New Studio Price List and equipment help

[DP40oz]

Hey guys a good friend of mine has gotten an oppurtunity of a life time. Basically he knows a family friend who wants to open a studio, and this guy has millions from what i hear. He asked the friend of mine to partner with him to open a studio. Only problem is the my friend has very little experience, he's more of an audio school guy with a few months of interning under his belt. The investor guy is a musician with no studio experience but is totally gung ho to do it and is willing to put about $70,000 worth of equipment to start. So save the "This aint gonna work" comments and lets just say hypothetically this works out for them.

They got a price and equipment list done at guitar center (god help us) and are like totally willing to go with it, but i told my friend i'd look over it and try to help him out before they commit. So check out the price lists, theres 3 of them. Anyone who knows a place that could set them up for cheaper let me know, and any comments about there equipment list let me know.

I already told him that i would definitely add the Waves SSL bundle, some of the UAD-1 stuff and some dedicated vocal mics, its as if they totally left out vocal mics, i don't know how that couldve happened. Please guys let me know some thoughts.

www.FEFFband.com/PriceList1
www.FEFFband.com/PriceList2
www.FEFFband.com/PriceList3

[RCM - Ronan]

If this guy is looking to drop 70k on a studio he should really get some one that really knows recording and studios to do some consulting for him (myself and several other people on this board could do it) Paying some one a couple grand to help sort all this out could save the clients far more than that and help him make much better decisions about what gear to buy. Every client has different needs.

If you are smart about it, 70k can get you a really kick ass studio!!

[Bassline]

Yeah, the microphone selection is definately pretty slim. The other thing is he is selling them an Apogee AD16 and a Big Ben clock. The AD16 already contains the exact same clock as the Big Ben. Ditch the Big Ben, use the AD16 as the master clock, and invest that money (and more) in a good LDC.

[TonyBelmont]

Originally Posted by rcm

If this guy is looking to drop 70k on a studio he should really get some one that really knows recording and studios to do some consulting for him (myself and several other people on this board could do it) Paying some one a couple grand to help sort all this out could save the clients far more than that and help him make much better decisions about what gear to buy. Every client has different needs.

If you are smart about it, 70k can get you a really kick ass studio!!

Exactly....

Give me a call, this is what I do for a living.... We offer the consulting part as a free perk for working with us and buying your gear from my company.

[stevep]

DP40ozThe investor guy is a musician with no studio experience

I hope we are talking about a home studio

DP40oz He asked the friend of mine to partner with him to open a studio. Only problem is the my friend has very little experience,

see above post....... The person funding this should have a professional help him

DP40oz its as if they totally left out vocal mics, i don't know how that couldve happened.

A sign again the guy spending the $$$ should hire someone who has done this before

DP40oz So save the "This aint gonna work" comments and lets just say hypothetically this works out for them.

Well we all have to start somewhere...........

The first studio i built ( 20 years ago ) we really didn't know what we were doing but it turned out ok and we made lots of great records there.
BUT That was when studios were making $$$$$


so Just because these guys dont know what they are doing doesn't mean it wont work....


All i can say is to start at this level he better be prepared for 25 hour days for the next 5 years and it will be his ONLY job !

Without this kind of commitment a commercial studio will not work.

They got a price and equipment list done at guitar center

again a sign of spur of the moment decisions

DP40oz The investor guy is a musician with no studio experience but is totally gung ho to do it and is willing to put about $70,000 worth of equipment to start.

You say equipment...... what about the room to put it in ??

The room will cost from two hundred thousand to well over a million dollars depending on leasing or buying

This is actually a bit low and should probably be doubled



Please say this is a bedroom studio...........


i really do wish them luck






steve

[DP40oz]

Hey guys I agree with all of you and I explained all this to my friend but i can only say so much since it aint my thing. If it were me i'd be giving every last one of you a call for some help.

As far as the space goes its a building the guy already owns its just sorta been sitting around for about a year, and from what i hear the space is outstanding. 2 huge rooms. They've already factored in construction cost as a different budget then the $70,000.

Let me just really emphasize i absolutly agree with all of you. I would kill for this oppurtunity and i'd be doing a million things different if i were them. As far as you guys who do this for a living, send me a PM and i'll definitlely get them to call you.

[superburtm]

Originally Posted by DP40oz

Hey guys I agree with all of you and I explained all this to my friend but i can only say so much since it aint my thing. If it were me i'd be giving every last one of you a call for some help.

As far as the space goes its a building the guy already owns its just sorta been sitting around for about a year, and from what i hear the space is outstanding. 2 huge rooms. They've already factored in construction cost as a different budget then the $70,000.

Let me just really emphasize i absolutly agree with all of you. I would kill for this oppurtunity and i'd be doing a million things different if i were them. As far as you guys who do this for a living, send me a PM and i'll definitlely get them to call you.

In what state is the proposed studio located? Cali by any chance?

[DP40oz]

Originally Posted by superburtm

In what state is the proposed studio located? Cali by any chance?

Long Island, New York.

[RCM - Ronan]

Well knowing nothing about what kind of music the guy wants to do, its just insane to even start to spec out a studio, and another huge factor is who is going to be running all the gear. Also he could buy a lot of used stuff and make his money go a lot further. If he is a rock and roll guy for that money he could get a killer rock studio. All these numbers are on the high side.

Trident 80B ($20,000)
Otari MTR 90 II ($4000)
killer mic collection ($10,000)
10 channels of other high end mic pre flavors ($8000)
Sweet collection of outboard EQ ($6000)
Super Sweet collection of compressors ($10,000)
High Grade Cabling ($2000)
Fully loaded Pro Tools system with 32 I/O of 888/24s ($6000)
Apogee Rosetta 200 ($1700)
Monitors ($1500)

All of these could be had for less than the prices I have quoted but they could be had for these prices easily. If you shopped around you could find great deals or even swap out the Trident for a quad 8 or Neotek for several thousand less, so even after you paid a few thousand bucks for the install and to get the console and tape machine into great shape, you still would have a bit of extra money for upkeep or for new toys.

Or of course you could just stroll down to guitar center and drop a ton of money on bunch of brand new stuff that will not really help make better recordings, but will have the advantage of huge depreciation and loss of resale value the second you walk out the door with it.

[superburtm]

Originally Posted by DP40oz

Long Island, New York.

ahh..I can't be of much help then other than on here

[GPl]

I wouldn't waste another thought on this one...call Tony, or someone like him. It will not only save you a lot of time, but a LOT of headaches, especially if you have no or little experiance. It's a no brainer. Tony even offers free consultation. Tell your freinds this IS the best advice they will get, period.

[tomwehrle]

Originally Posted by GPl

I wouldn't waste another thought on this one...call Tony, or someone like him. It will not only save you a lot of time, but a LOT of headaches, especially if you have no or little experiance. It's a no brainer. Tony even offers free consultation. Tell your freinds this IS the best advice they will get, period.

I don't even know Tony, but i agree with this post, if these 2 guys don't know much (which i'd throw myself into the same catagory) then they should get someone who does know what theyre talking about to help them out, and chances are even if they were to buy the same things they would have through GC, they'll be the same price or less through this Tony guy (just guessing on that).

[SK1]

Geeez ..... where are the rest of the gear pimps/sharks when you need em ????

There's blood in the water !!!!!!

But seriously for 70K, you should be shopping with several different sources. I would never limit my equipment choices by going with only one vendor.

I agree that hiring an INDEPENDENT consultant would be your best bet. That 2k would save you money in the long run.

Also, I've done very well for myself buying used gear. Let somone else take the depreciation .... when it makes sense to do so.

And remember that vintage stuff can even APPRECIATE.

BOOM

[superburtm]

If you don't know enough to know what you need in the studio..I'd say go into another biz, cuz you ain't gonna get rich in this one. This occupation is out of love.

or ask thrill what to get....

[SK1]

Also, I'd say RCM is pretty on point with his assesment. I dunno about the mix plus choice though.

[superburtm]

HD all the way with 192's if 192s are good enough for M. Brauer, Ross Hogarth ect... they ought to be good enough for us

[Jose Mrochek]

Before even starting with the gear i would hire a studio designer/accoustic type no ? choosing gear with gs.com is very easy. Invest 60k on the studio design and accoustics and 10k on the gear, you will have better sounding albums than the other way around. Very unslutty of me, but if the bling factor is not important I would take that route.

having second thougths on the proportion of gear vs. design, but still .. i´m just trying to make a point.

you can always keep buying gear, but a awesome room is basic.

[Jay Kahrs]

I gave those lists the quick once over...

What's the "goal" of the studio? What genre of music are they looking to do?

If it's rock/pop/blues (aka real live music) then they either don't have enough or will have just enough to pull off those kinds of sessions.

If they're shooting for dance/hip-hop/etc. then they don't need all those mics & the killer headphone system.

Seems like it's kinda 'directionless' to me, but they've got all the "buzzwords" covered so I'm sure they'll have a killer ad campagin for the local rags.



Anyway, I'd call Tony before going back to Guitarget...that's just based on years of having to deal with Guitarget and it really sounds they need all the help they can get.

Plus I gotta ask...who's doing the room design & construction?

Who's going to run & manage the place once it's built?

Have they found or do they know engineers to staff the place and run the sessions?

Not that I'm trying to piss in their Fruit Loops or anything, but aquring the gear is the easiest part of setting up a real living breathing & full functional recording studio.

I wish 'em luck,

[TonyBelmont]

Originally Posted by SK1

But seriously for 70K, you should be shopping with several different sources. I would never limit my equipment choices by going with only one vendor.

I agree that hiring an INDEPENDENT consultant would be your best bet. That 2k would save you money in the long run.

Please elaborate on why you feel it is a better decision for someone to buy their gear from multiple sources, rather than work with one studio professional who could help them make the best decisions for their project. Also, please explain why they should spend $2k (not sure what that $2k would actually buy from a consultant, maybe a lunch meeting and that's about it), to get the same kind of advice that someone like myself can give them as a free service?

We are talking about a studio project here, not buying a piece of gear from a box house. Your advice might work for someone shopping around for the best price on a microphone, but in this situation will cause a lot of lost time, money and aggravation. Isn't it better to have a professional that you can call anytime day or night to help you with your problems. You can't pay for that kind of service. And if price is your motivation, when you're talking about tens of thousands of dollars, you can expect a great price. The price difference between myself and someone who is just selling gear is negligible, in fact we are generally cheaper on price alone.

[Jose Mrochek]

Tony seems to be a cool guy, I would definetly call him to.