heygermandude

"no garage door showing, wood floors, nice looking bass traps up.. two larger rooms separated by a glass partition."

These are not purely aesthetic concerns by any stretch. I bet the recordings sounded better because they were recorded in a better sounding room with better isolation between the drums and the other band elements.

Actually, (and to my surprise) they admitted they were more satisfied with the recordings I had given them. That was what their discussion was really about that I overheard.

Though I would be the first to agree that you can achieve better recordings in a room that is "more professional" whatever that perception to someone may be, application has its place.
My studio at that time was still a garage, but was very well treated and setup (aside from the garage door still existing haha). Both studios were hardwood floors, had the same type of bass traps in a similar application and both produced good sound. (i am not knocking them at all). But, the only real difference in our studios were a dedicated live room for the drums. I didn't have one. And a lot of their stuff looked a bit better (as in they matched or whatever as opposed to my stuff is all mismatched whether it be color or what).

It seems silly to rant about the difference between studios and how people perceive something 'ugly' as not sounding as good. And my point really is their perception of something to be prettier, they assumed things would sound better or they would be more satisfied. And me personally I probably would have been really happy with the drum separation at that studio (being a drummer myself) from the control room. So, that is easy to get. But what I'm saying is what it really comes down to is regardless of how pretty something is it about fidelity and the end result.

I dont blame them for thinking there would be a better result, I would have too. That studio looks great. I just recognize that looks are very important when attracting clients.

Oh, I misinterpreted what you meant by the blog post. That is frustrating.

5 years ago I Photoshopped a cover of MIX magazine that had a Pablo Escobar mansion-looking studio on the cover and changed it to "FAG". (No offense, homos.) Now my studio, while definitely not anywhere close to perfect, has many of the perquisite "real studio" thingies. A "real" console. Racks of bullshit. A giant computer monitor that I don't even like. Diffusors all over the place. A giant mic stand with a counterweight that often holds a big ass shockmount. All of these things separate me from their friend with a Tascam US-122 and Garageband.

None of this stuff matters in a vacuum.

What you are seeing is that sound quality ain't the only thing or even the most important thing. I imagine budget isn't either. They were looking for a certain experience. What experience? It doesn't really matter. They wanted to feel closer to what they imagine the "big boys" do it. (Ignore the fact that there have been tons of classic records that were done in crap holes.)

It's hard not to get old and not have a low opinion of humanity. In this particularly case, the band chased the flash. I think this happens to all of us. I've lost gigs because I didn't have sliding glass windows and consoles. These kinds of people are generally of low intelligence. I have no problem with people going with studios because they sound better or they inspire or whatever. Curtains is a TERRIBLE reason to pick one studio over another.

The decision you have to make is whether you want dumb clients. That, too, is a tricky question to answer, but my advice is to accept the fact that being a purist about priorities isn't the way the world works. I say play the game. Put up some pretty stuff. (It doesn't have to be NEARLY as expensive as you think.) Play the game. A 1x2 or 2x4 frame with fabric around it can cover a HUGE eyesore for $20, give or take.

If your friends are going to ditch you just imagine how many strangers are judging you in this fashion.

Oh, I misinterpreted what you meant by the blog post. That is frustrating.

'tis all good. I probably didn't blog it well enough out of frustration

(Ignore the fact that there have been tons of classic records that were done in crap holes.)

My thoughts exactly. Naturally there is no way to really convince someone chasing looks that sound is more important. That "experience" proved to be not so hot once they received their material. I hated that for them, but when can ya do.

If your friends are going to ditch you just imagine how many strangers are judging you in this fashion.

And that is probably the most fact filled statement regarding this blog entry. So really, if you are willing to play the game it comes down to what lengths to go to before a stranger can say "Oh yeah that looks really nice, must sound great!", or "I bet some hit recordings are made there!"... based solely off of a picture.

I too have been looking for studios (as I am sure we all have at some point) and looked at the photos page prior to listening to the provided samples of whats been recorded there. But, on the same respect I don't ignore the music!

Maybe we are just audio snobs?!

the presentation of your studio is also how your work is presented in some cases... if the guy looks like a slob he must be a slob, regardless if he is a high end wall street broker, do you want him to touch your money, woudlnt you be a bit skeptical of his abilities eventhough his portfolio is stacked? i think the same scenario can apply. Its sad to say but in our modern society books are often judged by the covers.

This weekend I just got introduced to a really nice studio that I can-not wait to outsource to (here is 2 thousand dollars I am going to record this band here for the next day and a half bugger off).
Fenix Recording & Rehearsal Studios - Recording
When you look at the pictures though you get the idea that you can easily charge 900 bucks for a recording here and no-one will complain. Hell they have carpets hung in the recording room so there is some def. something spiritual stuff going on there... man.

Your studio just like your home will reflect pretty well on who you are.
Just like evil mentioned.
And if you do something goofy like squat over your dog to fart on his nose your clients may end up just not getting it.
Though I will argue that it is more important to have a studio you feel yourself comfortable in.

For example..
The owner of this place was actually running the front-desk of the place... and did not get mad when I asked for 2 quarter inch cables (or when I bringth one back because it was stereo or when I mentioned that one of them is broken). His son was also around and he had the kid help us "record to disk" (As we kept running into a bunch of filled cds) not because I do not know how to do that !
Now on a Saturday you would expect a father and son to hang out fishing or something... but because they feel very at home there... well I can not imagine what they think.

So yea. Just do what you feel and know what you do.

Fenix Recording & Rehearsal Studios - Recording

and like I said.. the wow factor. I can't imagine anyone saying.. NAH.. I don't wanna record there.. it's TOO NICE. haha.

I can't imagine anyone saying.. NAH.. I don't wanna record there.. it's TOO NICE. haha.

This does happen but it's mostly counter-intuitive. When you realize you may lose a limb if you spill you beer, it makes it hard to have fun. Of course, "nice" and "effective" often go hand in hand with this gig and EVERYONE is worried that their babies (songs) are going to be mishandled.

Your studio just like your home will reflect pretty well on who you are.

Interesting. I'm not sure my life experiences have added up to the same synopsis. In that case the president is the "best" person in the world. I have no desire to hear how many corpses he's had sex with.

And if you do something goofy like squat over your dog to fart on his nose your clients may end up just not getting it.

Operating from a position of confidence is crucial. That comes from knowing that you can still be fun in just about any situation while still making them comfortable. It's easy to quantize overthinking that relationship into a few rigid presets that make sense for very few. Just be yourself. Hopefully, "yourself" is the kind of person that can be around people without alienating them. On the other hand some people NEED alienating.

Brandon

I'm pretty new to this whole "studio" thing. I'm just a hobbyist working in my livingroom. I've been going at it like a mad man, just working my own projects and lots of experimenting, so I'm using all my equipment pretty constantly and it's pretty well all over the room. I'd recently posted a picture of my "space" on a forum and someone commented on my keyboard stand (two old cardboard boxes). I hadn't really thought of how things looked, just doing whatever I could do to make things work for me on a small budget. I took a closer look at the picture I had posted and was a little embarrassed by the mess, which in the thick of battle I hadn't even noticed before. This got me thinking about how I could better organize things and maybe make them look more professional. I am nearing the point where I'd like to get some other people in here and see how that whole side of things works. Thanks for this post as I've found it very informative and helpful along the lines of how I've been thinking on how to handle my studio space.