I've always worked from home and digitally. I'm a pretty competent engineer and know the sequencer inside out, but I'm wondering if it's wise to invest in a few sessions in a decent studio.
Any experiences with this?
Renting Studio Time
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Martian Telecom
- mnml mmbr
- Posts: 115
- Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2006 8:23 pm
From a money standpoint, it GENERALLY doesn't make any sense because you will likely never sell enough to cover the cost of the studio time. If you are big enough to sell records to cover the expense, why not?
From an music standpoint, it really depends on the studio and what you want to do. If it is a studio with equipment you don't have and you really want the sound, it might be worth while if the song is good enough. If they have nice tube pres, vintage effects, VCO analogue with midi-cv waiting to go, a nice way to track... it could be worth it.
If you are going to go this route, you will want to have every single note of the song nailed down with scratch voices and you just want to track through their processors or with their instruments. You will need to have a very clear idea of what you want to do before you walk through the door.
If you are a beginner it definitely isn't worth your money because you will be stumbling through a session without a strong product going in and without a market waiting for it when you walk out. If you aren't selling records yet, and you are not at the point where your tracks are great, but they could be huge, it isn't worth it.
I have three records out, RA/LWE hype, name chart support and my records sell everywhere and I am still not at the point where it would be worth it to me to drop 600usd to polish a track. That money would be better spent in my own studio. If this were 15 years ago, I would definitely spend the extra money because the polish would mean extra sales. These days the margins are so thin that it just isn't worth it unless you intend to lose significant money on the release.
From an music standpoint, it really depends on the studio and what you want to do. If it is a studio with equipment you don't have and you really want the sound, it might be worth while if the song is good enough. If they have nice tube pres, vintage effects, VCO analogue with midi-cv waiting to go, a nice way to track... it could be worth it.
If you are going to go this route, you will want to have every single note of the song nailed down with scratch voices and you just want to track through their processors or with their instruments. You will need to have a very clear idea of what you want to do before you walk through the door.
If you are a beginner it definitely isn't worth your money because you will be stumbling through a session without a strong product going in and without a market waiting for it when you walk out. If you aren't selling records yet, and you are not at the point where your tracks are great, but they could be huge, it isn't worth it.
I have three records out, RA/LWE hype, name chart support and my records sell everywhere and I am still not at the point where it would be worth it to me to drop 600usd to polish a track. That money would be better spent in my own studio. If this were 15 years ago, I would definitely spend the extra money because the polish would mean extra sales. These days the margins are so thin that it just isn't worth it unless you intend to lose significant money on the release.