close mic'ing.) Business-wise, a set fee for X hours makes sense when working with relatively inexperienced bands, most of whom have unrealistic expectations about how much attention to detail is involved in every stage of the process.
If your motivations are like mine, the real payoff is in producing a great recording. You might want the option to track the sessions in the band's space, but then take the tracks back to your home studio to polish the mixes. Some bands might still get the Navy Seals mix (get in, get the job done, get out quickly). But the bands that seem to be doing something special, you can give some extra time to. In order to decide whether to work with bands and what sort of job it would be, I always wanted to hear bands gig or rehearse to get an idea of what I could do for them. That was (almost) always an hour or two well spent, although in some cases you know in 3 minutes what the deal is.
There's a lot more info at Invalid Link Removed, which is dedicated to all levels/types of recording - from home studios to high end pro studios including what's involved with setting them up and the business end.
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Best to keep it as a hobby, as you are unlikely to possess the skills quickly enough to even charge anyone justifiably. But if you love it and continue with it, you may eventually find yourself with a skillset and ample gear to start charging a little here and there.
Also, no to carpets. Build panels using rockwool insulation or something similar. Auralex is super expensive and not as effective.
Also, no to carpets. Build panels using rockwool insulation or something similar. Auralex is super expensive and not as effective.
if your going to do it "on the cheap" i recommend rigging up a nice sounding live room. a mic or line for each instrument, and a good sounding drum mic setup.
don't go nuts. just get nice live sounds- depending on the shape of the room it can be relatively easy, or nearly impossible- so theres that too.
theres a lot of competition running mid-priced studios. for really cheap, or high end stuff, theres not as much competition. I know people with college degrees in recording technology that charge as little as $20/hour for pretty nice studios- so theres that too.
if you keep it a hobby and get decent results, you can make a little- but don't get in over your head. its easy to blow $5,000 and still make bad sounding recordings.
don't go nuts. just get nice live sounds- depending on the shape of the room it can be relatively easy, or nearly impossible- so theres that too.
theres a lot of competition running mid-priced studios. for really cheap, or high end stuff, theres not as much competition. I know people with college degrees in recording technology that charge as little as $20/hour for pretty nice studios- so theres that too.
if you keep it a hobby and get decent results, you can make a little- but don't get in over your head. its easy to blow $5,000 and still make bad sounding recordings.
I did a home studio from 1993 until 2010. Had a room in the basement 23' x 26'. Surrounded the walls and ceiling with 2" foam I got at Markertek Supply at the time to kill all reflections and carpeted the entire floor. Had approx. 6 guitar amps, 2 bass amps, full set of drums all miked and ready to go, 2 keyboards 88 weighted, 61 unweighted (Korg) and several mics from sm57/58 to condensers. Started with friends recording them for free. Since I was able to play guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards halfway decent, I found (actually they found ME) that there were a lot of people that wanted to record but did not have a band, or did not have a full band. I would be the missing studio musician(s) (bass or guitar or drums or keys). Started with a Tascam 688 8 track cassette deck with built-in mixer and mixed down to DAT tape. Had one of the first CDR units (1x then 2x) so someone could come in, record, then leave with a finished CD. You will need a lot of patience and don't be afraid to refuse any potential client if you feel uncomfortable (i.e. druggies who bring in a lot of riff raff with them). Did this only on Sundays and all prices were negotiable. Made anywhere from $100 to 500 depending on the hours and how much I had to play. Local bands liked the place because everything was setup. They did not even have to bring instruments since I had everything. Never advertised. If you are any good, believe me word will get around FAST.
I hope you look at the number of other "studios" in your area. I see home recording studios advertised in CL all the time. My practice studio is better equipped than most of theirs. And I'm certainly more knowledgeable than most of these wannabes. When I see low ball rates I assume "inexperienced". Haven't been wrong yet. Simple tracking is one thing. Tracking in a n acoutically treated room with the proper mics, signal processors, and such (and the know-how to use them) is another. Then there's the fine art of mixing. Finally, there's mastering, another job for a specialist. Here's where a recording engineer earns his pay. That said, what do YOU have to offer? Not a challenge, but a question you need to ask yourself.
Here's an interesting site (if you haven't already been there) ... http://homerecording.com/bbs/
Here's an interesting site (if you haven't already been there) ... http://homerecording.com/bbs/
When I was young (HS) I was fortunate to get gigs recording as a bassist. During that time I became friends with some accomplished studio musicians in the Detroit area as well as studio owners / sound engineers. During college I worked at a very decent NPR affiliate in SE Michigan and became involved in engineering live jazz concerts of local and national acts, the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival, as well as work for NPR (Jazz Alive, New Years Eve Jazz Alive, Music of the Black Church, etc), and others (CBS Sports). I also did some side work doing remote recording of music recitals. I was very fortunate to have experienced engineers tutor me, show me around equipment, and help me obtain a nice, portable, recording rig (Studer console, recorder, Neuman, AKG, EV, and Sennheiser microphones). I learned the importance of having a clean signal chain, a great ear, appropriate mics, and to cherish a great room. I found some great rooms to record in (all over SE Mich) and worked hard to gain access to them. I recorded for the love of the art and not so much for the money. Over the years, gear comes and goes, but I've managed to keep a nice collection of mics and have a small, usefull studio in the basement of my house (O2R - ADAT's ; still works well for me - no need to upgrade) that I putz with my own tunes. When I need to record a good accoustic instrument I use the living room (vaulted ceilings, oriental rugs on the walls) because it's a decent space with a lively but controlled sound. The modest gear that I have was expensive new and some of it is still worth a lot, but I don't care as it's a hobby and I got my money out of it years ago. If you're going to charge money you will be expected to be knowledgable and from what you've posted so far it doesn't sound like you are. So, do it as a hobby until you really know what you're doing. Maybe work with someone who's experienced. Do not underestimate the profit in having a great sounding space and a very quiet signal chain (i.e. low noise floor) - everything else you can rent.
As the owner of a multi thousand dollar studio, my best advice would be to not let anyone discourage you. If you love doing it, don't stop if you hit roadblocks. As far as $, ask bands to give you what they can afford / feel is fair at first. You'll figure out what an honest rate is after a few paying gigs. Don't worry about how your gear stacks up against anyone else's, just make the best of what you have and really listen to what the bands ask for and do your best to get that for them (as long as they understand that they shouldn't expect the same results as a massive budget record).
My brother and I had a large commercial studio in a 2000 sf place. It was a fair amount of overhead. He was hit by a hit and run driver while on foot. He is recovering but will be another year or two. At the end of the day, its not about the gear (although it helps), its not about the space (although it helps), its about capturing a great performance and not doing a whole lot to it. The days of large venue studios with giant live rooms are shrinking. We had a 36x30 main tracking room with 12' ceilings....ive gotten better sound in a small cheap room....ive gotten worse too. If you can help your friends bands and others on a local level, do so. I would highly recommend you do some research on studio design and construction. My brother and I are both contractors and have built studios before, so we didnt have to burden the labor costs....and we still made a ton of mistakes building it. There is so much ******** out there about design and acoustics, do good research, have fun see how it goes.
Stick_Player
Inactive
- Nov 13, 2009
- 4,149
- 937
- Disclosures
- Endorser: Plants vs. Zombies Pea Shooters
For anyone dreaming of having their very own recording studio, this is mandatory viewing:
The Studio
The Studio
These are both excellent posts, great advice.
PM me if you want my view, I've spent a number of years in the AE field.
