what can u realy call a studio?

[lospat123]

i once saw a guy with realy nice gear in hes room he had a vouyger, david smith synth cant remeber the model, nord lead 3 rack and then pcs and macs. i told him nice studio, he said lol this is not a studio its just a room with shit in it.
some kids have a pc a and a mic and they call it a studio, but is it realy? i mean surely the name studio should be used for something big where u can record vocals, mix, master .. u know do the whole record right there. or if u dont have that u call it "a room with a bunch of shit in it?"
lol
funny post but i always wondered about what realy is a studio and what is not?

[stevens119]

Originally Posted by lospat123

surely the name studio should be used for something big where u can record vocals, mix, master .. u know do the whole record right there

Usually these three steps take place in all different studios. Generally if you could do the whole record "right there" then that wouldn't be the "real" studio. On a major record the first two could be done in the same studio, but never at the same time.

[lospat123]

but what i dont understand is how can a kid with a laptop running reason with just a mic and set of monitors call that a studio? surely its not... or am i mistaken?

[stevens119]

Depends on who's running the gear really. Of course it's not a recording studio, but if you know your stuff, than you can make real records with laptops these days. The problem is most kids with a laptop, reason, and a mic probably haven't been working in the engineering field that long, or they would probably have acquired more gear. So in answer to your question, no but yes. Recording equipment becomes a studio depending on who's running the gear. If I was at chris lord alge's house and he was mixing my record on a laptop, through some monitors, and somebody called and asked me where I was, I would probably say I'm in the studio with chris lord alge. But for the majority of the people, I don't consider anything a studio, unless what comes out of it sounds good. The equipment doesn't make a great studio. The engineer that gets a great sound, no matter what equipment makes the studio. If you put somebody who has a laptop and speakers behind an API legacy, and told them to get the session rolling, they wouldn't know what to do. But a person who does know how to run all of that stuff is an engineer. These days you can call whatever you want a studio. I don't call anything a studio really, unless they have a real board and a live room.

[PettyCash]

Might only be my opinion, but I feel a studio is a space that you specially design and setup strickly for the purposes of performing production and/or engineering type duties.

When you think about it, isn't a dance studio just a space specially created for dancers to train in? With wall mirrors and a horizontal bar. It doesnt really matter what type of room you put those mirrors and the bar into, as long as you are able to use it for what you intended.

I believe that its the way you set up a space and the manner in which you put it to use that determines if you can really consider it an official studio or not.

[beat you down]

yeah i agree, put short, it's the space itself.
and yes it needs to be dedicated.

a basic recording studio would have like a control room and some type of recording booth.

[sevendaysoff]

It's not a studio unless you can handle all tasks brought to you.

If you've only got 1 or 2 mics, regardless of how good they are, you obviously can't do this.

If you've only got 1 or 2 pre amps, regardless of how good they are, you obviously can't do this.

etc. etc. You need to be able to handle any task brought to you. The last thing a "Studio" wants to do is turn away business, especially in todays economy (us).

If your facility can't handle full band multitracking, ensemble recording, or isolation, your facility is not a studio

I call these "studios" pre-production rooms.

[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by lospat123

but what i dont understand is how can a kid with a laptop running reason with just a mic and set of monitors call that a studio? surely its not... or am i mistaken?

It's called marketing.

A studio used to be a physical space; a room or collection of rooms designed (and often purpose-built) to record and reproduce sound. Now it's an interface and some software.

[Igotsoul4u]

i wont call anything a studio unless its a room built and designed for audio purposes. Everything else is a project studio aka a room with crap in it!!!!! I don't call my room with crap in it a studio, but others do.

[Igotsoul4u]

PS. that doesn't mean i don't bill for studio time!!!! I call it "The brown room"

[IM WHO YOU THINK]

Some of the best records ever recorded have been made in "non studios" by the definitions here.

I say play me the results u got and I'll tell you if it was a studio. If you can get SSL/2" quality results on your tascam 4 track in the corner of your bathroom.

I'd say
1. You have a "bathroom studio", which may be a "shitty set up but you get great results".
2. HOW THE HELL DID U DO IT.

If you have enough gear to accomplish your task with professional results., you have a studio.

[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by IM WHO YOU THINK

Some of the best records ever recorded have been made in "non studios" by the definitions here.

And...?

No one's saying a great record can't be done outside of the studio. A lotta records are made entirely in a computer.

Although, it's hard to deny the accessibility of these tools accounts for a lot of the mediocrity in music today.

[Stitch333]

I have a laptop rig I've mad a lot of money with going to the clients space and making records.

If you can find truth in "wherever you go, there you are", then "wherever you go, there's your studio" can also apply.

[terrytee]

I would not call my set up a studio, even though it has a mixer outboard compressors, mac pro & monitors i would still refer to it as the LAB.

IMO a studio has to be treated for acoustics irrespective to there being a vocal booth or another type of recording room, drums guitars piano etc.

My lab isn't treated.

[bgrotto]

Originally Posted by 12345

But that's the definition of a studio: If you have a room with everything to produce your music. Even if there's just shitty gear. What's your problem anyway?

The thing is, there's really no single definition of "studio".

stu·di·o: a room or set of rooms specially equipped for broadcasting radio or television programs, making phonograph records, filming motion pictures, etc.

-or-

the workroom or atelier of an artist, as a painter or sculptor.

-or-

a facility for sound recording


Lotsa different definitions; I don't think the OP has a problem at all. Just an opinion (or maybe not even...).

To each his own.

[stevens119]

Originally Posted by terrytee

I would not call my set up a studio, even though it has a mixer outboard compressors, mac pro & monitors i would still refer to it as the LAB.

IMO a studio has to be treated for acoustics irrespective to there being a vocal booth or another type of recording room, drums guitars piano etc.

My lab isn't treated.

Does Ik Multimedia's ARC count? If so, then I guess I have a studio

[terrytee]

Originally Posted by stevens119

Does Ik Multimedia's ARC count? If so, then I guess I have a studio

You say tomato i say tomahto..........lets call the whole shit off.

It's all down to the indivdual. If you can make a sucssefull hit on a Multimedia ARC then i guess so. But for me it's a different story.

[THHK]

STUDIO = AN ARTIST'S WORK PLACE

I.E IF U IN A BATHROOM MAKIN SONGS ITS A STUDIO

[cal1]

i have a little recording setup, a monitoring system, a korg triton, some instruments and all that. and i call it a "project studio", cause i pre-produce anything there

[musicmind11]

who the hell records in the bathroom? I mean.. theres a shit load of reverberation in almost any bathroom Ive ever been in, plus the toilet right there isnt much of an inspiration in my mind unless youre extremely drunk... just my opinion =)

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by musicmind11

who the hell records in the bathroom? I mean.. theres a shit load of reverberation in almost any bathroom Ive ever been in, plus the toilet right there isnt much of an inspiration in my mind unless youre extremely drunk... just my opinion =)

I recorded an autoharp once in the studio bathroom...specifically for the reverb! the performer was sitting on the toilet....lid down of course!

[PettyCash]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

the performer was sitting on the toilet....lid down of course!

lol, of course.

[daillman]

a studio is anywhere your recording at the time not the building persay,if you worship at home with friends and loved ones your having church and dont have o be in the building we usually associate with church,so if you record on a laptop with reason and a daw then that is your studio........

[hangman]

while we're at it, lets define a kitchen too... what appliances does one have to have to make a kitchen a kitchen?
can't I just have a hot plate and some pots?

can I call my set-up a studio if it is in my studio apartment?