Resources

Before we begin, an important note. . .

Unless your parents are audio engineers, there is no reason a person would know all there is to know about the recording process.  If you’re here to learn more about ‘how records are made,’ we commend your drive and determination. Welcome, we hope you find useful and thought provoking content here.

The Top Ten Ten Reasons To Record in a Professional Studio

1. Experience – this is all we do, day in, day out. We know 5 ways to record nearly any instrument, and can work with you to get the sounds you need.
2. Acoustics – our space is designed to record real instruments. We have 14-foot ceilings and a tracking room with 25,000 cubic feet of space. Good recordings require a good recording space.
   
3. Equipment – we have thousands and thousands of dollars worth of vintage microphones, world-class preamplifiers, and outboard gear. We can record 24 tracks simultaneously with a $3,000 signal chain on each track.
   
4. Toys – we have hundreds of top-flight plug-ins, processors, effects, and outboard gear pieces. We can get strange and unique sounds that are often out of reach for home or project studios.
   
5. Instruments – we have top rate drums, tube amps, bass rigs, pianos, and guitars, just in case you want to add a new flavor to your gear.
   
6. Isolation – we can record the entire band at the same time, while maintaining isolation from one another. You get the interaction of the group as a whole, but the benefits of separate processing powers.
   
7. Monitoring – if you can’t hear what’s going on, you can’t make a good recording. Our spaces have the newest monitoring technology, and have been tuned to let us hear what is happening from the lowest lows to the highest highs.
   
8. Focus – unless you want, your wife/kids/neighbors/in-laws/bill collectors/ex-boyfriends/ex-girlfriends will not interrupt you or tell you to turn your music down. This is your sanctuary.
   
9. Timeline – working in a recording studio forces you to make decisions and finish your project. And the sooner your project is done, the sooner you can sell CDs and play shows.
   
10. Economics – Even with today’s lower prices, the cost of a basic set of monitor speakers, headphones, a few microphones, digital audio interface, preamp, software, and computer is much more expensive than recording an entire project in a professional studio (unless you’re Guns N Roses).

That said, we do not consider home-based studios inherently bad. On the contrary, if you know what you're doing, home studios can be a blessing. In fact, many savvy home recordists work with Treelady to combine the best of both situations. (The problem comes when someone thinks recording is easy, or that they can record WELL because they can buy a cheap interface at a mall guitar store. Or maybe they have a good job as a computer coder by day, and they think that because they have a PC they can open a studio in their basement. . . Well, there's an Aerosmith song about that. Those people have a date with disapointment). For the rest of the struggling home warriors, we present the top ten reasons why working some or all of your ideas out in your own studio can be a smart idea.

Ten Reasons Why Home Studios are Good

1. Preparation – A home studio allows bands to make accurate sketches of new songs.
2. Flexibility – Inspired at 3AM?  You can record whenever you want (as long as you don’t wake your family, roommates, or neighbors).
3. Privacy – Want to record in your underwear?  Go ahead, it’s your house.
4. Hearing – Working on recordings at home improves your ‘minds ear’ in terms of pitch, timing, and frequency.  The more you work on audio, the better you become.
5. Education – People who record at home are familiar with what can and cannot be done with current audio technology.  Consequently, they tend to make better decisions knowing what is possible for their project.
6. No Schedule – If you aren’t having a good day, you can just stop recording.  No worries.  It’s your house.
7. Piggyback – if you’re super short on money, you can record your drums at our studio, take the tracks home, add guitars, vocals, and other items, then bring the tracks in for mixing.  This can cut your bill down.
8. No Stress – No one is watching you record your vocals or guitar solo.  If you want to record alone, you can.  (Although you have to figure out what you’ll do if your band plays live. . .)
9. No Appointment Necessary.  If inspiration strikes you can record when ever you want.
10.  Practice.  You can use your studio as your practice space, and record your practices.  This can help sort out what songs or snippets you want to keep for later use.

Links

Check out these links to other sites which we think are awesome (which may or may not be related to audio and which may or may not be appropriate for viewers under 16 years of age).

Craig Anderton's Sound, Studio, and Stage

The Official Tape Op Magazine Blog

America's finest news source: The Onion

The Best World of Warcraft Leveling Guide Is from Zygor

If you have a chocolate condition, please let us recommend Purdy's Chocolates

If you have an expensive, vintage, or world-class microphone, and you aren't hanging on one of these you're a moron. The best mic stands on the planet, Latch Lake Products

Before you sell your tube amp because it doesn't provide you killer tone, try a correctly matched set of tubes from Groove Tubes

TAXI’s Music Biz FAQs contain songwriting tips music-business information, and articles on Film & TV Music placement.