too many home studios?

W

Where She Wept

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Sep 16, 2004
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www.whereshewept.com
so are there too many home studios? I've got so much to learn. i've been doing my own demos on various 4+8 track machines for a few years. I just stepped up to digital, got an audio interface and upgraded my pc. my problem is everyone blows me off. i offer free demo recordings and no one takes me seiously. I've got so much to learn still, but i can't keep working on my own stuff. No one ever calls me back and they go spend money somewhere else and get a demo i know i could do better on. There's studios poping up everywhere. but i don't just want a studio, cuz they're only as good as the engineer. i want people to come to me cuz they know i'll make a good sounding record (eventually) i've never mixed a properly mic'd drum kit. I don't have a building yet, so i'll be working out of my living room. but i know with the proper prep work i can make a damn good demo. I'd rather work with bands i know are somewhat good. but should i just start working with anyone? most bands that take themselves seriously want a name and a big studio.
 
Dude, you've got to start somewhere. You aren't necessarily going to be able to hold out for an awesome sounding band to come to you. Just record anybody! Make them sound as good as you can. Prove yourself and then lay it out there for people to see. You said yourself that you have no experience with real drums....that doesn't exactly sound like a great marketing point of interest. Get some practice any way you can so you don't have to say that when someone asks you! No offense, but it sounds like you're jumping the gun just a little by calling yourself a capable engineer when you have what seems to be little or no experience in some vital areas. (drums for instance)
Also, do you have adequate gear? Do you have the tools to compete with a proper studio? Some people are more interested in the gear they will be working with than anything else. And people don't want good sounding stuff "eventually"...they want it as soon as they're done tracking it!
Best of luck to you though!
 
the quick answer to the question in your subject line is, yes.

to qualify that let me state that i think home studio set-ups are great for somewhat technically minded musicians to have as a writing tool. NOT for real demos that they are trying to get signed off of though, and NOT for actual albums generally. the only problem i see with home studios is that there are too many guys putting them together with consumer level gear, no real acoustic considerations beyond a few auralex items, and little-to-no experience and yet trying to compete for real business. you can't just buy some gear at GC or similar, toss it in your living room, read a book on micing, and open up for business... this is the illusion the pro-sumer gear manufacturers and retailers try to sell you, but there is no substitue for studying, interning, and spending a minimum of a few years learning at least the basics of the craft and getting a solid start on the lifelong process of training one's ears. i know easily 30 home studio just in my immediate area... they are not very enticing for serious bands.

and yeah... as for engineers, the market is flooded here. most i know supplement or get all of their income by delivering pizza or some such. one guy i know who's actually pretty damn good works at a wood shop to make ends meet. not to be discouraging, but let's be real here... it's harder than ever before to break into this business. if you actually manage to work with good bands before you are ready you will not give them the results they seek. the problem there is that good bands talk to other good bands. i started working with good bands myself almost from the start, and when my lack of ability at the time showed itself in the end result, my rep was damaged for future work, even after i started getting pretty good. it took me a good while to overcome that, but i learned the lesson and spent more time with younger acts... practicing, studying, and getting better. i also didn't overlook the value of learning directly from pros by volunteering. even that is getting harder and harder these days as pros are literally bombarded with internship requests now... i get several a week it seems myself.

good luck.
 
Yeah, God...I mean....Mr. Murphy, is 100% right about this. Something to consider is exactly what you want from this endeavor. I have a small home studio and I do get a bit of business, but it is totally small time. I have a full time design engineering job that pays the bills. I got into home recording because of my passion for my own music, and after collecting enough gear to do some decent demos for my own band other local bands started expressing interest. Since then, I have went public with it and I'm managing to pull in bands pretty regularly. I don't do it for the money, I just do it because I love working with music. I also like offering an alternative to local bands who can't afford the bigger studios. In my area there are several studios, but none that cater to the small time local metal bands with little money like I do, haha. I also usually know what kind of sound they are after and I can help them understand how to get it. So yeah, if you're in it for money you've got a long road ahead. If you're in it for the love of music then you won't mind the long road...so everything's cool! :D
 
Where She Wept said:
my problem is everyone blows me off. i offer free demo recordings and no one takes me seiously. I've got so much to learn still, but i can't keep working on my own stuff.
Click to expand...

IMO you should buy a portable setup and find bands (that do not have a demo) and straight up TELL them you're going to record them. Throw some mics in front of everything and hit record. Yeah, there'll be a lot of bleed but I guarantee you that if you utilize that search function you'll find enough on this forum alone to get you a decent mix for these guys, whoever they are. They'll be like, "holy shit, you did that??" And when they crawl back to you asking for more then charge em double.
 
Ditto to everything James said. The problem I have where I am at is all the home studios with guitar center gear do their stuff so incredibly cheap that i have to fight with them to get clients to actually come to the nice studio I work at to record anything.

I only know about 3 engineers in my city that actually live off engineering.
 
Compare it to other 'high skill occupations'. Will a good drummer complain that kids with cheap drumkits are getting so common nowadays? Are there actually too many beginning drummers? Who cares! That's why bands have auditions.

If you want good bands then record/mix/master some killer stuff (your own stuff perhaps) and let them hear it.
 
madbutcher said:
Ditto to everything James said. The problem I have where I am at is all the home studios with guitar center gear do their stuff so incredibly cheap that i have to fight with them to get clients to actually come to the nice studio I work at to record anything.

I only know about 3 engineers in my city that actually live off engineering.
Click to expand...

if you change your bands name to Harkonnen i'll listen to it :p
 
Spot on, but i would however point out one of the possible reasons to why this has come to pass; for instance:
The band Im currently playing in have sent out at least 50 demos to labels ranging from Nuclear Blast to Heavy Fidelity (the smallest label in the world) and the answer from all interested parties has been "Well we would love to release your record, but however we cant get you a bit enough advance to record in a "bigger" studio. Hence the cheapest and easiest way is to track the album by yourself and try to get someone descent to mix it. All in order to make the budget meet.

I think that tracking albums by yourself is the way of the future, or atleast until the record industry recopes, ditches half of their rooster and get their finances together.

James Murphy said:
the quick answer to the question in your subject line is, yes.

to qualify that let me state that i think home studio set-ups are great for somewhat technically minded musicians to have as a writing tool. NOT for real demos that they are trying to get signed off of though, and NOT for actual albums generally. the only problem i see with home studios is that there are too many guys putting them together with consumer level gear, no real acoustic considerations beyond a few auralex items, and little-to-no experience and yet trying to compete for real business. you can't just buy some gear at GC or similar, toss it in your living room, read a book on micing, and open up for business... this is the illusion the pro-sumer gear manufacturers and retailers try to sell you, but there is no substitue for studying, interning, and spending a minimum of a few years learning at least the basics of the craft and getting a solid start on the lifelong process of training one's ears. i know easily 30 home studio just in my immediate area... they are not very enticing for serious bands.

and yeah... as for engineers, the market is flooded here. most i know supplement or get all of their income by delivering pizza or some such. one guy i know who's actually pretty damn good works at a wood shop to make ends meet. not to be discouraging, but let's be real here... it's harder than ever before to break into this business. if you actually manage to work with good bands before you are ready you will not give them the results they seek. the problem there is that good bands talk to other good bands. i started working with good bands myself almost from the start, and when my lack of ability at the time showed itself in the end result, my rep was damaged for future work, even after i started getting pretty good. it took me a good while to overcome that, but i learned the lesson and spent more time with younger acts... practicing, studying, and getting better. i also didn't overlook the value of learning directly from pros by volunteering. even that is getting harder and harder these days as pros are literally bombarded with internship requests now... i get several a week it seems myself.

good luck.
Click to expand...
 
I agree with James. I've invested thousands into pro gear for my home studio, however, I have no goal (anywhere in the near term at least) to "go pro" and start recording/mixing other bands. I still primarily use my studio as a creative tool for my own music. I'd honestly rather keep my nice equipment to myself, and work on my own music rather than somebody else's. Call me selfish, but I think this is the point of a home studio. If I wanted to go pro, I'd set up business in a studio outside of my house somewhere and keep my home studio/privacy.
 
Fredrik-Ablaze said:
Spot on, but i would however point out one of the possible reasons to why this has come to pass; for instance:
The band Im currently playing in have sent out at least 50 demos to labels ranging from Nuclear Blast to Heavy Fidelity (the smallest label in the world) and the answer from all interested parties has been "Well we would love to release your record, but however we cant get you a bit enough advance to record in a "bigger" studio. Hence the cheapest and easiest way is to track the album by yourself and try to get someone descent to mix it. All in order to make the budget meet.

I think that tracking albums by yourself is the way of the future, or atleast until the record industry recopes, ditches half of their rooster and get their finances together.
Click to expand...
think what you want to think, but it's not going to happen... the era of labels letting bands record themselves already came.. it's not in the future.. it's here. the result is that too many poor quality albums flood the market now due to this trend and just don't sell. sure, some guys pull it off.. not many, not compared to the numbers that don't. this is a view from the inside. take it or leave it, but your wave of the future is already with us now... and despite a few success stories it's not working out well in the larger scheme of things.
 
Hammer Bart said:
Compare it to other 'high skill occupations'. Will a good drummer complain that kids with cheap drumkits are getting so common nowadays? Are there actually too many beginning drummers? Who cares! That's why bands have auditions.

If you want good bands then record/mix/master some killer stuff (your own stuff perhaps) and let them hear it.
Click to expand...
this is an invalid comparison. why? beginner drummer kids with cheap drumkits don't try to undercut Dennis Chambers for a gig on the Tonight Show or for the drum stool spot in signed bands. they sit at home and practice and learn and get better and go out and jam and play small shows with their peers... for years BEFORE they ever audition for any pro situations. this is not the case with the kind of home "studio" that was under discussion. but that should have been clear.
 
Genius Gone Insane said:
I'd bet my money that 10 years from now being in a band will go hand in hand with having a home studio.
Click to expand...
10 years eh? how about now?... yes now. most bands i meet these days already have at least one guy who is computer saavy and knows how to use some form of DAW software. this guy usually does the band's demos. songwriting demos. but, as most find after much effort, they have to step up the quality to seriously compete for label attention. we've already had a big thread about this not long ago. take if from someone on the inside.. or don't and just insist that the way you would like it to be is correct. your choice.
 
I think it's possible to get a quality production out of a home studio, but it takes an incredible amount of effort, time, and comprehension. For someone like me, that's what I love to do. I enjoy learning as much as I can about audio engineering and mixing, so my recordings are always getting [albeit incrementally] better. I also don't have the illusion that I could make *everyone's* band sound the way I can get my own, quality wise; because I spend vast periods of time just figuring out what's going on in my own recordings to make them sound decent, and different groups with different gear and styles would yield different challenges every time...something pro's are schooled to deal with.

What this all means to the career of tracking and mix engineers is that they will have jobs for a long time to come. How many people want to spend as much time tweaking their own shit as long as I do just to get a half-decent recording? Mine aren't even that good, but I spend so much time just getting to where I'm at. I think most bands want to concentrate on drinking beer or maybe writing songs. For this reason you will always have some demand for professional secondary sound transduction artists (to quote slipperman).
All this will become irrelevant of course when the machines instead of people write all the music.
 
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