Are professional recording studios still as relevant as they were say 10 years ago?

Question

There's a proliferative availability of hard disk drive digital portastudio devices, and also multitrack recording software for PC's and laptops nowadays.
With this in mind, is there really a need nowadays for bands and musicians to spend large sums of money booking studio time to record their tracks?
Are recording studios set to become a thing of the past?

Answer 1

Ill speak from both ends here. I am a musician that records often, some myself, some by buddies, and a couple by studios as a local musician for bands. I am going to go to school for this topic as well. This is just like say jewelery. You have mass produced, cheap looking crap jewelery that was made wuickly with low end gear. This is fine, it does the job, but if you want something truly beatuiful and well made, you go to a jeweler. Music is an artform, and the people that play, mix and record music are artists. The way its done is truly a gift, and not just anybody can get a good mix. Sure you can make a quick demo on your own, but itll never sound as good made at home as if you went to a stuido, and were able to single out background noises, with high end transducer mics and hard and digital recording. Alot of people think that the bands walk in, play the cd out, and its done. records easily take months to produce, weeks just to get one song done. When i record groups, we use a local studio and rent the gear untill i can afford some more stuff my self. I may sit there listening to the same song 20 times in a row with the band hammering out, o this has to come up slightly, that down alittle more, lets move the bass a foot to the right, lets tune you a hertz up, lets do this, lets do that. Youll never replace the audio tech guys, there will always be a lot of money spent on it, and technology doesnt have emotions. Humen emotions make the music, technogoly makes sounds.

Answer 2

Any system is only as strong as it's weakest component.

In audio recording, that would probably be the hardware, particularly the microphones. Professional recording studios spend, literaly thousands of dollars for the mikes, supports and cabling to capture the sound, BEFORE it makes it to the digital software.

Even the best digital audio software can only work with the analogue sound that is captured. The old computer adage, "garbage in, garbage out" still applies.

This does not even begin to go into the sound deadening qualities that have to be built into the structure holding the recording environment. If the mikes are picking up overhead aircraft, passing semis and construction work sounds, there is not much that digital software can do to get rid of all of that. It CAN be done, but not without a lot of very expensive labor. A sound engineer needn't bother if the studio is built properly.

Not a thing of the past. What the new technology does is make more of the process available to the bands, themselves, rather than having to pay a lot of money for someone else to do it. I can make comparisons to the advent of desktop publishing software. Graphic designers, such as myself can take over much of the process that used to be done in the print shop. I can, now, make my own color separations, traps, layouts, typsetting, etc. I used to have to pay to get this stuff done. Now I can do it myself and charge my clients for the work. All I have to do is hand over my digital file to the print shop for final output. (I'm not about to print out full size billboard on my desktop inkjet printer!)

Bands can, now make a pretty good demo and even burn a few CDs to pass on to friends. But the high end stuff is still going to be done in a real studio.

Answer 3

My son runs a recording studio with a friend - for me and friend's dad it's an 'investment opportunity'... (oh yes) But it works, strange to say, they've had some well-known names in - even I know some of them - and they're really busy. Having several rooms to store 'real' musical equipment in is a bonus, space to meet and chat with other musicians, a kitchen ... tea and coffee is nicer in company, and my son is more likely to remember to eat if there's someone else saying 'I'm hungry' - OK I'm his mum, I mind these things.
As far as the money goes (and go it certainly does) making something on the big names means he can offer space and time to students doing commercial music degrees for next to nothing - they really appreciate the studio atmosphere and it's still part of their training in spite of the prevalence of 'bedroom' studios.
I can remember people said electronic music would kill performance artists with guitars and stuff - that certainly hasn't happened either. So, no, I think the recording studio is not only a going concern but evolving as well.
Best of luck to them all!

Answer 4

I would argue that while yes, technology brings the ability to record into the home studio, it still takes a great engineer to make a great sounding album. For awhile now bands have been able to take the studio to wherever they desired, but the art of engineering needs focused talent.

Answer 5

confident of direction the Jets will bypass 11-5 with between the right 5 worst offenses. Moss had greater TDs via himself final year than the whole Jets team. And purely an fool like Mangini performs the Jets protection in a three-4. He can't think of of something himself so he steals Belichicks schemes. And what grew to become into Clemens QB score final year fifty 5?

Answer 6

My partner is a musician and just recently completed his part on an album when his brother posted him the disk, he laid down his tracks from his computer in the spare room... sorry 'studio', and posted it back.
However - he insists that the whole package of ambience / atmosphere / and arguing you have when in a studio plays a big part in those last minute bursts of genius!

Answer 7

No just as broad band, high speed internet was not a relevant thing of the past.