Starting a recording studio in 2024? Watch THIS!

[@MartinVanDerSande]

Totally agree. The market these days says buy this cheap interface and a mic and you'll sound amazing. Musicians seem to feel they need to be engineers too. It's a shame.

[@TheBunkhouseStudios]

@@MartinVanDerSande there are plenty of people out there who are good at and inclined to do both - but I think the large majority aren't.

[@sonicart1808]

Our minds & the media (marketing) over-simplify everything when the reality is the complete opposite, following your passion is never easy and you have to be prepared to go the extra mile and then some.....some great advice and information here, thanks 👍

[@TheBunkhouseStudios]

@@sonicart1808 agreed, it can require a lot of graft and dedication! Glad you enjoyed the video and thanks for watching!

[@TheDivergentDrummer]

As for time, well I have been recording all my personal playing, practice etc, But I have a hard time trying to figure out what videos to even cut up, let alone the time it takes to do the video editing, and mix in the recorded audio, all while still trying to maintain a full time job. I have hundreds of hours recorded, need to start somewhere.

[@TheBunkhouseStudios]

@@TheDivergentDrummer just get started! Doesn't matter where, just getting started on anything will help motivate you. It can be really overwhelming sometimes when you have a backlog of stuff to do and endless options in terms of how you approach it.

[@TheDivergentDrummer]

So, what about hiring a mix engineer from the $$ being charged to the artist? I am starting up, at home. I have a finished basement that I am currently setting up. I don't have a separate 'booth' as of yet, but I do have the ability to remodel the layout of the space. I also work full time, from home. We've bought an analogue recording desk (Allen& Heath GS3000) and a tascam US1641 interface to get direct out's into the Daw. I have a crappy generic set of mics, a cheap PA, IEMs, a budget drumkit, and a bad ass Starclassic maple kit. What rooms are essential, and what factors need to be considered when laying it out? For a studio, what type of hardware does the studio typically provide? I do really appreciate your input.

[@TheBunkhouseStudios]

@@TheDivergentDrummer how big is your basement? Unless you can get a decent sized control room and live room by dividing the two (and consider if you even need to as the main reason is so you can monitor tracking on speakers in isolation when tracking, but headphones is an option) but if it means you'll just end up with two tiny rooms then it's going to be harder to get them to sound good over just one larger open space. I wouldn't bother with a vocal booth as they are often a bit pointless (would take too long to explain why in a comment.) Honestly, I would just start with one open room as you have it now, see how you get on and then go from there.

[@TheDivergentDrummer]

@@TheBunkhouseStudios Yeah, it's not HUGE but it's in the shape of an L 26' long 10' wide, with the 'L' section being an additional 10'W x 13'L(of the 26' overall). the 'room' that creates that L is the laundry / furnace room, which I am moving. The furnace is staying for now, until such time as I replace it with a heat pump, allowing me to convert that room into another booth. I'm also contemplating a collapsible 'pocket wall' wall that pulls back into the furnace room wall for storage, converting the 10x13 section into it's own segregated space for recording.

[@TheBunkhouseStudios]

@TheDivergentDrummer sounds like you have a pretty solid idea of what you want so far. I think that sounds sensible, section it off as you say, but I definitely would have one main space for recording to begin with and only build any smaller recording booths if you know they'll serve a particular practical or sonic purpose.

[@MrTomservo85]

I spend about 50 hrs per week at my regular job, and I spend almost every day off producing, recording, mixing, and mastering other artists. I've hit a point where I couldn't take more clients, even if I wanted to; but I'm not making nearly enough to go full time. I'm considering raising prices, and finding other sources of income in the music world. Any suggestions?

[@TheBunkhouseStudios]

@@MrTomservo85 first off, congrats on the work going well! Sounds like you are ready to make a change - first thing I would do if you haven't already is save up some float money to support yourself and then maybe look at going part time with your day job so you have more free time. Raising your rates is an option, if you think you can do it I probably would. For other income sources - any local music venues where you could do some live sound work? Or studio wise there's film & TV post production stuff, although that's hard to get into. KZbin could be an option. Renting out some of your gear when not in use? Lots of different ways to make this work but it often is tough. Good luck!

[@compucorder64]

​@@TheBunkhouseStudios That's excellent advice. I'd only add, don't take on any debt, and clear off what you do have. Film & TV needs professional hard-working, reliable location sound recordists/engineers. Operating rehearsal rooms/studio to rent is another option. Learning live sound skills is another option, and could focus more on festivals. And you will learn useful people skills, meet people in the wider sound industry, learn microphone skills and to think fast on your feet. As someone who has been through it, and had a previously successfully growing business fail because I didn't do that, hit a rough spot during pandemic, and didn't have enough savings. And in the shell-shock, I wasn't quick enough to quickly go and get a part-time job and so that business couldn't be supported. So what you are recommending is what I tell people to consider now too. And it's how I operate myself. The benefits of keeping a stable part-time job that covers your basic requirements are really underestimated, ability to consistently save, money to invest in business, reliability, pensions, access to mortgages. And one of the benefits of being in the UK is that it's relatively easy to get part-time work.