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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Recording Corner »

Permalink Recording budget

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jdmcduders
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Joined: Jan 14, 2013
Posts: 137
Indianapolis, IN
United States
Link Posted on May 28 2014 05:25 PM

It's getting to be the point in the writing, performing, and recording cycle for the recording portion of it. I've listened to quite a few of the albums by members here and they all sound really good. So because of that I'm wondering what your budget was for the album/EP? I'm trying to weigh the professional studio vs home studio situation. I'm just curious what you guys did. All of our songs have been performed extensively live so they are well rehearsed and there won't be a lot of rearranging in the studio so we won't eat up a lot of money or time.

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JakeDobner
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Joined: Feb 26, 2006
Posts: 12159
Seattle
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Link Posted on May 28 2014 05:49 PM

$500 a day got us in a really nice studio(Pearl Jam's) with an engineer. We did two days for the first album and three for the second.

Specifically, don't do what we did both times and knew was a mistake both times and mix the album on the final two days. Your ears won't be ready to do it. Get some rough mixes and fine tune.

For our records, we left no time in the studio for arranging. We laid everything down live and then we overdubbed for a few hours the next day parts we couldn't play live due to lack of personnel.

These were 12+ hour days we did. Our first album we laid all the tracks down the first day, then overdubbed the next day and mixed. That wasn't enough time. The extra day on the second album resulted in a much nicer product.

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killbabykill34
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Joined: Apr 03, 2010
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Jacksonville, AL
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Link Posted on May 28 2014 06:43 PM

Many routes to go.

Fast and cheap = bad final product
Fast and expensive=better chances of good final product
Slow and cheap=good chances of good final product
Slow and expensive=great chance of final product

First, worry less about studio and more on finding an Engineer that knows and respects the music. I believe that is the most important thing.

Second, don't overextend yourself. It might not seem like a lot, but 5 tracks is a lot to track in one weekend. Many here do it, but I am sure most wish they had more time.

Our first EP was tracked and mixed in two days. Our album was tracked in 4 days and mixed in 2.

Jake gave the best advice I have heard. Track and get rough mixes. Then take a few weeks or a month to listen to them over and over. You will hear much more over time that you want in the final mix or want to retrack/fix.

As far as price goes, you will be amazed at how you can negotiate that. My preference is to pay flat daily rates or by song, rather than by the hour. It takes some pressure off. Also, working in good home studios I find much more comfortable than professional studios.

Also, studio experimentation is a lot of fun but requires time to do so.

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jdmcduders
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Joined: Jan 14, 2013
Posts: 137
Indianapolis, IN
United States
Link Posted on May 28 2014 09:10 PM

Thanks guys. One of the people we are looking to possibly work with mixed our EP so he's some what familiar with what we are doing. I like the per song rate vs the per hour. Our songs are pretty tight but you never know when inspiration will strike.

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SURFmole
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Joined: Nov 22, 2007
Posts: 901
Portland, OR
United States
Link Posted on May 30 2014 03:47 AM

I think a better question would be, to ask yourself "what is my budget?". Take whatever that number is, add $200, and make it work!

There's a lot of overlap between home/pro studios these days. As a rule, you'll have better room acoustics and better monitoring when it's time to mix and master with a pro studios. Home studios will be cheaper, challenging (due to acoustics), and possibly a more relaxed environment.

It all depends on what studios you have available locally...talent and experience of the engineer, how tight the band is, etc. There are WAY too many variables.

For our EP, the recording was free and we did it at my house. By free, I mean the band didn't pay anything (aside from what I had previously invested in the gear) and it was a DIY project that we engineered, recorded, and mixed ourselves. We knocked out 4+ tunes in a day, but we played them live with no overdubs (other than tambourine and some hand claps) and ran through several takes (while rolling virtual 'tape') then picked the best ones at the end of the day. Mixing took several 2-3 hour sessions over a period of a couple weeks.

It all goes back to that first question...what's YOUR budget? Establish that, decide what you HAVE to have in order to succesfully complete the project (great Engineer, great gear, tape/digital, etc) and put the most money toward those things while being prepared to compromise and go cheap on the others.

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www.apollo4.com

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djangodeadman
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Joined: Jan 25, 2007
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Brighton UK
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Link Posted on May 30 2014 07:14 AM

For our last album we spent four days recording at £150/day (friend's studio, mate's rates). We recorded live and overdubbed as necessary.

We've mixed previous albums there too, but for the last one I mixed at home. This meant that I could spend as long as needed on it for no extra cost. We were also able to add further overdubs in my home studio.

The upshot was a much better result than on previous albums, not because I'm a better mixed, but because I had more time to do the job.

I also mastered the album, but, budget allowing, would have preferred to have someone else do that bit.

—

Los Fantasticos

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Aaron
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Joined: Sep 13, 2011
Posts: 100
Link Posted on Jun 10 2014 04:45 PM

Count the money in your band fund, then get a quote from the plant for how much it's going to cost to press your record. Band fund - pressing cost = maximum recording budget.

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