Recording in a studio -- pricing question

[grachi]

So a friend of a friend has a studio he just opened. I was coincidentally looking to record 4 or 5 songs, and he told me about this guy. So I texted him today and he said they are currently offering this 3 hours for $100 deal. I don't know anything about studio time and pricing, does that sound reasonable? Outlandish? Should I look elsewhere?

[RRuskin]

Originally Posted by grachi

So a friend of a friend has a studio he just opened. I was coincidentally looking to record 4 or 5 songs, and he told me about this guy. So I texted him today and he said they are currently offering this 3 hours for $100 deal. I don't know anything about studio time and pricing, does that sound reasonable? Outlandish? Should I look elsewhere?

I would consider that a very good rate but only if the room and equipment were adequate and the operator knew what he or she was doing.

[grachi]

thanks for the info. Yea, I'm sure I'd be given a tour of everything before shaking hands on anything.

[Ty Ford]

Hello Grachi,

$33.33/hour sound good. When does the clock start and end? If I have someone coming in at 5PM and they get here at 5pm, it may take us til 5:30 to get through the "Hi, how are yous" and setup until we're ready to record. Most of the time I eat that first half hour as a show of good faith. Others may start the clock at 5pm. Others still may allow for 15 minutes of set up, so if you come in at 5:00pm,get started at 5:15pm and go to 8:15pm, there's your three hours.

OTOH, if the booking is at 5:00pm and you show up at 5:30 and don't have your s**t together until 6:00pm, that's not cool.

A certain amount of time has to go to tweeking mics and levels, but unless you've agreed to spend time searching their mic collection for the prefect mic, there shouldn't be a lot of time spent there.

As Rick says, it all comes down to how the place is operated. We've all had days when the computer says, "Oh no you don't!" and requires rebooting or cajoling. I rarely have that, but am preemptive to the degree that if that happens I make a point of saying that the clock has stopped until we get going again.

$33/hr in a studio that sounds decent and provides results that sound good in your car and at home is a good thing. I have known places where they seem to have enough toys, but not the brains to use them very well. Sometimes a guy with a band also gets a gear jones, buys enough gear to record with and then puts himself out there as a studio to make a few bucks. Nothing wrong with that if he can make you sound good. But if he's behind the curve with the gear, maybe the deal is not so good.

You can always ask to hear what he's done. Is it your kind of music? If he does mostly bands, does he know how to do a solo acoustic act...and vice versa. I'd be a little concerned if he doesn't have an example of something similar to what you do, but it's not a deal killer.

What's his role? Is he a recording engineer or will he also be producing? Who determines how loud the vocal is or how much reverb there is, etc. A lot of first timers (as musicians) are a bit shy and end up wanting to hide in too much reverb. As a recording engineer, I counsel against that. I you really want THAT much reverb, I will do it, but will suggest that you try it on a CD before committing to it for a final mix.

and stuff....


Regards,

Ty Ford

[grachi]

wow thanks Ty.. This is definitely stuff I will try to find out about. Too bad you are in Maryland, or I would go to you! (I'm in western PA).

I just want to get a few tracks on CD or mp3 or whatever to send to grandparents, friends of friends, things like that. I also thought it wouldn't hurt to try sending it in to one of those singing shows, like The Voice.

[KevWind]

1. Ask what his experience is
2. Ask if you can ( prior to actually committing to recording) preview playing in his tracking area with your guitar for 5 minutes. Play something you are really familiar with so you can just listen to it in that room.

You might want to inquire about what his recording chain and gear options are.

[PorkPieGuy]

If the engineer and equipment are up to snuff AND you aren't charged set-up time, then it's a great deal. If the studio setting is missing any of the three things mentioned above, I wouldn't do it.

There's got to be a reason for him only charging $33/hr.:
1. He does it for fun and more as a hobby helping out local artists.
2. He has no idea what he's doing.
3. He's not been doing it very long or he's inexperienced.
4. His equipment may be cheap/outdated. (You can always record with cheap equipment and do ok, but I'd be fearful if he pulls out an old Roland or Boss all-in-one recorder).
5. He's not had a lot of luck with business recently due to the major surge in the past several years of quality equipment and software at very competitive pricing.


Here is a list of things that I would ask:
1. How long have you been doing this?

2. Who all have you recorded? (Here, you aren't looking for famous names; you are looking for what kinds of genres is this person has recorded. For example, if you are in a Christian rock band, do NOT record at a studio that seems to get a lot of Southern gospel groups. Been there. Done that. Ummmm, twice.)

3. What kind of equipment do you have? (Computer-based? Mics? Pre-amps? etc.)

4. Does he charge set-up time?

5. DOES THE PRICE INCLUDE TIME USED FOR MIXING DOWN AND/OR EDITING???? (Please make sure you ask this. Some studios can use this as a tactic for getting you to pay more money. So, what if it takes him 6 hours to edit and mix down three songs? Is that an extra $200?)

6. Does he have any samples of people/bands that he's recorded?

7. Where is the studio located? (Simply checking for noise pollution making its way onto your recording.)

Note: Keep in mind that if you have a decent computer (I use my $300 Compaq from Walmart) and a decent microphone or two, you can do a lot of home recordings yourself using something like Reaper. It may be worth looking into.