#1876753 - 01/20/08 10:21 PM
What is a real studio???
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Jazzman
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Registered: 08/15/01
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Loc: ,,Hartland MI,USA
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OK........People on these forums have stated to others that they need to go to a real studio to record if they cannot do it them selves. I agree with that but, what is the definition of "A Real Studio"?
Is it high end gear? A lot of gear? Having more than one person running it? Big spaces, lots of room to work in? Experience? Location? Seperate building as comercial use? Working around the clock? Clients? Hobby or your living off of it?
To have a "Real Studio" do you need clients to begin with or just gear to do work from, and get paid for your work?
Some folks have argued in the past that a laptop can be a real studio too. It depends on how you look at it I guess.
Some times I get confused when someone uses these terms in sentences and wonder if they know what a real studio is. I'm building a studio in my home. Is this a real studio? I think I know what I am doing, have clients, have some pro high end gear, same building, only me doing all of the work, have worked some long hours.............Etc.
Some time ago I had someone come into my studio and had stated to me that they were looking for someone with Protools. I didn't have it so they went some where else to record.
If someone comes in and the first thing is they want to know if I have protools, I begin thinking that these folks are not prepared to play, and need someone that can fix screw-ups that they make during sessions. Protools can do many things, but why does that set the stage for a pro studio or not?
Comments, opinions and your thoughts. What is your idea of a "Real Studio"?
Jazzman 
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#1876790 - 01/21/08 05:12 AM
Re: What is a real studio???
[Re: Jazzman]
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audiorulez
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IMHO a "real studio" has a proven positive track record with clients. Quality of gear matters but it need not be super high end. Proper acoustic tuning is a must. What they use for DAW is not as important as how well they use it. Protools has become a solid unofficial industry standard, and a catch phrase. Some ask for it because of it's ease of portability between studios, since so many facilities are using it, others because it's the cool name to know.
Can you have a "real studio" in your house? Sure, it all depends on how much of your house you are willing to dedicate, how much you have to invest, and your experience.
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#1878327 - 01/23/08 05:02 PM
Re: What is a real studio???
[Re: audiorulez]
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MusicWorkz
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Registered: 04/20/01
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Loc: Philadelphia,PA,UNITED STATES
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IMO, a "real" studio is a purpose-designed facility with specialized equipment for audio recording, mixing and/or mastering tasks with a team (even if it is a team of 1) that is technically proficient in operating the facility. There are different types of studios, from pre-production writing studios, to full recording studios, post-production facilities and mastering rooms. As long as it meets what are considered the standards of the industry, it qualifies.
I think that when people talk about going to a "real" studio, they are referring to going into such a facility, although the concept of what is a real studio has changed. Unlike even 10 years ago, a studio facility doesn't have to be in a certain physical location as it once was (much to do with the progress of technology than the equipment). Today, a studio can be in a house, a garage, a barn, a standalone building, heck, even on a boat.
Part of being a "real" studio implies there is flexibility. It means having the ability to work in different formats as well as what are current industry standards/practices. Don't tell me you have a 48-track studio and it's 48 tracks of ADAT as opposed to 1/2" tape.
Love it or not, when it comes to digital recording standards, it is Pro Tools. If you don't have PT, at least have the ability to read and write to that format-at some point if you are looking for a commercially viable project, odds are it will cross into PT land. A studio unable to give that flexibility for me isn't one I'd work in.
That has become a barometer for people because that is what the majority of professionals in the industry use, hence it being the standard and that is what they know and hear about, not understanding the technology behind the music.
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#1878410 - 01/23/08 07:40 PM
Re: What is a real studio???
[Re: MusicWorkz]
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DonaldM
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Part of the answer depends on what type of music you want to do. You could create an entire CD of orginal music using a laptop, a couple of top soft-synths like Atmosphere, Hybrid, Structure or Reason, and a simple midi controller. If you were careful with the recording process and knew what you were doing, you could make it a GREAT CD.
OTOH, if you were recording several vocals, live insruments etc, you might need a little more than a laptop...
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Music is life...everything else is details!
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#1878441 - 01/23/08 09:03 PM
Re: What is a real studio???
[Re: DonaldM]
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MusicWorkz
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Totally. I meant to make that point-that different genres have different needs which dictate different types of studio usages-but got attacked by a three year old demanding we watch Sprout TV...
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#1879179 - 01/25/08 06:57 AM
Re: What is a real studio???
[Re: Jazzman]
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Bill@Welcome Home Studios
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Registered: 08/23/03
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OK........People on these forums have stated to others that they need to go to a real studio to record if they cannot do it them selves. I agree with that but, what is the definition of "A Real Studio"?
I bought a house and converted it into a studio, had 5 employees and ran it for a long time making quite a bit of money. I still never considered it to be a 'real' studio because it did not have certain things that I find essensial for 'real' studio work if you are recording rock music. The vast majority of my money was made in industrial work for corporations. But if I wanted to do a real drumkit for a real rock record, I would want a large room in which to record it, not my little drum booth in my studio. Still, some might consider what I had to be a 'real' studio because it generated real money.
I also find that the monitoring and room treatment issues within most small or home studios preclude them from being what I call 'real' studios.
How about 'house sync'? anyone even know what I'm talking about?
One way that might determine what a 'real' studio is, is if they have an actual electronic engineer on staff 24/7, ready to tear apart and repair whatever mission critical gear that might fail in the middle of a session, and constantly doing maintenance and reapir work within the facility on a regular basis.
A 'real' studio generally cannot exist for long without clients...Sound Kitchen has just closed in Nashville, many classic large rooms have bit the dust in recent years.
Gear does come into play, but only if the people running it know how to use it.
"If someone comes in and the first thing is they want to know if I have protools, I begin thinking that these folks are not prepared to play,..."
I agree with that. Uneducated clients that just don't know any better. Mostly I turn them away, I simply don't even want to talk to anyone who doesn't know any better. People come to me because they like my work. Poeple who come to me presenting a laundrylist of demands get shown the door quickly. If they 'know' so much, they obviously don't need me. Funny, when I go to the doctor, I don't ask him what machines he is using to treat me,a nd turn him down based on the answers. or the butcher, or the carpenter.... ".... hey, is that a Stanley hammer? NO???, sorry, you're fired....."
Bill
Edited by Bill@Welcome Home Studios (01/25/08 06:58 AM)
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#1886445 - 02/06/08 12:42 PM
Re: What is a real studio???
[Re: Bill@Welcome Home Studios]
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Mudcat
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..."If someone comes in and the first thing is they want to know if I have protools, I begin thinking that these folks are not prepared to play,..."
I agree with that. Uneducated clients that just don't know any better. Mostly I turn them away, I simply don't even want to talk to anyone who doesn't know any better. People come to me because they like my work. Poeple who come to me presenting a laundrylist of demands get shown the door quickly. If they 'know' so much, they obviously don't need me. Funny, when I go to the doctor, I don't ask him what machines he is using to treat me,a nd turn him down based on the answers. or the butcher, or the carpenter.... ".... hey, is that a Stanley hammer? NO???, sorry, you're fired....."
Bill
That is a great analogy! 
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Mudcat's music on Soundclick "Work hard. Rock hard. Eat hard. Sleep hard. Grow big. Wear glasses if you need 'em."-The Webb Wilder Credo-
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#1895703 - 02/21/08 02:21 PM
Re: What is a real studio???
[Re: DonaldM]
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GuitarPlayerFL
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Registered: 10/06/02
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Part of the answer depends on what type of music you want to do. You could create an entire CD of orginal music using a laptop, a couple of top soft-synths like Atmosphere, Hybrid, Structure or Reason, and a simple midi controller. If you were careful with the recording process and knew what you were doing, you could make it a GREAT CD.
+1 For Electronic music that is true.
But, in general I consider a real studio to have:
Excellent microphones. (Not cheap USB crap)
Excellent microphone preamps.
Excellent converters (if recording digitally).
Excellent acoustically treated space.
People that have something like a Mac with a Presonus audio interface and a USB mic have a toy...not a real studio.
BUT...I'd rather hear a GREAT song come out of a toy studio than crap coming from a real studio.
Too many people concentrate on buying equipment when they should be improving their musical skills and songwriting.
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A great Jazz/Chord Melody Master (my former instructor http://www.robertconti.comLP/Strat/Tele/PV/Wolfgang/POD/JTM 45 Keys: RD700SX/XP-10/Karma (FKA GuitarPlayerSoCal) "I Love L.A." - Randy Newman
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#1895949 - 02/21/08 09:43 PM
Re: What is a real studio???
[Re: GuitarPlayerFL]
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Griffinator
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100% the last sentence of GPSC's last post.
The OP? Flame bait, more than anything else.
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