Opening for Business

[not like this]

Hey fellow slutz,

I am about a month away from moving across country, back to my hometown. Once there, I would like to open up a small production/writing studio with my brother. So this is a great time for me to start selling off some gear and look for future purchases. I have a lot of software and some basic hardware now, but I am looking to make some significant (to me) purchases to "open" for business. I mostly do pop/rock.

Here is what I have now:
Dual G5 1.8Ghz w/3.5GB RAM
MOTU 2408mk3
Avalon U5
Sans Amp Bass DI
RNP
Line 6 POD Pro
Mackie HR824 Monitors
2 SM57s
1 Groove Tube AM52

My software/plugs include DP4.5, UAD-1, Waves Gold, Spectrasonics VI's, Mach 5, Applied Acoustics VI's, EWSO Silver, DFHS, Tons of sound FX and noises, ect. I haven't done a lot of live tracking, and I would like to expand my hardware capability for this. I'd like to be able to do at least 4 high quality channels, even though I'll probably only do 1 or 2 at time, most of the time.

What do you think about these choices:

<b>Tracking</b>
Preamps - Keep the RNP, U5, and Sansamp plus add an M5 and ? Mainly for vocs and acoustic guitar.
Mics - Sell the AM52, keep the 57s, and add 2 SM58, and 2 C3000S.
AD - 4 Channel Lavry
Compressors - 2 RNCs

<b>Monitoring</b>
DA - Benchmark DAC-1
Monitors - sell the Mackie's and get ?
Headphones & Headphone Amp - furman amp (a central station)?

[warhead]

Hey Dave, I don't see enough mics there for a drum kit anyhow. Do you record drums? A pair of Avenson STO-2's and a Shure Beta52 or an ATM25 and you're in business if you don't need close in mic'ing. You've got your 57's for snare anyhow, even one of those would do fine for a kick mic.

Why do you need a pair of SM58's, do you record multiple vocals at once?

I think you're on the right track with a pair of condensors, I'm not familiar with the C3000s but you might want to study your options.

Mackie monitors are fine for a project studio, I don't know if I'd ditch those quite yet. Do you have a problem with mixes translating to the rest of the world?

What's your budget? You have a good mix of bang for the buck gear along with high end stuff. You could stretch it a bit and open more doors to recording more things if you focus more on mics in my opinion.

My $.02...I don't exactly know what you'll be recording though!

War

[squizz]

Originally posted by Dave Swift
Hey fellow slutz,

I am about a month away from moving across country, back to my hometown. Once there, I would like to open up a small production/writing studio with my brother. So this is a great time for me to start selling off some gear and look for future purchases. I have a lot of software and some basic hardware now, but I am looking to make some significant (to me) purchases to "open" for business. I mostly do pop/rock.

Here is what I have now:
Dual G5 1.8Ghz w/3.5GB RAM
MOTU 2408mk3
Avalon U5
Sans Amp Bass DI
RNP
Line 6 POD Pro
Mackie HR824 Monitors
2 SM57s
1 Groove Tube AM52

My software/plugs include DP4.5, UAD-1, Waves Gold, Spectrasonics VI's, Mach 5, Applied Acoustics VI's, EWSO Silver, DFHS, Tons of sound FX and noises, ect. I haven't done a lot of live tracking, and I would like to expand my hardware capability for this. I'd like to be able to do at least 4 high quality channels, even though I'll probably only do 1 or 2 at time, most of the time.

What do you think about these choices:

<b>Tracking</b>
Preamps - Keep the RNP, U5, and Sansamp plus add an M5 and ? Mainly for vocs and acoustic guitar.
Mics - Sell the AM52, keep the 57s, and add 2 SM58, and 2 C3000S.
AD - 4 Channel Lavry
Compressors - 2 RNCs

<b>Monitoring</b>
DA - Benchmark DAC-1
Monitors - sell the Mackie's and get ?
Headphones & Headphone Amp - furman amp (a central station)?

why spend so much for 4 channels of Lavry if you mics arent up to par. you might want to invest the majority there, not in converters. While they make a difference they will not make as big a difference as a reall top notch LDC mic. The Lavry will expose the the the weakness of the the microphone.

Instead of the SansAmp why not look into getting a preamp that has a real good di built in. The A designs pre comes to mind. it has an excellent Di and its an excellent pre as well. or maybe the pheonix drs 1. there are a bunch of good pres in the same price range as the m5 that have excellent di's in them.

there are alot of other options you may want to consider for converters, that are a bit cheaper and would free up a bunch of money for other expenses. they may not be lavry but they will more than get the job done. how many channels of a/d do you need? if its just 2, the you could get the new apogee two channel box ( and eliminate the dac1), or the adc1, or the mytek would probably be cheaper.

this is all just my opinion from what you have listed take from it what you will

[Steffmo]

I have to agree with Squizz....first thing I saw was the Lavry stuff being way out of the league of the rest.

Even with the Avalon as pre, if your best condeser is a C3000 the Lavry is going show you more not to like than like.

Looking at the G5 anf the 2408, I'm guessing you run DP. Why not get a 192HD, giving you 8 decent channels of i/o, plus some ok preamps in a pinch. If you are looking at live tracking 8 inputs is kind of crucial.

If that leaves you some coin....invest in whatever mics and pres that suit your needs.

[not like this]

Originally posted by warhead
Hey Dave, I don't see enough mics there for a drum kit anyhow. Do you record drums?

No, we don't plan on doing live drums yet. We'll go to the bigger rooms in town for that. We mainly want to focus on songwriting/production for singers as well as mixing ITB for local bands. Some low budget jingle/post work somewhere along the way is also likely.

Why do you need a pair of SM58's, do you record multiple vocals at once?

Good point. We could do just fine with one.

Mackie monitors are fine for a project studio, I don't know if I'd ditch those quite yet. Do you have a problem with mixes translating to the rest of the world?

I am relatively happy with them. I'm trying to keep the studio a mix of cost effective tools as well as gear that has the brand name recognition that will attract clients. In the long run, I am confident we can attract business based on results, but a little help from name-brand gear at first certainly wouldn't hurt.

What's your budget? You have a good mix of bang for the buck gear along with high end stuff. You could stretch it a bit and open more doors to recording more things if you focus more on mics in my opinion.

My $.02...I don't exactly know what you'll be recording though!

War

Thanks for your suggestions and comments. It certainly gets me thinking.

We have a pretty tight budget, I will be doing a lot of bargain hunting; looking for most of the gear used. Overall, we'll need to stay in the 6-8K range.

As for what will be recording, as I mentioned early this post, it will primarily be pop/rock singers and rock band over dubs. Lots of VI's and samples mixed with acoustic instruments/vocals.

[not like this]

Originally posted by squizz
why spend so much for 4 channels of Lavry if you mics arent up to par.

Yes, this makes sense. I guess I was looking at some name brand recognition there, rather than actual need. I have worked in project studios that make their living based on owning a PT HD rig. Trying to go out on my own on a native system in a new town... well, lets just say I'm trying to use all the gimicks I can. Apogee may be a better name anyway. Probably suit my needs better too.

Regard the DI, I already have the SansAmp. It has a certain sound that it does which I like. It isn't really expensive enough to make a difference if I sell it or not.

It's clear to me that I don't really need the lavry's but I do need at least two channels of AD/DA for the first few months. Within 12 months, I'd like to add 2 more AD. Apogee as at the top of the list for now.

this is all just my opinion from what you have listed take from it what you will

Thank you. Your opinion has been very helpful.

[not like this]

Originally posted by Steffmo
Looking at the G5 anf the 2408, I'm guessing you run DP. Why not get a 192HD, giving you 8 decent channels of i/o, plus some ok preamps in a pinch. If you are looking at live tracking 8 inputs is kind of crucial.

We don't need 8 channels until we get a bigger place and can do drums. If I remember correctly, the 192HD would give me 8 channels of AD, but no preamps. I have considered the 192HD though. Thanks.

[not like this]

Okay, I've made some revisions. I think this will be a much better use of our resources.

Tracking:
Preamps - Keep RNP, U5, Add Two Channel BAE 312A.
Mics - Sell the AM52, keep the 57s, and add 1 SM58, 2 md421s, m160, 2 AKG414, and a u87
AD - Rosetta 200
Comps - RNC

Monitoring:
DA - Rosetta 200
Monitors - sell 824s, add Dynaudio BM15A or BM6A

This should come in just slightly overbudget... but worth it.

[PaRaNoId]

according to your last list I would do dis' (hey it rhymez, it must be right; this site is the shiiet, and dis' shiit is tight!)

anyways...
keep the mackie monitors (trust me STBIS)
sub the u-87 for a bunch of other mics (ex. 4038+(2) nt1-a+(2)603s+etc etc) OR (2) Royer 121+ (2) Oktava 012?+etc etc)....
sub the 2nd 421 for any combo of e604, d112 or CAD KBM-412, ATM-25, ATM-23..

That's what I would do....But then again I'm not super intelligent and kind of drizzunk

[not like this]

What's STBIS?

I may keep the mackie's and just add the dynaudio's in time.

[PaRaNoId]

Originally posted by Dave Swift
What's STBIS?

Soon To Be Industry Standard

[warhead]

Good call on the Beyer M160's, I tracked a sax with them last night and they are just killer mics!! Great on overheads etc. as well, lots of stuff really.

War

[Exmun]

For what you're trying to do, your newest list seems like a good idea. Much success in the new venture. You've got a lot of mic variety. Lots of useful tools for a vocal studio. I can see a lot of VO work being done there. Btw, have you done any market research to see if your town actually needs a new studio? 'Cause you may find out that there isn't a business need and you'd be better off saving whatever money was to be used on rent/leasing (I know I'm assuming quite a bit here).

If you're going into it with partners (your brother?), please do yourself a favor and spend a few hundred on a partnership agreement w/ your neighborhood attorney... or draw up a simple agreement that determines who owns what (if $$ is pooled to buy this gear). If you're doing all the purchasing and owning what you purchase then fine... but if it's any different from that, get a simple agreement among the partners to decides what happens to the gear if the partnership dissolves. Btw, "partnership" is used in the general sense. You may decide that a C-corporation, an S-corporation or an LLC may be a better vehicle for the venture.

Much success.

[not like this]

Thanks for the well wishes. As unorganized as we may be about start-up equipment, we are very organized otherwise, and are just about ready to file for our LLC

[warhead]

LLC is a good thing tax wise for most small corps, makes it easy to tie into personal income tax etc.

War

[Tibbon]

Come on warhead, you don't need that many mics to record a drumkit (depending on style). I often use somewhere between 1-3 mics on the kit.

1- Just a M147 in the room (sometimes 414 instead)

2- Room + Kick

3- Room + Kick + 57 on snare

You can get a ton of great sounds that way.

Of course other days I use about 14 tracks/mics on the drums...

[Kestral]

I think that studios are all about having the right gear. Here are 'buzzwords' I want to see if I'm going to rent out a space:

Pro Tools HD
Neve
Urei
Neumann
Apogee

If any of these are missing, then the studio can pretty much kiss it goodbye as far as my decision making process goes.

[Exmun]

Originally posted by Dave Swift
We mainly want to focus on songwriting/production for singers as well as mixing ITB for local bands. Some low budget jingle/post work somewhere along the way is also likely.

Let's not forget what Dave's trying to do in this version of his studio. It seems he just wants a few channels to do some OD and vocal work.

[not like this]

We're definitely more of a music production/songwriters room. An HD rig with a giant SSL is just out of the question for now.