Can a professional recording be made on home equipment

Hi everyone.

I've heard the word "demo" used here and there and I'm wondering if anyone knows how it all works. If I want to record a song or album for sale, is this something I can do at home with my own equipment, or do I only make a demo, send it to the record companies, and then go through the whole process again with them, or by myself in a professional recording studio?

Thanks!

yes. really theres nothing but money keeping you from having the exact same setup in a house as they have in a pro studio, some ppl have even completely walled and soundproofed basements and garages,

now if you mean budget home equipment then it gets trickier. and also depends on the sound you want from your music, but i think for a few grand you can put together a home studio that could fool all but the most ear educated.


oh and just thinking you can make a demo and send it to a record company and they will just invite you in and pay for you to make a pro recording. well sure that happens but its pretty rare and you have to be pretty damn awesome.

options would be
1. hope you are that damn awesome and the record company are so impressed with a demo they want you to record on their label

2. spend a few k and record your own stuff,

3. spend a few k and pay for space and time in a pro studio.

+1 to what number 7 said. its all about how much your willing to spend.
remember, a demo is exactly that, a DEMO.
it was either ride the lightning or mast of puppets that its demo was
recorded on a fostex X-15.
a friend of mine is a producer. he did the thong song if you know that one, and many more.
his home studio is sick. just dang sick.
you walk in and you would never know you werent someplace
special. its in his basement. has a living room with a huge tv, kitchen,
different recording rooms, guitar rack, i cant go on. its just sick.
all sound proofed like crazy. he wouldnt tell me what he spent, but
i bet it was a mint.

Originally Posted by: RNobodyHi everyone.

I've heard the word "demo" used here and there and I'm wondering if anyone knows how it all works. If I want to record a song or album for sale, is this something I can do at home with my own equipment, or do I only make a demo, send it to the record companies, and then go through the whole process again with them, or by myself in a professional recording studio?

Thanks!

We live in 2010. The world of digital recording at home is made easier than it has been ever in history. You can now record songs on your laptop that would rival what would cost you a small fortune 15 years ago. The time is now, and all you need are a few things.

1. Make sure you have a computer that runs properly and can handle the work. Recording audio files does work your computer, but not too much. Make sure your computer is updated, and in good shape.

2. Get a good recording program that you are comfortable with. There are many, many out there and some are even free if you search hard enough. I use Logic 9 and it works wonders for me. Having recording software and knowing how to work it is key.

3. Make sure you a decent set of headphones and monitors. If you have decent computer monitors, that will work just fine. Make sure you can hear what you do.

4. Get a good interface. You can spend $100 on an interface and that can account for a wealth of creativity. All you need is something to get from your guitar/mic to the computer. The interface is it.

5. Practice and Patience. You simply now need to put in the time to work with what you have. You honestly can make a little bit go a long way and many people on this forum can attest to that. You don't need much more than a creative mind and ear to make great recordings at home.

Question; what do you currently have now to record with?

I've been told that at a professional studio you're paying for the engineer's expertise more so that the equipment, so if you know how to use professional sound recording equipment at home, it might not be necessary to go to a studio.

That is true to some extent. However, with practice and time you can use your own stuff to make a great recording. We live in a modern age where home recording is easier and easier and you can really get a lot of mileage out of recording on your computer. It honestly takes practice, practice, practice; JUST LIKE THE GUITAR!

For me, I record as much myself as I can. I live in an apartment with 2 room mates; and my apartment is not a studio. When it comes to recording vocals, acoustic instruments, strings, etc; I do it myself if possible but due to room mates, noisy neighbors, I have a huge obstacle. If I can't do it myself; I will use a studio. If I am recording electric guitars, keys, bass, production stuff; I do it at home always. It just depends on your set up and how quiet your space is and so forth.

That being said, I don't consider myself an engineer and I always have someone else do the final mix and master for my recordings. Perhaps one day I can do this myself, but do as much as you can on your own; than turn it over to someone else to do the final mix and master. Make sure this is someone you trust and have a good relationship with and you have heard plenty of recordings they have done.

That is the end of my rant. Cheers! :eek:

I've been a member at this site well over 10 yrs. If you dig deep enough you'll get some really great info to get started and even if you're advanced. Just don't hang out in the "Cave"...I warrned you! Lol.

http://homerecording.com/bbs/

Home recording has got to a point wwhere you can indeed create a pro sounding project without having to spend all your time in a studio. As mentioned above, it's often the expertise of the engineer you're paying for when in a real studio, but with enough experience of your own (or that of a musically inclined friend, as was the case with most of the recordings I've been part of), you can do well at home.

It does also depend on the quality of the gear you have at your disposal. For example, my old band recorded two albums with a home setup, using pro monitors and mics, rack effects, a good desk, a souped-up Mac Pro for tracking onto with Logic (we previously used Cubase and Ableton Live), a MacBook Pro for testing ideas out and so on. The outcome was really cool.

What really lifted it all though was a professional mastering job. We got a pro mastering job done from a pro guy in Germany, and seriously, that made all the difference.

A great resource for the home recordist...

http://www.amazon.com/Mixing-Audio-Concepts-Practices-Tools/dp/0240520688

I've been through both sides of the process, having recorded on several occasions in professional level studios, done the tascam multi-tracker thing, and a bit of the "recording on my computer" stuff. I'm a bit of a dinosaur so I use a stand alone multi-tracker still (Korg D3200). I'd have to agree that you couldn't pick a better time to do home recording. There's just so much gear out there, and for the most part, its all cheaper and better than what we had in years past.

A decision that you might want to make is are you doing a "demo" or do you want to make something you can show & sell as a finished product? There are so many avenues for marketing right now, YouTube, Facebook, whatever... chances are if you do a decent job of recording a really great song, its going to catch on somewhere on-line.

A couple of things to add to the great advice already offered. Think about the mix. Do some reading & research, and really pay attention to how you're mixing the music. Don't just create a "wall of sound" with everything recorded in stereo and at the same volume. Learn to place your instruments in both the Left to Right stereo field, and tonally as well, so that a keyboard doesn't cover up a bass line, for example.

Another thing is we didn't use anything too fancy for our multi-tracking stuff, ACCEPT the microphone. I splurged for a Neuman TLM 103 mic and a good mic pre-amp... that really made all the difference in the world when it came time to recording the vocals. You could always cut vocals in a studio, so record everything else cheaply and then spend some bucks on a session for vocals. Saves you buying the gear. We mixed our own CD, but we did take it to a studio to have it professionally mastered before pressing.

It depends a lot on the equipment, sure, but just as much if not more on the technician. I would suggest speaking / e-mailing with a professional. My friend Andrew Henderson at Lost in Sound studio might be willing to address some of your concerns. His website is: http://www.getlostinsound.com/

Best,

~ Zac Sullivan, M.A. ~
http://www.fretzeroguitar.com

Life & music are sweethearts:
http://www.lifestylebreak.com/family/music-and-life-a-partnership-for-health/

Hey JonChorba, thanks for the book recommendation. It totally rocks and is relevant to today's technology!

Originally Posted by: Ty MorganHey JonChorba, thanks for the book recommendation. It totally rocks and is relevant to today's technology!

Hell yeah, dude! It's a really in-depth book and it even has a DVD with audio examples of compression, eq, and time based effect techniques.

GET IT! :)

Judge for yourself, I recorded these songs 100% with home equipment in a home. You can download the tracks for free on our website: www.witheverywind.com

Of just listen to them on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/witheverywind/sets/illusions

Also, head over to the Recording Revolution. Graham has TONS of really good articles and home recording. He's an advocate of making what you have work and is not a huge fan of pushing the latest cool plug-in.

My one tip to good recordings; Gain Staging