How much recording have you done?

[Wild Bill]

I'm just trying to get a feel for the general level of experience here. It doesn't matter if you record at home or get paid, how many years, and a guesstimate of how many hours.

Here's my info: recording since 1964, so that's 40 years.
guesstimate of 41,600 hours

calculated:
average of 20 hours a week
times 52 weeks a year = 1040 per year

at 8,760 hours per year I've recorded almost
4.75 years worth of music/material
Passing 17,520 reels of tape over my collective machine heads.
I just went digital last year, so that's not included.

Sheesh that's a lot of time, almost 1/10 of my life.
Glad that I like it a lot, or it would have been a waste..

[drumsound]

I've been at it pretty steady for about 8 years. I have no average to make an hourly estimate, though 23-30 hours/week is probably close.

[Ryan Ferris]

Cool thread idea! Wow! 41,600 hours?

1995 - 1997: Using boombox to record guitar and vocals. Averaged maybe a half hour a week = 78 hours

1998 - 2000: DAW based recording of my own band using onboard soundcard and couple cheap mics. Probably averaged 3 hours a week = 468 hours

2001 - 2002: DAW based recording of my band and a little bit for other bands. Averaged about 10 hours a week = 1040 hours

2003 - Present: Still doing DAW based recording. Made the transition into trying to make a side business out of it. Average 16 hours a week = 1760 hours

About 3,346 hours (or 140 days) of pure recording. I would think that it would be more than that, but alas.

-Ryan

[janusmusic]

I talk about recording way more than I actually record. Seriously not trying to be funny. Just the truth. Although my '05 resolution was to roll some tape and stop reading about it. It's like when you read about recording and discussions and it's perfect in your head so I was pretty content with that.ha!In my head I have made great great classic records..off topic sorry..
carry on,
Brian

[dynomike]

Been recording 50 years (take that Bill), getting paid millions, not to mention all the free coke...

Ok.

Seriously started recording about 7 years ago multitracking cassettes with a borrowed P.A. and sm58's. Soon upgraded to digital and started doing mostly sequencing. I bought my first condenser mics and mixer probably 4 years ago, and it's been insatiable gear lust ever since.

For at least 4 years, probably 10 hours a week as an average, but it fluctuates a lot. I guess thats about 2000 hours.

Mike

[mikeyc]

If you count the 4 track days, I'll be hitting the ten year mark this Spring. I started charging for it in '97 and did a full time 5-year stint in voiceover purgatory starting in '99. So I'd guess I'd figure I've done about 11,250 hours of recording-- about 1 year and 3 1/2 months.

[workshed]

Used to always make bad boom box and portable tape recorder stuff as a kid.

About 12 years ago, I had a Fostex 4-track but was too impatient to figure out how to actually make it sound good. I did do a couple live recordings of my band at the time and another band, using just one crappy dymanic Fostex mic. It ended up getting pressed to vinyl, so I will always have that hanging over my head. Shortly after, I sold the 4-track to a friend.

About 2 years ago, I started to do some home recording. Used an MBox, mac-based drum sequencer, guitars, bass. Made a few songs on my own. Got distracted for awhile when I joined a new band.

About 6 months ago, I decided to get more into recording. Primarily to record my band, but also because it's something I've always had an interest in, but used to be intimidated by. I guess age has given me more patience and more curiosity to learn about things. Now I've been upgrading my gear enough to record a full band and plan on taking a project on in the next few months.

Right now, I actually talk about it much more than I actually do it, too.

-Bret

[Zeppelin4Life]

Been recording since 7th grade..that was..5 years ago. I uploaded about 1/3 of what I recorded. I lost the other..and thats about 200 hours. so only about 600 hours ive recorded. how lame.

[soundguy]

I think I got a tascam porta 1 when I was maybe 11. I didnt have a band, but my neighbor did, so I started recording them regularly, started my first band in middle school, recorded that band for a while, by the time I got to high school upgraded to cassette 8 track and recorded most of the bands in my school. I focused intently on my own band in college, upgraded to 1/2" 16 tk, started working professionally mxing production sound for feature films after school, did that full on for a few years until I became too jaded and pissed off to deal with the BS at which point I built a proper studio, upgraded to 16 track 2" and try to spend my time these days recording bands that I like while prostituting myself to movieland to pay thhe bills. I dont even want to think of the hours, two years or so ago I sat down to do my taxes and realized I had 13 days off the entire year, that was a real eye opener.

dave

[Milkmansound]

this is a great thread idea.

Um, I started as a kid with the boombox and got a 4 track when I was in middle school. maybe 100 hours total as a kid.

In college I did a lot of live recording to 2 track cassette and DAT maybe another 2,000 hours or so (yeah, I recorded a lor of 2 track shit and now I have crates full of DAT tapes collecting dust)

Then I got an ADAT for graduation and started multitracking - maybe 100 hours of that, added another soon after...

Got the DAW system about a 2 years ago, have recorded every single day since. I don't know... a shitload of hours. I am only 26 - so I guess I have a shitload more ahead of me.

[Dan Phelps]

Well, I'm 23 and I've been in and out of recording studios as a "player" since I was 13...

I really got the recording bug about 5 years ago. I fell off the deep end about 3 years ago. Now it's all I think about and I don't have any friends who aren't musicians and engineers...

I couldn't really count up the hours I spent recording or being recorded. Just a lot. I love it!

Dan

[Dr. Sausage]

3 Years ago - 2 Hours a week. I started plugging my amps speaker out into my soundcard in. Sparks flew but atleast I was able to record something. Only doing shitty instrumentals with drums from my keyboard. Had no microphones until a year in.

1 1/2 ago - Before college - 5 hours a week. Got a Delta 410 an audiobuddy and a sm57.

September - now - 0 hours a week. 4 hours maybe once a month. Being at college and my recording equipment being home and when I go home some weekends I have no time to record ever. I sometimes manage to fit in a few hours on a weekend I go home, but other than that I just read about it and it's killin' me!

[Kilroy]

I've been recording since like the 8th, i am almost 19. I really got serious like 2 years ago. And it really depends, hour wise. cause the past couple weeks i have been recording a lot, and before that i didnt record for like 3 months because my computer sorta crapped out on me. But my main thing now is live music.

-chris

[dale116dot7]

Did some live-to-2-track (open-reel) of a couple concerts about 14 years ago, and some demo stuff that way too. Probably about 20 hours of tape. Then I stayed away from recording till 2001. Since then I've filled up about 200 hours of DA88 tape (probably about 75 or 80 hours of material) doing mostly demos but also some live concerts, and about 15 hours of stuff on my HD system. That doesn't count taping rehearsals and live shows for listening to what a band sounds like. I do this for a hobby.

[nipsy]

about 20 years.


if your inquery was about "how many hours you've wasted not knowing what the hell you're doing..." i would have a lot more to add to the thread...


where's my abacus...........?