Quick tip 101 Budget recording

Lets face it, most of us don’t have the money to fork out for two weeks of studio time to record an album. In my experience quality studio time goes from €200 upwards crazy prices, but if we try to stay in realistic prices, €500 a day. That is a lot of money for any independent artist! So what can we do to reduce that bill?

Get a basic recording setup. The chances are you might be reading this on a computer. If so, you already have the first component. Invest in an audio interface and a microphone. Teach your self to use one of the recording softwares, Cubase, LogicPro X, ProTools, Ableton… The list is endless. For all of them there are thousands of YouTube tutorials, so you should get up to speed fast enough. Learn the basics about recording levels, again loads of stuff on YouTube. And you can start tracking parts of the songs at your home. For example it would save you a lot of time if you brought guide tracks in to the studio, instead spending time recording something you are not going to use in the end. You can also get equipment to D.I. the electric guitar or bass, and then just re-amp them in the studio. This will save you a lot of time.

Also ask if the studio does any night-time rates, or if you are going to block book several days, ask if you can get a discount, but only do this if you are in a position to pay it in advance. There is never any harm in asking. Also ask recommendations from fellow musicians, sometimes the fanciest looking studio might not be the best quality and might charge you more for the facilities (Playstation, pool table… are you in the studio to waste time, or to work?). Be smart with your recording budget.

J.P.

The author J.P. Kallio is a singer songwriter
To get EIGHT of his songs for free go HERE