Studio Recording

[AngelCityOutlaw]

So, I have long desired to get a few of my personal favourite compositions done professionally. I've saved up a bit of cash over the past while and checked out a bunch of recording studios and their costs.

To be specific, I can record MIDI via MIDI Keyboard and I can record my guitar directly in via a line 6 POD. I'm satisfied with that; I can live without Tube amps worth thousands. I want to get the MIDI replaced with superior virtual instruments (and possibly some more live performances) and all the tracks mixed and mastered by people with the gear and the experience to do so.

Before I would go ahead with this kinda stuff, what else should I consider? What kinds of questions should I ask the studios? etc?

[Moseph]

It's not worth recording in a professional studio, IMO, unless you have professional performers to play the stuff (or at least people good enough not to waste too much time trying to get things right). That would be an additional cost on top of the studio itself. I don't know what your studio budget is (several hundred? several thousand?), but if you want better virtual instruments, you'll be better off buying them yourself if you can afford it, because then you can continue to use them. For professional mixing and mastering, you may not have to go to a studio at all. I believe Zircon offers mastering services, at least, and I'm sure there are others around who might, too.

[dannthr]

A recording studio's value lies in its recording space and its recording gear (mic pres, mics, channel strips, etc).

There's little point in hiring a recording studio to produce your work.

For mixing/mastering, I would go to a professional mixer/masterer, who more than likely does NOT work at a control room in a recording studio, but rather works in a mixing room with great gear and a great listening space.

Know exactly what you want going into the session, know exactly how long it's going to take.

Wasting time in the studio is money down the drain. Be assertive and concise and understand how to adapt to problems without creating them.

[Garpocalypse]

Before you pay for something like this,

Try me.

I could use the experience. Just one track? please?

[Kanthos]

As far as having access to hardware keyboards or better-sounding VSTs, it's easy to sink a lot of time into getting the perfect sound, especially if you're using a lot of synth sounds. If you're going to record at all, make sure you've clearly worked out the sounds you want to use and the arrangements you want first. A good producer will give you suggestions, so be open to change, but it's a waste of time to hit the studio without having done your homework first. Spending studio time saying "I don't quite like this synth sound; how can we tweak it" or "can you find me a better piano or strings patch" is probably worth it; spending studio time saying "I want a synth part here but don't know what it should sound like" is throwing money away.