$500,000 worth of gear

[(DC)]

If you were to spend $500,000 on gear to track bands and vocals using a large mixer/console (digital OR analog... with recall in mind...), what gear would you buy?

The studio would be used for recording and mixing of bands ranging from rock to hiphop.

Forget all the stuff about having great acoustics and hiring good engineers (this is included in a seperate budget) . Imagine that the person creating this would have the knowledge to set-up and use any equipment found regularly in large commercial studios.

EDIT: Please read the thread through, and read my responses before you start making the same comments everyone else has made. If it makes you happy to treat this as "hypothetical" than please do so, if that means you can give good advice.

Thanks.

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by (DC)

If you were to spend $500,000 on gear to track bands and vocals using a large mixer/console (digital OR analog... with recall in mind...), what gear would you buy?

Forget all the stuff about having gread acoustics and hiring good engineers. Imagine that the person creating this would have the knowledge to set-up and use any equipment found regularly in large commercial studios.

Just search the various forums for the several threads started about the same exact topic.

[Thumper]

I wouldn't.

Hire a studio that already has all the stuff.

[warhead]

I would try to figure out how to invest it and make 15% a year, which = $75k which I could support my family with.

I'd stay home and make music.

War

[dreamsongs]

If you spend 500k on gear these days, go and have your head checked...

And...I'm definitely a GS but I'm not crazy...

[lofi]

hahaaaaaaa

exactly

[kats]

I would try to figure out how to invest it and make 15% a year, which = $75k which I could support my family with.

Chickens!!!!!

The problem is that business skills and recording skills don't nessecarily go in hand.

[RoundBadge]

Do a search.. ..it's been beaten to death

[Oldone]

You could easily generate 10% annual return in the stock market so that's about $50K per year. Take your interest and invest it in gear over time, that along with depreciation will keep you well ahead of the game and you will never have to use up your $500K.

[Gregg Sartiano]

And buy a house. Or buy a studio that's on some promising chunk of real estate -- leverage this, of course, so you can keep your $500k relatively free. Split the risk and the profits with investors -- maybe even silent partners! Yes!

Even if the r.e. market falls in the next 3 years, it'll be up above the current level inside of 10 -- and once you build some equity, you can start taking out $$$ if you need it, with tax advantages.

I'd rent out "big rooms" for 2 weeks at a time, get a good lawyer, and sign bands to production deals. I'd get vocals remotely on a budget, and throw the "singles" to a top mixer -- mix the rest myself at home on a tweaked-out ITB/hybrid setup, flip the artists to majors, and sell the instrumentals to commercial & jingle houses. And I'd try to do 5 or so albums a year this way.

That is, if I even cared about doing anybody else's music anymore...

[Gregg Sartiano]

Also note that you said "track" and not "track, edit, and mix"

I'd have a tough time blowing $500k on a tracking setup, console or no console, if we're talking gear only (i.e.: not room acoustics). And I can dream big

I mean, even a $200k console, a $100k mic collection, a $100K pre/eq/comp collection, and $100k computers, converters, FX, wires, and doodads is JUST using your budget up. And unless you're getting U47's to mic the ENTIRE drumkit with, it's really tough to blow $100k on mics.

Why not get a Learjet? $3.5 mil and way more likely to impress the girls...

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by kats

Chickens!!!!!

The problem is that business skills and recording skills don't nessecarily go in hand.

Don't underestimate some of your fellow slutz.

[VT rich]

Well i don't know about the rest of the money but I think I would give that new SSL a look

[VT rich]

Originally Posted by Gregg Sartiano

...And unless you're getting U47's to mic the ENTIRE drumkit with, it's really tough to blow $100k on mics.

Didn't Elliott Scheiner get there when he bought like 9 Brauner Mics? Or was that just a rumor?

[Wiggy Neve Slut]

Dont spend it on gear..

invest wisley in structured investments/portfolios etc etc.. can net upto 31% return on some products/fund over the last year as an arbitary average.. take a small chunk of that and spend it on gear for your own use @ home, then rent studios as you need them.

And guess what? the original principal is the same in 90% of cases (depending on how agressively and how well risk is mitigated).

** the real 9-5 wiggy retires gracefully into his box**
Wiggy

[u b k]

Originally Posted by warhead

I would try to figure out how to invest it and make 15% a year, which = $75k which I could support my family with.\

capital gains tax, dividend tax, interest tax, sales tax.

can you support your family with $50k? that's all you'll get to keep!


gregoire
del
ubk
.

[chrispick]

What's with you dorks? He's not giving you a choice regarding what to do with the money. The specific mission is to spend $500,000 on gear.

Investment tips. Give me a break. I'll seek money advice from a musician the day I seek fashion advice from a Teamster.

Here's what I'd do:

I'd spend it all on the nicest instruments I could find (e.g., guitars, drums, sitars, glass harmonicas, vibraslaps, jews harps, gentile harps, harps of diverse persuasion, etc.), nicest equipment I could find (one of every pre, comp, etc. until I'm bored choosing), nicest furniture I could have custom-built, nicest facility I could manage and salary for a 24-hour chef.

Most of the money would go toward the chef. Whatever's left over goes to an accountant and a lawyer.

Oh, and I'd pick up a fridge and some exercise gear.

And Aeron chairs for everyone!

If it lasts longer than a year, lucky me. If not, wasn't my money anyway.

Live so you have stories to tell. Dull is boring.

[djui5]

I think this is just for fun.

[lanervoza]

Real Estate mostly, then I actually have a master list of ~$60,000 worth of gear for my "dream studio"

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by (DC)

Imagine that the person creating this would have the knowledge to set-up and use any equipment found regularly in large commercial studios.

... then I would imagine they would also know what they wanted from this $500k facility...

There are a ton of ways to go... the questions I would ask if this were a phone call would be along the lines of what is the goal of the studio? What genre do you see the facility catering to most? Metal? Hip Hop? Jazz? They have some different gear requirements, especially when it comes to monitors [I know you have the acoustics covered but it is a definite consideration for building the overall tool set for the facility].

If it was mine to do I would probably throw in an API desk, like a Legacy because on the $500k budget I don't think a Vision could be afforded... then I would start to look at whether or not I needed analog decks... if I might [as in I was looking at a genre that liked to track to tape before the bounce to computer] I would get one or two and a syncronization system.

Then, if it was me I would throw in 48 tracks of RADAR as well as a DAW system that would probably feature Apogee A/D-D/A's that interfaced with the evil Shiti-Design system that is so prevalent in modern record destruction [uhhh, I meant production... it just came out wrong]... I would have both a digital audio patchbay as well as analog audio patchbays so I could route digital audio signals, in the digital domain with ease from the control room as opposed to the machine room or having to reach around behind the racks.

I would poll the outside clients [engineer clients] on what kinda tools they would like to have available in an effort to start to build a client base before I opened... or if this is an expansion of an existing facility I would again talk to my clients and find out if there was anything they thought would be really cool to have at the new room.

From there I would suggest that you get a couple of other cool and kinda 'cutting edge' stuff that the outsider engineers with ears will be surprised at how cool they are when they use them for the first time... and have it become part of their world on a regular basis after they've used it that first time [that would kinda help lock them into regularly booking your facility]. Something like a Crane Song LTD. "Spider" which has all kinds of facilities as well as bitchin' converters, outstanding limiters, a very cool 'tape emulation' feature as well as a seperate 2 buss and pre as well as post fader sends from the mic-pre's [which you're not locked into because the unit can be used mic or line in]... and then build it from there.

$500k is a lot of money... it's not all that much when you're talking about building a really high end recording facility so it will be a damn good idea to spend wisely and spend with the idea of filling the needs and wants of your clients... while helping them to achieve their goals and building a loyal clientele for your facility.

Make sense?

[joaquin]

Originally Posted by chrispick

...Investment tips. Give me a break. I'll seek money advice from a musician the day I seek fashion advice from a Teamster...

LOL

[kats]

Don't underestimate some of your fellow slutz.

Don't put words in my mouth

I'm merely pointing out that they are two different skill sets. One does not automatically come with the other.

I also get a little bummed at the negativity on this board regarding the recording arts. I worry that is scares off some young "up and comers" from chasing their goals. What never gets mentioned is that other industries face similar obstacles - there is no easy road, whatever endeavor you chase will be difficult. Talent, passion, and hardwork is what will prevail. Not some passionless calculated angle to make money.

Just look on this board and you can see how this skillset has been used creatively to earn a living outside of recording hit albums. Some have written books, some teach, some sell shootout CD's, some retail gear, some record and sell samples. None of which could have been accomplished legitimately without the skillset. And these are just the obvious "angles", there are so many ways to skin a cat. Like all other industries, the recording industry has to adapt to the changing enviroment and forget about the past.

[Mike Caffrey]

I'd buy 500 MBoxes and try to make $10k/year from each mbox room - say $10-20/hr.

That's a livable income.

[DaBear]

What a waste of time talking about this....
Only moron will invest $500K in studio today !!!

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by Nerve Nickels

I can earn you a lot more than 15%....

Not without risk.

[Mumblesound]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

Not without risk.

like broken knee caps.

[(DC)]

Yea, I should have expected this from gearslutz. 90% of the people give me some bullshit about not spending the money on a studio, 10% tell me I should spend it... wisely, and another 10% give me a list with some gear.

OK, let me get specific then.

This studio needs to be able to track/mix/edit (thanks for the response about that...) just about any band (rock/punk/trash/etc. etc.), and needs to be able to record vocals for those bands AND for hiphop.


Basically I'm looking for a console with automated faders, a good rack of EQs/Compressors/Mic Preamps/etc...

Also, an impressive collection of mics (U47/87, Shure SM57/58/7b/etc..., Sony C800, and it goes on).

If you want to help me out... thanks!

If you want to give me business advice along the lines of "do something else"... screw you! This IS business!

Thanks!

[PDC]

Originally Posted by (DC)

Yea, I should have expected this from gearslutz. 90% of the people give me some bullshit about not spending the money on a studio, 10% tell me I should spend it... wisely, and another 10% give me a list with some gear.

OK, let me get specific then.

This studio needs to be able to track/mix/edit (thanks for the response about that...) just about any band (rock/punk/trash/etc. etc.), and needs to be able to record vocals for those bands AND for hiphop.


Basically I'm looking for a console with automated faders, a good rack of EQs/Compressors/Mic Preamps/etc...

Also, an impressive collection of mics (U47/87, Shure SM57/58/7b/etc..., Sony C800, and it goes on).

If you want to help me out... thanks!

If you want to give me business advice along the lines of "do something else"... screw you! This IS business!

Thanks!

No disrespect intended. But, if you have a client that is worthy of $500k worth of purchases, you should talk to an accountant and look at a lease at Ocean Way or Black Bird Studios, where they have anything you could ever want, let alone need. You could get some tax benefits with leasing instead of purchasing I think. Either that, or buy out Mr. Sides for a month and then sell it back.

If I were an artist, I would want an engineer/producer with a history, a studio with no bugs to iron out, maybe some history, etc. I wouldn't want to find out that my guy was on a messageboard fishing for gear ideas. Hire a proven Grammy winning hit maker to come in, and you be the exec producer. Pay yourself on the front side. THAT is the smart way to do it.