£10,000 Digital Studio Set Up Options

[Aerial]

Hi,
With a budget of between £10,000 - £12,000. Aside from sound proofing gear & a G5 mac what would you suggest I purchase/need to open a digital pro to semi pro studio?
I own a korg trinity pro,
motu 2408 mk2, motu midi express xt,
shure sm58
a couple of guitars & a pair of mackie 624's.

I wanted two sequencers, I was thinking of maybe DP5 when it's released & logic?
Also been reading about soundcraft's 328xd and mackies' d8b mixers. They both sound pretty good on paper, but the d8b may be to complex for my 1st digi mixer-anyone used one of those?
Anyway all suggestions are welcome.

[coldharbour]

Depends pretty much on what you're planning to do in your studio.

Is there some special reason why you want two sequencers? Mastering one fully loaded pro sequencer program isn't a peace of cake, not to mention two. DP and Logic Pro are both excellent, pick the one you feel more familiar with. I'd recommend Logic Pro, but it's up to your taste really - both get the job done.

I my opinion you don't need a separate multi-channel digital desk as you can do all the mixing in digital domain in your sequencer. If you want a separate desk, I'd go for an analogue one for easier operation plus you could do the final mixdown through it to get some warmth in the sound if that's what you like.

If you're planning to record vocals you really need a condenser mic + maybe a nice preamp + compressor to go with it.

I'd also get some cheapo-monitors to go with the Mackies for some mixing reference.

Hope this helped a bit!

This post has been edited by coldharbour: Fri 24 Mar 2006, 11:18

[Aerial]

I'm going to hire the studio out. Thats one of the reasons why I want a digi desk as all the studio's I've been to have them. If I want people to pay a reasonable hourly rate I need decent hardware which is also aesthtically pleasing. Silly as it seem's that can make a lot of difference to customers. Where as the sequencers are concerned I"ve used dp & audio desk before but no one else I know has, in fact alot of my friends haven't even heard of it so I"m thinking I'll get a more popular sequencer like logic also/instead.
The condenser mic & compressor you spoke of any particular models in mind?

[andru]

Hello
If you're thinking of renting out your space, you might consider spending some money on a decent acoustic design. Such that at least the RT60 in your mixing room is less than the RT60 in your live room.
otherwise you'll never hear your mixes properly even if you have a ton of great toys....

It will pay dividends later...

Unfortunately good gear has got cheaper but good acoustics haven't...

good luck

[gogmagog]

if you are in an area where there are a loads o studios around anyway
then you should concentrate on getting the absolute basics sounding
great - the accoustic architecture - so the above post is absolutely right.

if you are the only one for miles around then you should try and provide the most user friendly equipment with your hardware similar to the stuff
bands may be using at home - but of a professional standard - that wat you have a friendly feel to the recording environment - this will also save time -

i think it safe to say that logic is now the first choice over protools for
at home am/pro work - so when your customers come in - they will
be able to use some of the tricks they learned at home - this will save time - they will know what to ask you for if you are producing or engineering

if you are dry hiring the studio it means you wont have to keep 'popping in'
all fecking day to help them out

good sound design - the best mikes and pres you can afford and an accessible daw -

oh yes and a pool table and 'a man round the corner'

This post has been edited by gogmagog: Mon 27 Mar 2006, 15:44

[gdoubleyou]

I hope you are not going to depend exclusively on musicians for your income. If so you probably won't be in business long.

Here in the seattle region most large studios have converted into post houses, or do corporate projects exclusively.
According to our local media trade paper, those studios are pulling in between 1.5 to 5 million dollars each.

The one studio that caters to muscians reported about $60,000 income. so make sure you have a viable business plan. the trend is for bands to record themselves, or to use smaller boutique studios.

[gogmagog]

totally on the money gdoubleyou - in terms of fixing a market niche
and having a robust and credible business plan - or it could mean tears
further down the line - I think that specialisation can be useful so that you are not competing with larger studios offering the same as you but bigger and flashier

the studios that are minting it in london are the analogue specialists
with all the retro amps and synths (dont start me on that one)
and old flagship ssl / neve consoles - for those bands that want to 'capture that 60s sound, man!)- snobbery basically ( as a techno man i find it all rather tiresome, either it bangs or it dont)

for gods sake dont go down the corporate / voice over route - it will eat your soul and make you rotund

specialise as far down the line as you can - if you are out in the sticks you can source some great old gear from educational institutions then add the finishing touches with bang up to date daw with all the best plug ins

analogue/digital hybrid doesnt cost a fortune and can attract business
thropugh an interesting gear list

This post has been edited by gogmagog: Tue 28 Mar 2006, 10:39

[andru]

I think that sounds about right... remember too that there are many people who make their living buying up and selling off the equipment from new studios that went phuttt!!!

Now if you bought your gear from them... apart from any karmic consequences.. you could be ahead of the 8 ball!

But having said that... be brave and trust the force...(and your instincts...)

Good luck.

Andru

[jrjnsn]

GW is spot on.

By and large, musicians don't have any money.

That said, if you have other sources of income, a studio business can be a fun tax write-off!