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cap217 · 26th February 2006

There is always the cheaper or easier way out. I was a previous studio owner and tried it the way you are except I put mine in a building... Total cost was under $100k and I struggled! Especially against people charging $25 with an mbox! Also I had to compete against a studio with a Neve in A and an SSL in B that charged ****in $28-35 an hour!!!!! How can I do that? So I liquidated and are the construction costs and now songwrite and produce, run a little label and work for one of the studios I competed against. I worked at a couple of them and it is so much better, I could charge $50-$75 an hour and my cost was $25 an hour... the downfall was the Neve breaks down, computer crashes, no vintage comps worked right.... the SSL was for mixing only and was a 5K series. To the avg customer nobody knew but thats a post board! Now I work and only make $15 an hour at a studio as a producer/engineer but I tell you what, I get to learn a real SSL (4K G+) and NO BILLS!
But to build a studio today and compete is HARD! Especially in Nashville where you have GREAT studios that you can get in for $40 with $8,000 mics and every pre in the world and the engineer has a long and successful history. Now why will they come to the new studio? Remember you sell yourself, not your studio although it helps!

26th February 2006	#4
cap217 Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2005 Posts: 1,008	There is always the cheaper or easier way out. I was a previous studio owner and tried it the way you are except I put mine in a building... Total cost was under $100k and I struggled! Especially against people charging $25 with an mbox! Also I had to compete against a studio with a Neve in A and an SSL in B that charged ****in $28-35 an hour!!!!! How can I do that? So I liquidated and are the construction costs and now songwrite and produce, run a little label and work for one of the studios I competed against. I worked at a couple of them and it is so much better, I could charge $50-$75 an hour and my cost was $25 an hour... the downfall was the Neve breaks down, computer crashes, no vintage comps worked right.... the SSL was for mixing only and was a 5K series. To the avg customer nobody knew but thats a post board! Now I work and only make $15 an hour at a studio as a producer/engineer but I tell you what, I get to learn a real SSL (4K G+) and NO BILLS! But to build a studio today and compete is HARD! Especially in Nashville where you have GREAT studios that you can get in for $40 with $8,000 mics and every pre in the world and the engineer has a long and successful history. Now why will they come to the new studio? Remember you sell yourself, not your studio although it helps!