is $10,000 enough to start a recording studio??

S

SlermTheProducer

New member
i have my home studio but my uncle has this small building that has been boarded up for a while and he told me i could make it into a studio...i have 10,000 saved up in my bank account and would like to do it....i seen i can get a 32 channel mixer for 1,000-3,000 but not really sure about a few things...i was thinkin i could build a decent studio and charge for recordings plus work on my music too...would 10,000 be enough tho??
 
what do you own right now??????
do you plan on doing demos or full albums, bands??? what


$10,000 just for gear at least
$10,000 for construction and acoustic treatment at least

a 3,000 analog mixer is going to be crap...if you're going to use a analog mixer I would suggest
at least $50,000

but here's my plan maybe you could slim it down gear wise but construction framing walls, ceiling,hvac system ect...furniture man it's alot of money

if your skills as a recording engineer are good get the room framed, adding flushy absorbtion.. then dry wall, then more drywall lol.. then make your own bass traps, broadband reflector panels,dissifusion panels,etc...

measure your own room with mic/daw analyzer etc...'

check threads here
http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/index.php
and

my fav.

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/photo-diaries-recording-studio-construction-projects/

and

http://www.ebay.com/
be careful buying second hand

and

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/gearslutz-secondhand-gear-classifieds/ be careful buying second hand

and

www.craiglist.com
be careful buying second hand

books to have

THE RECORDING ENGINEER'S HANDBOOK by
Bobby Owsinski

THE MIXING ENGINEER'S HANDBOOK by
Bobby Owsinski

HOME RECORDING STUDIO BUILD IT LIKE THE PROS by
Rod Gervais

always try to find the last edition of the books...don't sleep on reading this very expensive books though but very valuable to your everyday studio life

$40,000 here
example of the studio equipment I plan on buying in the next two years...
equipment already have
old pent.4 computer
1 mic stand
tons of acoustic treatment
cubase 4
sony headphones
fl studio w/lifetime free updates
acid pro 5.0
tascam US-428 audio/midi controller surface
Akai MPD 16
Casio WK-1800 general MIDI keyboard 76keys used only for a midi controller
tons of sample CD/DVD libraries from Bigfishaudio/Sony www.bigfishaudio.com
this year

mixing setup first
(already have acoustic treatment)
1.PC Computer $1,500(just parts)
labor on PC build ($200) discount for working at Omaha Steaks,Omah,NE
buy some steaks guys lol ( get paid 6 times in april yeah!!!)

2. JBL LSR4328P Pak Monitor System $1,500 (hoping to catch them on here(classied for $900 to $1,200) using money from tax return

3.Primacoustic RX7 Recoil Stabilizer flat monitor pad $200 for two pads

4.add to my acoustic treatment some monster bass traps built myself
$500

5. Antares Auto-Tune Vocal Studio Plug-in Bundle


6.upgrade from Cubase 4 to Cubase 6 in three months or when next bug fix comes out

7. pickup two UAD-2 quad cards with a decent amount of plugs on gearslutz classifieds $3,000(november of this year)

8. Komplete 7 $500(hopefully I can grab this up when Native Instruments has their summer sale and get it super sweet price)

9. Tascam DM-4800 with firewire card/meter bridge(hoping to pay only $4,000 to $4,500 used $5,000 max pray and see) using Tax refund feb. 2012

10. Shure SM58, SM57 $200.00

11.mod Oktava MK-319 Mic $600

12. mod MJE-K47H Mic $500

13. two Furman M-8Lx conditioner $200

14. Behringer Powerplay pro headphone/4 nady headphone combo $150.00
(sucky headphones but excellent headphone amp loved the thing when I had one does the job)

9. through 14.
will be brought with tax refund 2012 feb. this year I got back $8,000 state and fed. off one job and 2012 I'll have to jobs to get refunded from

15. 500 series chasis $500

16. 2 500 Series Mod Preamps from fivefishaudio $1,000

17. Lynx Aurora 16 ad/da converter $2,500 (used also through gear slutz)

18. Vestax VI100 DJ MIDI Controller $500 I like to use DJ software but need the hands on touch

19. V-Drums $3,000 budget used

20. Apex 460 with MJE-K47H capsule Mic Mod Match pair $1,300

21. Fender Audio Passport 500 Pro $1,000 for small audiences
rent when performing for larger audiences...

cables and mic stands will buy as needed and not listed in budget have to squeeze it in....

add on more preamps,etc. as I make money from my comptempary gospel label Holy Lamb ent.
Get out the of pews crusade!!!!!

using Gearslutz classifies and ebay and having money ready I pretty sure I can get most of the used prices I am aiming for....

now studio built budget $20,000 basement 2013 so going have to get inventive and creative with things.. keeping things simple buying from contruction sites, overstock products construction warehouse companies contact all kinds of companies in the midwest area

buying house with unfinished basement easier to start with unfinished I think
1.wood floors

2. try to keep the ceiling level high as possible while trying to keep sound leakage from coming down into the studio and sound going up from the studio

3. seperate HVAC system

4. heavy firedoors sealed

5. windows/plug outlets sealed

6. do the double,triple wall thing lol

7.small bathroom

8. do one large room

9. build custom traps and panels, difision panels

10. read, read, read Home Recording Studio Build It like the Pros by Rod Gervais over,over and over

11. have my uncle build everything and his friends who are lincensed and insured in heating/cooling,plumbing,general building so discount on labor fee
revise and revise tweak and tweak

have a timeline and general finicial budget and things happen
 
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Hey thanks for replying and good info...
i want to record demo tapes.. singles..full cd's or albums maybe...
mainly rap and hip hop music but also guitarists and any vocalists
maybe bands if it comes up...

well right now in my home i aint got much but its something...
i have 2 computers MAC AND PC
FL studio 9 ( i plan to buy protools)
2 peavey 15inch powered speakers
an art tube preamp
a very cheap mixer
3 mic stands
mxl 990 and 991 (i know they are starter mics and i plan to upgrade)
midi axiom 25

i have a dw drum set
gibson les paul
7 string ibenez
4 acoustic guitars

from djing i got
a gemini mixer
pair of technics sl1200
denon dn-x900 mixer
along with denon dn-s3700 digital turntables...

max i can spend would be 15,000 at the moment...just so my account doesnt close....maybe i could work a few months and sell a few things i have to get to 20,000
also i was thinking a bank loan seeing that i dont have to pay rent for the place...i just have to give him a lil somthing once it kicks off...but i can stil pay off the loan with my job....

as for construction my dad and my uncle said they would help with costs and they would be doing most of the work too..

furniture...i have a few tables i could fix up to look nice and i have a large desk in good shape....and a almost brand new couch i could put in there...alot of good chairs....

and spend a few hundred on treatment for the sound quality

basically im trying to make it happen on a budget and yeah i appreciate your help.
 
look at those photo diaries on www.gearslutz.com just click on that link up top.....

and get the book on how to setup a recording studio that I posted up top....
electric,pluumbing,etc.. on those links..
 
If you want you studio to have the quality of sound that speaks for itself, then you'll want most of that budget to go into the room design. A good sounding room can make almost anyone sound good. 10-15k won't get you the perfect design, but it will get you mostly there. Great wonders will happen to the quality of your mix.


Another reason I say, "You'll want most of the budget to go into the room design" is because I'm assuming that this will be a home recording studio. This means that you will be bringing people (potential thieves) into your house and showing them to your $10-$15k studio. If you have a gold mine in studio equipment, in your house, then you should be worried. If you go into the build with minimal studio gear, then the chances of your house getting broken into are lessened.


You'll still need quality studio gear, but a 32 channel mixer is over kill. Unless you plan on recording big bands or orchestra, I'd suggest the Yamaha n12. It's cost effective, powerful, and some what inconspicuous. I believe comes with Cubase 4, but I would get the upgrade to Cubase 6. The monitors you have are huge and great for showing off your finished mix, but I would suggest mixing with them. You should get a good pair of studio monitors. Some that will give you a clear and accurate representation of whatever you playing through them.

10-15k is great for starting out though. I've helped people start with less.
 
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is 10000 enough to start a recording studio

You forgot the most important point.Monitor the sound levelsMost of the ppl here either make the recording so feeble, that you cant hear it, or they keep the volume levels so loud, that the soundcard starts clipping, and that produces the most horrible solid state distortion.
 
I see a lot of guys blurring your vision good brother. To clarify:

1.) You have up to 15k to spend on equipment if you sold some existing equipment?

2.) You have a building that you dont have to pay for, its yours correct? If so thats excellent....Excellent Start

3.) You mainly want to do a little audio prouction and recording individual artists, songwriters, and guitarists maybe a full band down the line? Check!

I say stick with your vision ,because you have an excellent start. Maybe get a little more clear on the equipment you really want. I plan on dropping 10k to upgrade my studio:
This is my low-end upgrade list here:

i Mac 27' 8GB/3.0Ghz/1TB HD (dual monitored) (bought)
Tascam DM 3200 w/IF FW/DM MKII
Pro Tools 9
AVT Provla II
DBX 166XS
Tascam TA1VP
Fostex PM-2 MKII Monitors
DBX Optimizer (for powered monitors)
TC Electronics Powercore DSP
PreSonus Studio Channel Pre
Ozone 4/Native Power Pack


With my small setup at home consisting of (Offbrand CPU)-8GB RAM/2.4GHz/500GB HD, NI Maschine, NI Kore 2, Fantom X6, Tascam M-164 FX 16CH Audio Interface/Mixer, KRK Rockit 5 Monitors, MXL 2010 mic, Beyer Dynamic DT 440's, Sennheiser HD2010's, Reason Record (ton of refills), FL Studio 10 (ton of plugins) I was able to get an artist signed to a record label. So if people feeding you, that you need all this high-end equipment when you have a low-end vision take a step back, and do a few things good brother:

1.)Clarify your equipment list and stick to that budget 12K seems sound for you, take the other 3 or 4K that you might save and do a little sound reinforcement and building improvements.

2.)Write down a plan on paper to see your vision a little more clearer and keep going back to it so it is solidified.

3.)Get educated, maybe Recording Connection if its available in your city. Great program by the way. Dont take my word for it though, do ya research.

4.)Get your business affairs in order. Trademark and Logo of your studio name, maybe some certifications in audio recording, TIN's, DBA, and a solified business plan from your local SBA.

Hope this helps good brother. Dont let anyone feed you a high-end theory when you have a low-end vision, because I know some guys that can do some wonders with the setup I have, including some of the guys posting in this room.
 
Some say home studios threw a monkey wrench in the professional recording studios around the globe. IMHO, you dont need a million dollar studio to make a million dollar hit. I have a poor mans setup and spent the time to learn how to use what i had to the best of my ability. I bought most of it used on ebay/craigslist. I promised myself that after i learned how to use what i had, i would make a decision at that point if i wanted to pursue better equipment. dont be intimidated by youtube videos of guys making songs with fancy/expensive equipment. People seem to think that if you have the same gear and sounds that you'll be able to create an equivelent sound, incorrect. Creative abililty from within and effort to become knowledgible with what you have is key. Thats IMHO also. Good Luck, you can see my " el cheapo " gear on youtube.com/ninesixx. TAKE CARE!
 
Just to share some experience....We put more than 10K into our studio, but we got the majority of our equipment with just that amount.. What we did was go to guitar center one day to let the supervisor know what our plans were and what we wanted and bargained a little bit, when we were done getting our wishlist together we let him know we had 10K IN CASH, and asked if he could work with us on the price. They worked with us and gave us a couple things for free once they knew they were gettin cash. No bs we prob got at least 15k worth of stuff and we were rung up at $10,000 even. They through in dre headphones, krk monitors, and the store's mac...it was used but it came with Reason, Logic, and tons of VSTS, and some other things too. So cash works wonders and negotiate your ass off, you will never know what you can get if you don't ask. Stick to your plan and good luck brotha!
 
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