Studio or Home?

zircona1

Hey all,

I'm getting set to record my second album. The question is: should I record it at a studio or just do it at home? I recorded my first CD in my apartment on one of these:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fostex-VF160EX-16Track-Recorder-with-CD-Burner?sku=240269

The result sounded OK, but when I played the CD I had to turn the volume knob up a notch or two to get the same quality I'd expect from a CD you'd buy in the music store.

Will a studio give me that optimal CD sound on something you'd buy at the record store today? Or should I just buy some extra stuff and do it at home? I'm looking to spend about $1500.

Thanks for any advice.

harrisonmerwin

an average Computer based home system will cost you about 2500-4500 pending on what you need and the quality at what your doing it. But i find the most valuable part of recording is having someone do the tech work for you so you can concentrate on your musical product. If you do it at home get a buddy opr a guy from the local music store that you trust (yeah...right!) and get them to help you through the recording process. Then you could mix your tracks later. What i find is the best is recording elsewhere from your home/jam location. The new place makes it seem like your there to record, and it just feels better knowing your in a "Recording location". im not sure how remote your equipment is, but i find it works well. Studio time is really expensive, unless you can go really early in the morning, or really late at night. Studios tend to charge alot more during the 7am-7pm range. Either way i would look into both options, or ask around for people with home studios and give them a call because you'll get a fairly decent product, atr a good price, plus people with small hoem studios just love gaining the experience. I would look into these options, look at the dollar figure, and see what your most comfortable with. Either way id woudl really payoff to have someone you trust musically to guide you through the whole thing.

IDgotI

Hi. I'd say the decision between studio vs. Home depends not only on what you intend to do now, but what you are thinking of doing in the future.

If your focus is on playing out live, or if you don't see yourself wanting to focus on recording things, or "using the studio as a tool" then you probably will get more bang for your buck faster if you work with people who know the ropes, and operate a studio. On the other hand, if you are interested in making a lot of albums, and if you are fascinated with the art of production, and you paid attention to the change ups between Brendan O'Brien, Tchad Blake and Adam Kaspar as producers of the PJ albums, then investing in a home studio would probably make a lot of sense.

Those all in one hard drive multi trackers like the Fostex you included the link for have their place, esspecially for people used to working with tape based four tracks, but if you were noticing the difference in volume output between your work, and a factory pressed CD, chances are you'll want to invest in a computer hard drive recording set up. The advantage of working with computers is you can use a wide range of software tools to take care of several different chores.

For example, the volume level issue you were noticing has to do with a final step in professional musical production called "mastering". That's the stage which comes after mixing, and basically involves trying to balance all the tracks on an album so they are as loud as possible, and sound roughly as loud as each other. Since this step comes *after* the mix, it can be tricky performing it on something like the Fostex, especially because being able to see your waveform, and make sure you don't have any high volume spikes in play is crucial.

The problem with trying to get "professional results" in sound recording is the same as it is with songwriting, guitar playing, singing, anything. Even with talent, it just doesn't happen over night. So again I'd say the way to make the decision is whether you are dead focused on making this next project of yours come off really well, or whether you see yourself making projects just like it for many years to come.

Computer based recording solutions are becomming incredibly affordable today, esspecially if you are willing to look at older rigs and set ups. For example the computer based recording systems that cost three or four grand back when that Fostex was new can now be had for less than a grand used. Check out something like the Digi 001. It's not cutting edge sound, but it should sound better than the Fostex, and you can find them on ebay these days sometimes for as low as $300. Get that, a computer, an older version of Pro Tools LE, a mic or two, and some software plug ins and you should be well ahead of where you were with the Fostex, and you can probably pull it off for $1500.

One thing though... if you do decide to go the computer route, then still be sure to take harrisonmerwin's advice about getting help and feedback from people you know and trust at least when you are figuring out what to buy, and how to configure your setup. Software can be very picky about what hardware it runs on. So if you decide to go with something like a Digi 001, make sure you do your homework and get a computer that will work with it.

The advantage of something like a Digi 001 is you should be able to get it to run on something that isn't super cutting edge, but at the same time, check the digidesign web site for compatibility, and check around to see what systems people have that they can recommend. I got by for a long time on a Digi 001 with Mac G4 at 500 Mhz. with 1 gig of ram. That will work if you are familiar with macs, and if price it all out with Craigslist and or ebay, it should still be possible for under $1500. If you are a PC person, be sure you get a machine that can run the audio software and hardware you are interested in. Check with people who know PCs to figure out what to buy.

Better to do the homework and KNOW you are buying the right tools from the outset, than to have a lot of crashing computers, and blinking red lights staring you in the face after you've brought them home.

If you go the studio route take a while to find the right studio, and studio staff you want to work with.

Good luck either way.

harrisonmerwin

good first post, welcome to the board.