Questions for home studio owners.

[j89]

I am seriously thinking about setting up a home studio. My plans so far is to get a 002 rack, some good mics ,good preamps (one for each of the eight inputs, or four dual channels, because I heard the ones on the 002 are ok but not that great) and a Mac G4. What I want to know is:

How do you deal with the nighbors (Drums, amps etc)?
Can you charge money and run it as a small business, if so how do you go about it?

Thanks

[Al_Huero]

As far as neighbors go--either soundproof your studio or make friends. You may have to record during the day.

In terms of making money--don't plan on it right away. You'll need to get some experience under you belt. Then it's advertising/word of mouth. Do it because you like to record, not because you want to make a bunch of money at it.

[Rolsen]

I'm no pro, but you may not want to blow your wad on buying multiple stereo mic pres. Buy one, learn on it, make due. A beginner's technique will negate the benefits of fancy mic pre's. If you make decent equipment sound good first, you'll more wisely spend your money on equipment later.

[lunchboxaudio]

hey j-
basically that's how i started out as well. it's nice to buy stuff in pairs for stuff that needs stereo tracking, but a lot of stuff is mono so don't be afraid to mix it up. i bought 8 channels of pres when i started out with my digi001 and g4. consider the cost of an additional hard-drive for audio, RAM, cabling, stands, and sound treatment....my goal was to have 8 tracks of simultaneous recording at that point. you may also want to consider a better set of converters for most tracking that you bring in via lightpipe.

i've lived in 2 houses so far. do you have a basement? or are you on the main floor. windows let a lot of sound out so get something hefty in the windows to deaden sound. i haven't had problems with neighbors.

charging money depends on your skill. i'd say give it a shot, but be careful not to charge more than the value of your service. if anything give a good deal, because you have to bring new bands in. if you suck and overcharge, then you have just killed your best reference. i figured that i made $5 an hour on my first recording...

as far as small biz, i personally file the stuff on my taxes. all my revenue and expenses. i recommend equipment insurance as well if you are planning on making it a business. the more gear you have, the less likely your homeowner's insurance will cover it...be careful how you approach liability insurance for conducting business in your home...your insurance company will want to charge you some crazy rates...consider safety alarms...

good luck. i hope that this helped give you some ideas of what to consider. make a plan before you spend your $$.

[nlmd311]

I am seriously thinking about setting up a home studio.

cool! Welcome to the club.

... make a plan before you spend your $$.

I completely agree. That is probably the best advice anyone can give, and the main thing that is overlooked by many people as soon as they get some cash, or a fresh credit card.
If you know people that record, go check out their places, see what kind of stuff they have. If they have any of the equipment you are considering to purchase, give it a test drive (if they will let you). If you don't happen to know anyone that does any recording, head over to your local music store, or music "superstore". Spend some time auditioning the equipment you are considering and see how it fits your needs/wants. Too many times do we purchase something without anything more than reading a good review, or everyone elses recommendations and no experience with it (although that can lend to some cool toys!).
As autopilot also said, don't forget about cables, stands, etc. Those are the things that are always overlooked and the most necessary, or the least amount of money goes to them. Read the thread on cheap mic cables that is floating around now.
If you don't have any recording experience try to spend some time working on learning, and developing your skills before setting out to record someone for money. You could always invite those who you think to be potential clients over and record them for free while you are learning. Later on, as your sill develops they are more likely to work with you since they have developed a relationship, and know what you can do for them.
If you are planning on recording for money also take into consideration what you are looking forward to recording. If you are going to be an all around workhorse studio you will want to have a variety of gear. If you are planning on gearing towards a specific type of music, genre, etc. you might want to buy gear more along the lines of what could be used to better capture those sounds.

as far as the neighbors, the only time I have had a problem was when I was in my old neighborhood. Not so great of an area, and I was always fearful to play drums due to the attention it would draw and the fact that our house had already been broken into. Now, I just try to do the loud stuff during the day time, and quiter stuff can go on all night.
Making friends with them isn't a bad idea either. As someone brought up in a post a long time ago, it helps when you are trying to get the sound of a group clapping or talking, room noise, or just someone to wack a cymbal while you move the mic.

Bottom line: Have fun dammit!

-Darrill

[inverseroom]

Welcome to the fold! Home studios are great but you have to make adjustments. I only play the drums on Sundays, when my wife and kids are at the grocery store, or I use drum machines (which are NOT cheesy if you use them creatively). I can only sing when nobody's home, because of all the noise above me (basement studio). For guitars I record direct with a Vox Tonelab.

And ultimately, I just accept some outside noise, period. Many of my favorite recordings have accidental ambient sounds on them--it's part of the character of the recording. Many of those sounds probably enraged the artists and engineers at the time--but recordings are meant to capture life, and life is a big fucking mess.

Bear, also on this board, is a great example of a guy who uses a minimum of equipment in a VERY crowded home to make professional-sounding, characterful music. You should PM him sometime.

[kayagum]

It pays to at least research what the local zoning ordinances are, both for sound tolerances and running a business out of your home.

What you choose to do with the information is up to you, but beware of neighbors who can quote city code.

[NeglectedFred]

The neighbors don't even hear it!

I posted links to these pics about a week ago, so hope I'm not boring anyone, but it's related..

Essentially, it's a room built inside a room.. Well, kinda, it's like a big box built in the basement, there is no contact what so ever with the foundation walls or the cieling. I built it 1 foot away from the foundation, and about 2 foot away from another set of walls. Wasted space? Well, I store a lot of box's down the 2 foot side, I figure it helps make another barrier, and if I ever wanna sell anything on Ebay, it's ready to go with the original packaging.

The accoustic foam was substituted for 3/4" carpet padding, although there is a small amount of auralex staggered throughout the room. The room rightfully inherited the name "The Green Cave".

Also, notice the carpet padding is bubbled, this was intentional, and very crutial.

It took about 2 weeks to built, around the clock on weekends, and after my day job. Total cost was about the cost of a nice preamp. Room size is 16' X 20'. Hardest part was getting the ceiling up, it was built in small segemnts, I did it all myself, but I got a friend to help hoist up the ceiling segments. Let me know if you want to use any of my ideas, I can give you more details.

http://hometown.aol.com/neglectedfred/i ... cave12.jpg
http://hometown.aol.com/neglectedfred/images/daren1.jpg

These pics are a little outdated now, but you get the idea.

[j89]

thanks everyone for the advice