If I were obscenely wealthy, I would still have a wonderful home studio but it would come with an engineer waiting on standby for me.

And there would be days when I wouldn't ask him to come in at all. I do like those times when I can just relax into being an artist, but I also don't mind engineering myself when I'm in a mood to be left alone.

I don't really think we can safely generalize about most people with home studios. I guess the biggest segment is just doing it for fun and self-expression without hoping to 'make it' as a writer, performer or engineer. But some of those folks will discover that they are pretty good and go further.

The people I know personally with home studios are either making great art, or great money, or both. Duncan, the drummer for Jazzooo, has a DP studio where he records drums for everything from the Ice Capades to HBO movies to demos for the guy down the street. My brother turns out some of the most interesting music for his self-released CDs, which sadly sell in very small numbers. But I'm not sure who is happier that they have a decent home studio between the two of them!

I've got an old songwriting partner who I helped set up a production studio starting in the late 80's. And off and on throughout the years I'd help her with upgrades. It was definitely empowering for her to learn how to run the gear and be able to use the studio as a songwriting tool and not be dependent on other people every time she wanted to work on an idea.

I talked to her not too long ago. She's hit the bigtime in the last few years and has songs she's written on major hit albums.

I asked her what she had in her studio now. She said, "Oh, I don't have a studio anymore. I carry around a laptop and I do all my writing with that."

Of course, she goes into studios to make demos. And she gets the people who record well to do that – and she does what she does well – which is write songs.

Is it really that hard to do both sucessfully, i mean, i'm now at the point where i can decide to go either way here. I am 15 years old and i love to both record myself, others and play as much as possible.

For my recording equipment, I own an analog, 16 channel mixer, a digital 8 track, some rack equipment, and some software on my PC. On the music end, i play every day, and i try to improv new ideas as often as possible. I have more determation than ever to be a pianist, (jazz/funk, classical, etc.), and i dont think i would give up that for anything. On the other hand, I'm here at this forum, meaning i love recording and live audio stuff as well. Was there a sucess story were a musican managed to be sucessful at both? I've read a page or so of these replys to this thread, and all of them said, "well, i guess my songwriting career kinda died when i started my studio...."


Is it inevidable that your (future) writing career will fail as you build a studio?

right now, i am not trying to build a studio here, i just want to record myself and have it sound good, but i am also a perfectionist, so im thinking the stuff about distraction is somthing to worry about for me, cuz recording is so persice and i dont want to go someplace because i dont have the money, because i am always improving and i just need to have a record button there waiting for me...


i think I'm at the fork in the road where i can go either way with recording or music.... maybe some type of influence would help on which would be a more promising career.... whatever i do, i want to be big, and really good at it; and thats not an unrealistic dream for me, its a goal, goals get done, regardless of anything that happens

piano freq
lucky you!

If it were me, I would be focussing on becoming a great musician first. If you become well know and sell lots of music, then you can buy all the toys you want and learn about audio down the track. You are young!

Guess it depends on how much you wanna become a great musician, and "making it"?

I can tell you that a friend of mine, who was on his way to becoming a very good musician, got the desire to start his own studio. He's become very successful at that, but he tells me now that he rarely picks up a guitar!

His knowledge of music though, has helped him immensely with his one-man studio operation, as he regularly plays "producer" to some of the (quite successful) bands he records.

Hope this helps
Tube

quote:

Originally posted by Jazzooo:
\The people I know personally with home studios are either making great art, or great money, or both. Duncan, the drummer for Jazzooo, has a DP studio where he records drums for everything from the Ice Capades to HBO movies to demos for the guy down the street.!

wow I didn't know Duncan did didgital work like that?? Guess Peter may have influenced him with DP eh?

T

Yes, Tonio--though a couple of weeks ago, Dunk told me he was going to load in ProTools because so many other people send him PT files to work with. He's pretty comfortable with DP though.

i disagree with the topic..well kind of..

i dont believe its the DAW itself preventing ppl from writing..in my case its clearly the search and the reading about gear, and the stress of making the right choices about gear cause you're always broke, that keep me from writing.

with that said, i totally believe in getting gear that inspires you. even if its the friggin colours..lol its pretty ridiculous but..why get a C1 with its "bright" caracther, when u can have a V67, get a warm sound without the bright top, and vintage looks.. at least in my opinion..thats probably a stupid reason to get mics, but of course its not the only one i base my decisions in...if it "has" the sound i want, great..if it looks good, perfect!

Wow. Thanks so much for your help, everyone. No one who I hang around with could have told me the stuff you guys told me. I now know what i need to do to succeed. Write. Great. Music. I just wrote a song recently if anyone wants to check it out.

http://www.myspace.com/thejfunk

Click on "A funky Reason", thats the one I wrote. The track is digital, I made it with FL studio 4. Although our band can play the parts, the musicans arent always there when you have a song idea The other track, "funky drum and bass" is a jam session with my drummer/saxist and bassist.

Keep Jammin,

Murph

quote:

Originally posted by dusty:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by MudBean:

And your response shows that no one wants their name to be associated with negative adjectives.

-Dusty

What about neutral adjectives?

Hhhmmmm, I have been putting together a studio for the last few years. Being able to record high quality demos has actually increased the amount of performances. So I don't really agree with this post. Just an opinion as I see it. Everyone is free to take there own path.
peace,
DAZE
http://www.myspace.com/richbischoff

My DAW (a Roland VS 1680 and various pres) has totally freed me up to pursue developing a body of work...in the past I was forced to engage a studio...and truly, although I'm really still a recording novice, my recent CD recorded at home in my leisure, is in my opinion, for sound and creativity, my best work...that may not be saying much 'cause we're not famous or anything, but when I look back (I'm 47) to all the years in studios, I'm rather pleased that I can look forward to working in the privacy of my own home...I DID spend a couple years begging info from everybody and studying day and night, whilst learning the basics...but I'm totally stoked for the future, and we do work out for road shows during the year...colleges and small rooms mostly...but hey, it's more fun building a body of work than being locked out of it all because of not having the 7-10G it used to cost me to record a project...

JMHO...RD (sound samples at http://www.sytekdavies.com at the Online Press Kit section)

Thinking it over a little more, I think the premise is really pretty stupid.

I can't think of a better gift than to be able to record at home, without relying on anyone else.

Yesterday, I took down the box of cassettes containing everything I wrote and recorded since I had a steam driven Tapesonic 2 track machine in 1973. There are literally hundreds of cassettes, each one filled to the brim with songs, instrumentals, jingles, along with alternate versions and rough mixes. (I also collected songs by my songwriting partners nad friends on the same tapes, but my contributions are probably in the 400 song range.)

And I started composing long before I was albe to record myself, so think of all the early work I've lost.

Going over these tapes, I get ideas for new songs and sometimes I actually find songs that I re-do using my more contemporary thinking and tools. There are a few on my upcoming album, in fact.

I can get into the Zen-like aspect of letting a song go into the atmosphere without recording it, but the truth is that I'd rather have it somewhere so I can check it out years later. Home recording allows me to do just that--I'm still burning CDs of demos and songs that weren't quite ready for prime time, but might fill a need someday.

I like how Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater has produced a bunch of their cds and still plays like a madman on crack

I think Ronan makes some good points, and I think we're mostly going to find the kind of people here who are in the position to disagree.

I don't expect we're going to get a lot of people dropping by here agreeing and saying, "Hey, you know what? You're right. I use to play music all the time and had a little action with some records. But since I've been dicking around putting all my time and money trying to build a studio – I hardly get anything done anymore."

But, believe me. Those folks are out there, too. Just not as vocal about it.

I think it takes a lot of discipline is all. Most, myself included, have discipline problems. I get caught up in the update wars. I DO practice and hour and hour 1/2 to 2 hours every day. But I have other projects to do that get in the way of me pulling out my guitar to write. It's not DAW that's in the way. It's many diversions. Forums.

I have an old defunct notation software program Mosaic. I needed to write some music so I just HAD TO HAVE Sibelius so I wouldn't write in an archaic program on a computer I never use. So now I have to figure out how to run Sibelius in order to write music?? It's stupid. I have scraps of manuscript paper where I have written some music. But I have this silly block that says it'd be so much more efficient to write on the computer. And I still have to learn Ableton Live and a few other programs. I still have to set up my midi gear because all I've been doing is audio. Things are just too complicated.

As I've said elsewhere, it begins with yourself and an instrument. The less diversions the better. Sitting in front of a computer screen makes one feel productive even when one isn't being productive. A song isn't written by a DAW. It's written by a person or people. What's great, as Doug said, is to sit back and listen to a body of work going back years, even if they're just ideas. It's all in how one is able to control one's own diversions using self imposed discipline.

quote:

Originally posted by Dot:
I think Ronan makes some good points, and I think we're mostly going to find the kind of people here who are in the position to disagree.

I don't expect we're going to get a lot of people dropping by here agreeing and saying, "Hey, you know what? You're right. I use to play music all the time and had a little action with some records. But since I've been dicking around putting all my time and money trying to build a studio – I hardly get anything done anymore."

Like others, I don't toally agree with the initial post. However, I have to admitt that this thread has got me thinking that I need to focus less on gear and trying to be a recording engineer; and more on song writing and my musicianship.

So I've got to give Ronan points for making me think.

quote:

Originally posted by kid-surf:
There's a lotta lip-service on-line.... people say music is what the focus is then turn around a pick up a catalog and start think "man if I just had........."

I don't care what anyone says, what I see the most "on-line" is people worrying about their "SOUND".

And some "songwriters" spend more time trying to perfect their sound than writing music. Go figure... (IMO -- a songwriter writes, not engineers)

Now you songwriters can tell me i'm crazy...

Oh, the prob? The prob is that everyone doesn't want to be the guy with the shitty sound........

True enough - but as a songwriter and musician, I'd add a couple of points. I never aspired to be an engineer (and some people may say -'that's OK, you ain't one' ). But here's my take:
If I had the necessary funds, I'd certainly be recording in an established pro studio, have my stuff professionally mixed and mastered. For most of us, this would clearly provide the best results - at least sonically. In that case, I'd use my studio just for capturing ideas, working out arrangements and demoing.

But given the option of the relative affordability of putting together a "project studio" where a good quality product can be achieved, I went that way. Digital recording and getting more quality for the $$ for condenser mics etc than in the past is enticing.

The result is a period of immersion - the learning curve - to becoming an engineer. Let's face it - it requires a lot of time and work to get there - time that is limited if you aren't pursuing it full time. So it's all about compromises. To get to a basic level of competence, there is a period where this part takes up much more of your time than songwriting and practicing your instruments. No way around it. Hopefully, the scale will eventually start tipping back and you can better balance your time spent on music and recording.

The problems? How many hats can one wear? For me, I’m trying to be songwriter, performer, engineer, producer, mixing and mastering engineer – and all self taught. Each one of those functions can be a full time job in itself. (I won’t even attempt mastering as I certainly don’t have a very well tuned room or necessary skills).

The other problem is ‘the benchmark’. No matter what function(s) I’m performing, I’m always going to compare my work to whatever I think are the best examples out there. That’s part of learning and developing craft. And it grounds me in reality (for better or worse!). As good a songwriter as I think I might be, I also want to deliver it in a way that will provide the most impact. So, in reality, I won’t be totally happy until I start producing stuff that sounds as good as my favorite LPs/CDs. How realistic is that? Ha! It’s a balancing act, like walking a tightrope.

I don’t think the average project studio is going to threaten the pro facilities out there any time soon.

quote:

I don’t think the average project studio is going to threaten the pro facilities out there any time soon

I would tend to disagree for the most part...the average "project studio" has the same ability to get (lesser quantities) of the same same high end stuff (the buzzword pres and so on), sound treatments, etc...

BUT: the average project studio also has a certain barnstorming mentality freedom not commonly seen in major places...a freedom to experiment, a freedom to work outside the box established by A&R so every release sounds exactly the same, etc)...

Perhaps I am too optimistic - but I think the project studio concept is not only good for the industry and the music it produces, it FORCES people to pay attention to the fact that there is more great music out there now than there was 20 years ago...and a very high percentage of that great music, scorned by major labels, comes directly from project level studios. This (I would assume and hope) HAS to be noticed by the biggies...

A question to ask is: without the explosion of smaller operations, where would the industry be right now? Maybe its mixing metaphores, but remember the number one song in the US the week before Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock" (comparatively project level studio work for the time) was "How Much is That Doggie in the Window?"

To further add, what constitutes a 'project studio?" Hitsville and Bradley Barns were, by today's standards, fairly primitive in treatments, isolation, etc (although they had the coolest gear on earth...) What they DID have was innovative engineering, superb musicians, and great songs...

Sorry if this had been covered before...6 pages is a lot to read before coffee...

quote:

I don’t think the average project studio is going to threaten the pro facilities out there any time soon

Well, this is OT, but I disagree with that. Why should, say Maroon5 rent a studio for 3 months to make a record when they can buy a TDM rig, rent some gear as needed, and hire an engineer to track for a fraction of that. Then send the pRotools project to the best mixers in the biz (who are also working in THEIR project studios)...

Not to mention that 15 years ago, there would be more entry level/mid level ametuers keeping small studios alive--I know--that's where I worked. I can do WAY better at home now. So, I think it's killing the big rooms and the small rooms. Only the agressively priced and well equipped medium size places are gonna survive. I mean there will always be SOME big rooms, but...

Wireline and Popmann,
You both make good points. And you may very well be right. I suppose I'm somewhat confusing the professional recording, mixing, and mastering engineer with the brick & mortar facility.

Now I'd love to start a Siriuis or XM Radio station which only plays independent unsigned music, with an associated website where people could look up info, browse, purchase CDs etc.
Clear Channel's got to go...