Wanting to Build a Recording Studio!

[ota_maasiya]

so, up front, I have no idea what I'm doing or where to look for info.
So who knows what it takes, and who has a clue about what I'd need?

bring on the comments! :D

[ibanez_player]

I'm curious too.

[dsmanuel]

Seriously - I just wanted to be able to make decent recordings of a band at my church and it is expensive. If you want a full studio, there are so many things to think about.

The room and acoustic treatment
Signal chain - mics, preamps (mixer?), processors, A/D converters, digital interface, computer (with plenty of HDD space), software, plug-ins, D/A converters, monitors, and the list goes on.

Each piece of the above list can cost over $1000, and some of those items are needed in multiples.

Considering you already have a computer, you could start at a few hundred dollars, and the sky is the limit from there.

So, you might be more specific on what your intended use would be.

[colinthebassist]

If your looking to do some basic recording, like one, or two channels at once, M-Audio products are great. They are relatively cheap, about $150 bucks and up depending on features. The offer all sorts of stuff for different applications. If you wanted to go a little higher on the food chain, you could get an M-Audio 10/10 and a small mixer, and run and record up to 10 channels at once. Another good solution is a mixer from Mackie. I don't remember the product name, but there low-mid size mixer have an optional digital converter module. This fits inside the mixer and allows the mixer to go completely digital into a computer over firewire. I believe these mixers are around 12 channels. The Mackie system costs around $700 bucks I believe. My friend currently is using a Mackie board with the digital module, 16 channels records the whole band nicely at once, and of coarse, every channel is a separate track on the computer software. Just some options for you.

[larryl]

so, up front, I have no idea what I'm doing or where to look for info.
So who knows what it takes, and who has a clue about what I'd need?

bring on the comments! :D


step 1...send me $100,000
step 2 .....i will take over from there.

:D

[Musicdude]

so, up front, I have no idea what I'm doing or where to look for info.
So who knows what it takes, and who has a clue about what I'd need?

bring on the comments! :D

Check out this forum. There is a ton of good info on there.
I don't know if you are asking about equipment or the actual room it'self. But there is info about both on there. I have learned a ton from that forum.

[ota_maasiya]

step 1...send me $100,000
step 2 .....i will take over from there.

:D

while I sit around wondering what part of Atlantic city you're in spending it? :p

...i wish it were that easy!

[ota_maasiya]

Check out this forum. There is a ton of good info on there.
I don't know if you are asking about equipment or the actual room it'self. But there is info about both on there. I have learned a ton from that forum.

Well, I my dad is a carpenter, and he showed me this Cedar paneling that is awesome for the inside of a sound room. I'm honestly most interested in the hardware end of it, as I am not savvy in that department.

[larryl]

i don't mean to be difficult.......

but are you building a recording studio, while not knowing how to work it?

i only ask because if you knew how to run a studio, you'd have a pretty good idea of what you want in it...... if not, i don't understand building a studio..

if you're wanting to build an real studio, in it's own building, you can easily spend $10-15k just to get it up and running, hardware wise......

that's why i said 100k, for the building, and hardware.:D

the last studio i was in had over $100k in recording hardware, and it wasn't even a major studio.

[Musicdude]

i don't mean to be difficult.......

but are you building a recording studio, while not knowing how to work it?

i only ask because if you knew how to run a studio, you'd have a pretty good idea of what you want in it...... if not, i don't understand building a studio..

if you're wanting to build an real studio, in it's own building, you can easily spend $10-15k just to get it up and running, hardware wise......

that's why i said 100k, for the building, and hardware.:D

the last studio i was in had over $100k in recording hardware, and it wasn't even a major studio.

It can definitely be expensive. But on the other hand, I've probably got about $6,000 worth of equipment (including my laptop, which is the center of my studio) in a spare bedroom, and I can easily record up to 24 tracks of audio at once, and I get pretty good results. But that $6,000 also includes my guitar amp, my POD-XT, my Roland V-Drums and amp, microphones, cables, audio interface, monitors, and lots of small stuff.

[larryl]

It can definitely be expensive. But on the other hand, I've probably got about $6,000 worth of equipment (including my laptop, which is the center of my studio) in a spare bedroom, and I can easily record up to 24 tracks of audio at once, and I get pretty good results. But that $6,000 also includes my guitar amp, my POD-XT, my Roland V-Drums and amp, microphones, cables, audio interface, monitors, and lots of small stuff.


i agree. i was asking because he mentioned the paneling, and hasn't said if this is going in an existing room, or if he is wanting to build something.

if you're a beginner, i suggest you buy something small, and start learning, before building a studio..

[ota_maasiya]

i agree. i was asking because he mentioned the paneling, and hasn't said if this is going in an existing room, or if he is wanting to build something.

if you're a beginner, i suggest you buy something small, and start learning, before building a studio..

Yes i have to agree that knowing how to run one is a pulse, and something I don't know how to do. I was asking for future reference. Lately I've been curious, so I thought I'd ask about the reality of building an add on room and furnishing it to become a studio.

[kayehl]

theres many parts to a recording studio

sound proofing which keeps inside sound from getting out and outside sound from getting in

sound damping which flattens and deadens the room so your sound isnt colored

comfort and atmosphere which makes the musicians relaxed

hardware & software equipment

accesssorries

hard disk backup

record keeping

knowledge base

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

a place to start is with free audio software. Also look at portable midi keyboards that interface with your computer. Once you master using that move up to the $20-$50 recording software from electronic discount chains. By then you may be ready for a full fledge DAW like SONAR or Cubase.

[kayehl]

just for kicks.....
as far as equipment (all prices approximate):

software
DAW $200
mastering $200
subtot.......$400

computer $500 (or $3000 for power mac)
mixing desk $300
sound card $200
subtot........$1000

mic package
condensor $300
2x dyn for vocals $200
2x dyn for instruments $200
5x stands $150
cables $100
subtot....$950

reference monitors x stereo $500
computer desk $100
subtot...........$600

miscellaneous......$500

grand total..........approx $3800

so you can get the equipment for a startup broadcast quality master studio today for around $4000 (not including any instruments) but you still need a place to put it!

[surfdaworld]

it all depends completely on how, where, and what, you want to record...

if you're actually building a full-on studio, then yeah--$4000 minimum. but if you're just wanting to be able do simple 1-2 track recordings of live performance, as well as demo quality recordings using your church's sound system, then you could probably get away with something like the Zoom HD8 or HD16, which both have onboard hard drive and CD mastering.