9 replies to this topic

[Ranger-X]

For those of you that are in bands, and have recorded EPs / full-lengths / whatever, how much did you pay per hour? The lead singer in my band told me he knows a guy that will give him studio time for $10 an hour. I'm thinking that's probably just so we can use the studio, and doesn't include mixing or anything. The band put out a CD before I joined, and I hate to say it, but it sounds like ass. Whoever did the mixing / mastering compressed the drums like crazy, and the vocals are way too loud. I think I could have done a better job, and I don't know much about audio engineering. If the person who did the mixing was the same guy that said he'd do studio time for $10/hr, I'm going to try to find somebody else. But I don't want to pay too much. So what's a reasonable price?

[unluckycharm]

I'm thinking $25-$35 an hour is reasonable.

[allisonorphan]

I don't know too much about recording, but the last band I was in got a fixed price. This was good for us because it included mixing time and recording time. We recorded with Jalipaz. I know he recently moved to the WAY east side and just recently got his studio up and running again. He did a good job. I know he has recorded a lot of bands like peachcake, asleep in the sea etc.

My new band just recorded for FREE at the consevetory. Their vocal mics are AMAZING!!!!! It was only a few songs, but it was awesome. Ryan, one of our members, is also a recording engineer and it really helped. The guys at the consevertory knew this going in so Ryan got to assist them in mixing, set up, levels, etc. It sounded really well. However, the school can be really hit or miss so i hear!

[mothrock]

buy yourself one of those 16 track tascam firewire interfaces, 3 shure sm57s, a shure kick mic, a good hardware compressor and maybe a good vocal preamp. You'll be better in the long run and you can record yourself. If you state that you can do better than the guy that only charges 10$/hr then put your money where your mouth is and buy some gear. Just because you pay someone a lot of money doesn't necessarily mean you will get a good product. I would rather invest my money in tools.

teach a man to fish.... yadda yadda.

[capharnaum]

I would rather invest my money in tools.

it's true jesse has invested a lot of money in himself

[Tony]

buy yourself one of those 16 track tascam firewire interfaces, 3 shure sm57s, a shure kick mic, a good hardware compressor and maybe a good vocal preamp. You'll be better in the long run and you can record yourself. If you state that you can do better than the guy that only charges 10$/hr then put your money where your mouth is and buy some gear. Just because you pay someone a lot of money doesn't necessarily mean you will get a good product. I would rather invest my money in tools.

teach a man to fish.... yadda yadda.

i totally agree. mostly because i've done the cheap studio thing, the mid-priced studio thing, the conservatory thing (multiple times, and yes, it is totally hit or miss), and the record at home thing. the only time i would go back to a studio now would be if somebody was footing the bill. the stuff we've done at home is absolutely better than the cheap studios, and it rivals (and in some instances outshines) the stuff from the mid priced place. not that we're recording experts or anything, but you have a lot more time to figure out what you like and what you don't like, and you can spend tons of time mixing. we've probably invested a couple grand into recording gear, and good mics are key. but if we tried to do a full length in a mid-priced studio it could easily cost that much.

[Hooray For Everything]

I like Jesses idea...I like to hear 'my' idea of what 'my' band sounds like, not someone elses impression. We're lucky, we kinda have a fifth 'Beatle' who records us & knows what we are doing for the most part...

I think it's funny when bands go in with shitty sounding gear & then expect the engineers to make them sound good.

"Why do my drums sound like shit?"
"Because your drums sound like shit"

[mothrock]

I would rather invest my money in tools.

it's true jesse has invested a lot of money in himself

ouch rod.

[capharnaum]

you kinda t'd that one up
i couldn't help but swing at that
i kid of course!

[unluckycharm]

Derr well if you don't have the money or patience for buying your own stuff (or learning how to use it, etc...) I think you should try to find a studio with engineers or 'producers' who are sympathetic to the music you make. And if you find that place you'll probably pay between $25 to $25 an hour to get a decent sounding recording.

That said, I don't think I've ever really been satisfied with the outcome of a 'pro' studio for my music.

So therefore most of my recordings are 'home-recording' type of recordings.