Recording Demos

[cameron]

I've come to the conclusion that for anything other than simple ballads I need to get my demos professionally recorded. I'm just wondering how expensive this is? My ideal setup would be to produce the song in my home studio first and then send that CD to a studio (in Nashville perhaps?) have them hire the musicians and return a finished demo. Is this being realistic? It's just too hard around here to locate quality musicians and vocalists as I live in a fairly small town.Thanks,Cameron

[liamkelly]

May 18, 2008, 7:23pm, cameron wrote:I've come to the conclusion that for anything other than simple ballads I need to get my demos professionally recorded. I'm just wondering how expensive this is? My ideal setup would be to produce the song in my home studio first and then send that CD to a studio (in Nashville perhaps?) have them hire the musicians and return a finished demo. Is this being realistic? It's just too hard around here to locate quality musicians and vocalists as I live in a fairly small town.Thanks,CameronHey Cameron Quite a few top class instrumentalists/engineers/producers on the boards here too Depending on your genre and all. You could post in the appropriate forum and ask those interested to PM you and take it from there.Just an idea Liam

[liamkelly]

May 19, 2008, 12:15am, liamkelly wrote:May 18, 2008, 7:23pm, cameron wrote:I've come to the conclusion that for anything other than simple ballads I need to get my demos professionally recorded. I'm just wondering how expensive this is? My ideal setup would be to produce the song in my home studio first and then send that CD to a studio (in Nashville perhaps?) have them hire the musicians and return a finished demo. Is this being realistic? It's just too hard around here to locate quality musicians and vocalists as I live in a fairly small town.Thanks,CameronHey Cameron Quite a few top class instrumentalists/engineers/producers on the boards here too Depending on your genre and all. You could post in the appropriate forum and ask those interested to PM you and take it from there.Just an idea LiamAnd vocalists too!!! Damn, how did I forget the singers Liam

[milfus]

yeah, pretty ripe talent pool I would say

[stephencampbell]

I use the guys at Play it Again demos in Nashville. All you need is lyrics and they'll make a very professional sounding song for you, or, like I do, if you can sing the melody, they'll produce the musical arrangement with an excellent vocalist performing. Like any demo studio, the more you spend, the higher quality sounding finished product. They have VERY talented musicians and a fantastic producer, I've been thrilled with their work to date

[sgs4u]

The moderator of this forum, Jimi, also arranges sessions with a great studio and musicians in Nashville.

[ernstinen]

May 18, 2008, 7:23pm, cameron wrote:I've come to the conclusion that for anything other than simple ballads I need to get my demos professionally recorded. I'm just wondering how expensive this is? My ideal setup would be to produce the song in my home studio first and then send that CD to a studio (in Nashville perhaps?) have them hire the musicians and return a finished demo. Is this being realistic? It's just too hard around here to locate quality musicians and vocalists as I live in a fairly small town.Hey Cameron! I would help you out, but I retired my demo studio a couple of years ago. I was just spending too much time on other artists' music to have the time to write! So I quit cold turkey. It's kinda lonely now, but I'm glad I did it. I write daily like it's a job now (wish it paid as much as doing demos, but hey --- ).I'm surprised there aren't more good musicians in Sedona, that artists' mecca with the vortex stuff going on. Been there many times --- very cool town!Hey --- Here's an idea: I've heard that John & Cindy McCain really wail on the guitar and fiddle, respectively! John is also a better singer than Waylon Jennings and Vince Gill COMBINED! He's a little busy right now, but after November he'll have a lot of free time. Ern

[bigdaddy123]

I,ve been pricing "Nashville " song demos and found they run from $ 300 - $600 per song depending on how many instruments are involved . I think it's definately a good idea if you h ave a really great song that has a chance of getting cut, otherwise it would be kind of a waste of money and I agree it can be difficult to do a great uptempo song justice with an acoustic guitar or piano although not impossible as long as you can capture the energy. Just food for thought , I can play play a pretty rippin' version of Sweet Home Alabama with my Gibson L130 ( acoustic ) peace

[cameron]

Hey, thanks to all who responded. Bigdaddy, does the $300-600 include hiring the musicians? If so, that wouldn't be too much to spend for a song that has promise. I guess I'll have to keep doing the "first drafts" in my home studio, but it takes a lot of time to get a complicated arrangement right and it's pretty hard to do country guitar sounds with only keyboards.John McCain's summer house is just over the hill from me, so maybe I'll cruise over and see if he can add a part. Might be a little hard to get past the secret service but can't be any harder than getting songs to George Strait's producer.

[mazz]

Is it possible to pitch these Nashville demos for Film/TV or is the agreement that they can be used for demos only? Isn't there some other level of payment if it's considered a master which could be put on a commercial CD or synced to video? Is it a musician's union thing?Mazz