So, You Want To Build A Recording Studio?

In today's media age, businesses, churches, and even talented individuals often want to develop their own recording or broadcast facilities to be able to bring their messages and music to their communities or even the world. If you are a key decision maker in your organization, read on. The issues we discuss here will apply whether you're building a small home studio or a larger production facility that can do recording and broadcasting.

If you want to spend $10,000 or less, then visit my other article "Building a Home Studio for Dummies". For anything other than that, you'll want to get help either from consultants or experienced recording engineers, so read on.

Total Cost of Ownership

Many businesses are now aware of the term "Total Cost of Ownership" or "TCO" as it's often known. Total Cost of Ownership is cost that takes into account, not just the initial price tag of something, but your ability to maintain it over time. Technology has allowed recording gear to be very cheap and very powerful, allowing even a single person to achieve high quality results in less time. However, keeping up on software updates, changes in recording technology, hardware, software, and the desire for better gear and better facilities, may be beyond your committment level over the years. Owning a studio is like owning a large boat. There are up front costs, as well as considerable costs to keep the thing afloat.

Your biggest part of your "TCO" will be the person or people that will staff your facility. You will either have to find very committed individuals and help them get training, or you'll have pay someone who has years of expertise. Many studios are abandoned because the owners didn't consider who will run the studio day to day. If you've got committed people, do they have the passion, time, and talent? We'll explore this issue more below.

The two main areas of cost you must consider are facility contruction and the gear you will buy. Both of these will depend on your situation. However, the best thing to do is get a good acoustic consultant/engineer and a recording gear specialist. If you don't know someone with acoustical physics and recording experience, consult with firms like Studio Pacifica or the Russ Berger Design Group. For the recording gear itself, Guitar Center has a new "Pro" program called GCPro and they'll help you pick out gear. You can also hire a local recording engineer by the hour to consult on gear. (We here at Rain On Me Productions can do this). Listen to people's recording work before you get anyone's advice on what gear to buy.

The Key Question: Do You Have The Passion, Time, and Talent?

There's a saying in the recording industry that "It's not the gear, it's the ear." You may have already found that it's true with your presentation/conference or church sound equipment. You could spend thousands and thousands of dollars on gear, but if the person at the sound board doesn't know what they are doing, you might as well not have any gear. The most important question to answer is whether or not you have someone that 1) already has recording/broadcasting engineering expertise, or 2) has an unquenchable passion and is willing to put in the time and effort into learning everything. It's generally accepted around the recording industry that it takes at least several years of full-time mentoring and hands-on learning to create professional-level results. Are you willing to put someone through that training, or are you willing to go through it yourself given your already busy life? If the answer is "No", don't worry - you have some great options that we'll discuss below. If your answer is "Yes!" then congratulations - you are on a life-long journey that will be rewarding, yet sometimes frustrating. Have patience to endure "less than perfect" results until you are trained. Don't expect to win any Grammys in the meantime!

"Yes, I'm Crazy Enough..."

If you are in the "Yes, I want to learn how" or "Yes, I want my people to learn how" camp, then take a look at our reading list on amazon.com Those books are essential for getting started. Read them. Then go and find someone who is recording locally and ask if you can come along and watch the recording process beginning to end. Then, also check out the sites on our Links page. And, if you're not already doing so, learn how to run live sound well. The key is to read up before you spend any money. Don't jump in until you know some lingo. You should know who some of the major gear manufacturers are and you should be familiar with basic acoustical issues (e.g. isolation, absorption, and diffusion). Don't go any further until you have that knowledge.

Once you've done your reading and research, then it's time to call your consultants (as we listed above). You'll be armed with enough knowledge that you'll be able to answer their questions about your goals for your facility. Will you be producing music? Doing radio broadcasts? Or simply producing spoken-word programs? What kind of existing space do you have? Or, will you be building a new separate building? How much you spend for your recording facility will be based largely on facility construction. Most likely, the cost of recording gear and microphones will be fraction of your construction costs. So, be sure you use a reputable building contractor who will give you a fixed bid for the project, not a "cost plus" contract. Working with your gear and acoustical consultants you should be able to work up a budget. Don't let them scare you with initial figures, work through the kind of facility you need, the exact gear you need, and how much the contractor will bid for it. Again, don't break ground until you have a solid budget and plan that you are comfortable with. The more planning you do, the more you will save money compared to "winging it as you go".

Once you have your plan and budget, you're on your way. You'll have the usual project-management issues to resolve as you move along with construction. (There's whole books on that subject.) Once your studio is completed or nearing completion, you'll have to decide what your intial projects will be. Start small. Do stuff that doesn't have rigid deadlines. Find local artists to record, charge them little, and do simple "in-house" projects to give your stuff a test flight and learn. As your confidence improves, you can move to commercially-oriented material and projects that you'll release to the public. From that point on you're solo flying!

"No, This Is Too Much, What Are My Alternatives?

If you are saying to yourself, "No, I'm not sure we want to commit to training people and the cost that may be involved for building a studio", you can easily outsource to a local studio. Even before you hire a local studio to do recording work for you, get familiar with the recording process. Find someone locally who is currently doing some recording and go hang out with them in the studio. If you're in a major city, there will be plenty of studios who will do quality work, but if you're not familiar with how things will go, you'll quickly run up a tab. Also, you'll want a studio that reflects your values and personality. For example, if you're a Christian artist, you'll want to have a place that has a distinctly Christian "vibe". That makes a big difference for artists we've worked with. Finally, make sure you've heard the studio's prior work. Sometimes they'll have samples on their websites, so definitely check those out. Then it's a matter of the size of studio and the price range you're comfortable with. Usually, you're looking at $50 to $90 an hour for small to medium studios, and $90 to $200 an hour for larger, high-end ones.

With the advent of inexpensive, high-quality, digital recording gear, many individuals (like ones that have read this article) have built small home studios. If you find someone with the right experience, you can get a great deal. You'll get a high quality recording/product as well as a very inexpensive price tag. Typically, these studios can run anywhere from $25 to $55 an hour. Plus, you'll probably feel less stressed throughout the whole project, knowing that you may not get charged for every micro-second. They'll probably also be willing to do more "hand holding" with you in bringing your recording project to completion and to duplication. (Speaking of duplication, we recommend DiscMakers. Read their 37 Tips Brochure that will give you a great checklist to think about before going into a studio). Also, if things work out with a local home studio, you may be able to negotiate a better deal if you have steady ongoing work to give them.

A third option, is you can hire mobile recording studios that will come to your church or business and record there. However, the same rules apply before working with one of these outfits. Go observe an "on location" session first. Also, check out their finished work.

In Conclusion

Building your own recording studio can be hugely rewarding, but it is an expensive and time-consuming venture. As always, a little knowledge goes a long way whether you're outsourcing to a local studio, or taking a do-it-yourself approach. Read as much as possible and follow people around who are already going through the recording process. This will clarify your goals and reveal what you can expect from others you work with. If you have quick questions, feel free to email us and we may be able to help or at least point you in the right direction. May God bless you in all that you do!

derek