Multi Track equipment advice please...

[Haynesmachine]

Hi there,

I am opening up a rehearsal space and my plan is to also offer affordable demo's etc, or even as basic as recording the bands rehearsal for them.

At home I noodle around on a very basic set up which consists of a Laptop with an M box 2 plugged into it. It only has 2 inputs which is fine for me recording alone & Im pretty happy with the quality I can get out of it and also have learned my way around pro-tools pretty well.

My problem is that I cannot record bands (properly) with only 2 inputs and Im after some advice on the best way I can step up to a system that has 8 or more inputs so that I can mic up a whole band.

I would appreciate any advise regarding this, bearing in mind that my knowledge doesn't stretch much farther than M box & pro tools LE

[bishopthomas]

It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Are you looking to multitrack everything, take it home and mix it yourself? Or maybe multitrack and give the bands the master? For the sake of convenience I would supply an interface and have them bring in their own laptop with software. You won't want to be transferring files between rehearsal sessions. They plop down their computer, plug in the interface, load the drivers from the CD that you have made millions of copies of, and hit record. Easiest way to do it, you won't have to charge a lot of extra money, and it'll be a great selling point for your rehearsal space.

[surflounge]

They leave with a hard drive with their tracks on it to mix
JoeCo Blackbox recorder

[bishopthomas]

Even better. But way more expensive and without the preamps. You'll need to provide a mixer capable of handling all the inputs and make sure it has some way of getting each individual track out of it.

[hbphotoav]

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

Even better. But way more expensive and without the preamps. You'll need to provide a mixer capable of handling all the inputs and make sure it has some way of getting each individual track out of it.

Ditto that. Mackie Onyx 1604 or one of the new PreSonus desks seem like a good answer.

[Haynesmachine]

I guess my vision was to let them rehearse as per usual, only I'd mic them up, get levels etc and then record them playing live for an hour of the usual 3hr rehearsal... 'give us your best songs for the next hr' type of thing.
Track it onto Pro Tools, do a rough mix while they finnish up etc and give them a C.D. of they're rehearsal for a fraction extra cash...

Thats its most basic function anyway. With better quality demo's or EP's I would simply need more time with the tracking, mic placement etc and also It would be a take home mix... and cost more again. In each case they get One burn't master to do what they like with.

Opening up rehearsal space is far from lucrutive so Im hoping that by offering cheap demo's as well it could help pay the rent, I looked at the Mackie desk and it looks like the kind of thing I would need, I would also like to get into location jobs if it works out,

Thanks for your input, keep it coming.

[bishopthomas]

I would recommend the Presonus StudioLive over the Mackie. Way more features (it's digital so you get all the normal benefits from that). How many rooms will you have? Recording rigs for all of them?

I'm not so sure I would be as hands on as you seem to plan on being. I think there should be two options: 1. Bring your computer in and track yourself. Mix it at home and do whatever you want. 2. Come to the studio for a "real" session with a "real" engineer, but playing live for a quick demo mix. (Of course you can go as studio session as you want with this, but I say keep it simple for your clientele.) This way there is a clear goal in what they are booking the space for.

I see the recording as an "extra" feature, or a bonus to coming to YOUR studio over your competition. I don't think people will be willing to pay very much extra for this service, so don't work yourself too hard. Put together a bulletproof system and let them do the work.

[Haynesmachine]

Good points, loving the input.

Yeah I think I'll dangle the 'record your rehearsal' carrot, as a cheap extra to what is mainly just a rehearsal space and develope a system that's as basic as possible, even if its just a few room mikes.

I have 3 soundproof rooms, 2 of them are connected via a studio window so I only have to push gear into one room and set up the band in the other and then I have a studio for weekend demo's where I can spend the time recording them more seriously.

If I can just get 5 bands a week to practice for 3hrs each, I can pay the rent. That in itself is the first challenge & then hopefully I can get some recording work going later on

[Daniel Stark]

I am having a hard time seeing this as a great business model (making rent off of 15 hours of rehearsal booking) but i would be happy to be proven wrong. I do see people out here charging $50/hr for rehearsal space (i am in san francisco) but that's for facilities with a nice grand piano for example. "Secret Studios" (Secret Studios) charges $40 for a 3-hour block.

Another idea would be to make the recording price significantly higher than the rehearsal price (to reflect your time as engineer) and hope that the connections you make with bands that rehearse there will lead to recording dates. This to me seems like a better investment of the time and energy and will probably result in better sounding records. But of course this is only my opinion and maybe in your local market you have hit on a great idea.

edit: "I have 3 soundproof rooms, 2 of them are connected via a studio window so I only have to push gear into one room and set up the band in the other and then I have a studio for weekend demo's where I can spend the time recording them more seriously."

This sounds like a nice layout and a good plan, you could charge $50/hour for something like this.

[tysonviolin]

Originally Posted by hbphotoav

Mackie Onyx 1604 or one of the new PreSonus desks seem like a good answer.

I agree with this guy. You will be able to set up monitor mixes just like you would in a live or rehearsal situation. Get a headphone amp and 6 sets of cans and you are ready to rock assuming you have mics, stands, cables, and a computer. The presonus would be a no brainer because you could also mix down on it without ever having to import to protools etc.

[Haynesmachine]

the PreSonus looks great and would work well, still budgeting so...

as far as selling the rehearsal space goes which is the first step... I have 3 available rooms at $20hr, most people book 3hr slots so if for example I'm lucky enough to have 3 bands coming in on one night, all doing 6-9 its worth $180 plus drinks plus chips, and my rent is only about $220 a week.

There's some other things like insurance but if I can get enough regular bands I'll be alright... 5 a week would keep me alive for long enough to set up more carrots to dangle, like recording options for the bands and hiring out the P/A's on weekends etc.

Its not a big earner but hey, I'd rather try and fail than not try at all...

[bishopthomas]

Hey, if you can afford to fail then go for it! It will at least be a great learning experience for you. When are you looking at opening? Good luck with everything!

[DannyL]

There are problems with installing DAW software on someone else's computer: 1) Very often such software requires configuration of the entire system, which can be quite time consuming. 2) There could be copyright issues with intellectual property. 3) Many laptops are just not capable of handling multitrack recording, too many programs already resident, not enough RAM, IRQ issues, platform issues: Mac, Windows, Linux, etc.

I would suggest installing a dedicated desktop with a decent interface, the Presonus does look good for your purposes. You could use a drive dock to facilitate file portability:
hard drive docks - Google Product Search

You could either sell hard drives or the bands could provide their own, with the proviso that you will format the drives before using them, thus ensuring that you will not receive any viruses. I use these for my clients, I can record on either HFS+ or FAT32 drives (I am Mac-based). Everyone is quite happy with the simplicity and reliability of the system. It also means that you are not the archive service. This does need to be explicitly explained, so that once a client takes their files with them, they understand that they are solely responsible for them. Archiving service can be offered at an additional cost. If you use SATA drives the transfer time is minimal.

There are quite a few possibilities inherent in this sort of service. With some forethought and planning you will be able to expand your service economically as your business grows. (Cable management, central patching, computer networking, etc.)

Danny

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

It depends on what you're trying to accomplish. Are you looking to multitrack everything, take it home and mix it yourself? Or maybe multitrack and give the bands the master? For the sake of convenience I would supply an interface and have them bring in their own laptop with software. You won't want to be transferring files between rehearsal sessions. They plop down their computer, plug in the interface, load the drivers from the CD that you have made millions of copies of, and hit record. Easiest way to do it, you won't have to charge a lot of extra money, and it'll be a great selling point for your rehearsal space.

[Daniel Stark]

I have the portable version of the Presonus mixer (Firestudio Mobile) and it's a great product. Dynamic range is quoted at 118 db i think! Kind of short faders on the mixer though huh?

Also getting Presonus S1 Pro for $200 (upgrade when u get a Presonus interface) is a nice bonus. And I thought after Reaper I would never pay for a DAW again....