Why Spend???

[Cwadroon]

I agree Len. Any profession goes along with having good tools and understanding how to use them. In this day and age of "in the box" getting stuff in there properly is often overlooked. If you're just working in the box, then outboard gear isn't always a necessity either. I've spent thousands on one piece of gear alone and never regretted the purchase.

[TheElement]

you dont need to spend a lot of money. some of the biggest hits are done in bedroom studios now. Actually just on a laptop.

All you need is a decent mic to track some live elements and maybe a tube pre but most everything can be done in the computer. Thats all they are doing in the big expensive studio in general. Ok they have the analog console, the acoustics and some racks with compressors etc. But you can do the whole song on a computer and then take it to get mastered at one of those big studios in you want to get that sort of sound.

I know a lot of my musician friends do not produce any music as they feel they need an expensive studio. You only need a decent DAW and good ears. I've heard many mixes done by bedroom producers sound way better than some done in expensive studios. If I had an expensive studio I would expect nothing but great mixes and hit songs out of it.

Theres nothing you cant do once you believe you can do it.

[Kolstad]

I think we're all looking for a sound that's in our heads. Sometimes it comes cheap, sometimes expensive. The point is not the cost, but the sound.

[VanderBoegh]

I can speak from both sides of this issue. Between the years of 2003 - 20010, I recorded three full-length albums in one of Boise's finest professional studios. I can't remember what the rates were... I think somewhere in the neighborhood of $50-$65 per hour. I paid a LOT for studio time (recording and mixing), and then sent the final mixes off to Bernie Grundman Mastering in LA and had a guy do each album for $1,000 each in his off hours. And then I paid for top-notch production and packaging, with full-color multi-page booklets.

I probably put a combined total of $30,000 into those three albums. Guess what my return on them has been? Somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,000. That's a net loss of $28K. But I did it because I was making good money so I had a large disposable income, and it was something I wanted to do for me more than anything else. Sure, it would have been nice to make more money back, but that wasn't the point. I did it for me.

I used the studio back then because I didn't have ANY knowledge of how to record/produce music on my own. I was a performer & songwriter, and that was it. Moreover, I didn't think I could ever get the skill set necessary to make my own productions, and I certainly didn't have any of the recording gear or the space. So, I needed to pay for production. Simple as that.

Now, of course, I do EVERYTHING on my own. And depending on the style of music, I can get every bit as good of sound on my own (for free) that I used to pay dearly for. But there are still some styles of music that I can't touch with a 10-foot pole, just because I still don't have the space, gear, or knowledge to make it.

So, studios are a great option for people that need to utilize the experience of professionals, and need access to great recording spaces, and also choose from a plethora of mics and instruments. Not to mention that studio owners are often musicians themselves, and can usually knock out a killer guitar or piano track if you need it.

I don't really want to go back to paying for professional studio recordings anymore, but if I ever started writing country music again, I'd have to.

~~Matt