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Post by antbar on Jun 6, 2023 7:37:10 GMT -6
My wife and I are looking to convert our basement into a small studio, so I'm trolling this forum high and low. We were prompted to get serious about the studio idea after a recent attended mastering session. The ME's place was really simple - nice, rectangular room lined with bookshelves and CD racks. The room sounded wonderful and natural. (Cedar, man!) He turned us on to the guy who did the build and we had him come by last week to take a look at the basement. I showed him my current studio setup. He said "Looks like Star Trek!" I'm only guessing, but between his motorcycle and his cowboy boots, maybe "Star Trek" wasn't a compliment? Regardless, yeah, I like vibe-y rooms. The basement studio will likely be simpler and less 1967.
I made a record in London at a studio run by an engineer/producer that the guys in my band had worked with many times before. He was sort of a legend in my head. His studio was so basic... grey and blue was the color scheme, lighting by Ikea. The engineer himself even wore grey and blue. Once we started rolling, the "vibe" made itself clear. Obviously it's down to all sorts of things... the people in the room, the material, the chemistry. No matter how matter-of-fact things were during those sessions, there was a proper great feeling in that space. I've wished for years I could return to work in that room again. Vibe, in this case, was very much what we brought with us.
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Post by unit7 on Jun 7, 2023 12:46:01 GMT -6
A very late reply to the original topic.. One thing I've thought about since I worked in the EMI studio in Stockholm for the first time in the early 90's is the "psychology" of having a big (from foot to ceiling) window in the control room, from the side of the room. Instead of the common situation where the producer and engineer hide behind the desk, this gives a more transparent communication between the CR and the musicians. I produced a bunch of albums in the 90s in that studio and almost never sat down when the musicians played. Instead I wandered back and forth, gave cues, waved and cheered sometimes which I believe made the musicians more relaxed. EMI sold off their studios many years ago and now the same studio is called Baggpipe Studio, pics here: baggpipe.com |
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Post by Omicron9 on Jun 8, 2023 11:00:42 GMT -6
Some interesting replies; thanks, all. My original post and query was triggered by working in two new (to me) studios recently. By "vibe," I don't mean anything to do with gear, workbenches, coffee, etc. I mean when you walk into the live room, how does it feel to you? Do you want to immediately get to work? Does its look/feel/atmosphere seem to be one of creativity? Or does it feel like a hospital? I've performed in so many studios over the years that I feel as if I can work equally well just about anywhere, but there are some studios that make me feel like yeah, I WANT to be in here. Others make me feel like as soon as this session is over, I'm out of here. Not in a I-want-to-hang-out kind of way, but more of an off-putting feeling instead of a welcoming/embracing feeling. Arduous to describe what I'm getting at. I'm sure one man's creative space is another man's hospital vibe, but just curious as to what kind of live room environment folks are drawn to and why.
When I built my previous and current studios, I had years of experience at other studios, so I knew what I wanted/didn't want for the live room feel.
-09
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Post by antbar on Jun 8, 2023 12:38:22 GMT -6
Some interesting replies; thanks, all. My original post and query was triggered by working in two new (to me) studios recently. By "vibe," I don't mean anything to do with gear, workbenches, coffee, etc. I mean when you walk into the live room, how does it feel to you? Do you want to immediately get to work? Does its look/feel/atmosphere seem to be one of creativity? Or does it feel like a hospital? I've performed in so many studios over the years that I feel as if I can work equally well just about anywhere, but there are some studios that make me feel like yeah, I WANT to be in here. Others make me feel like as soon as this session is over, I'm out of here. Not in a I-want-to-hang-out kind of way, but more of an off-putting feeling instead of a welcoming/embracing feeling. Arduous to describe what I'm getting at. I'm sure one man's creative space is another man's hospital vibe, but just curious as to what kind of live room environment folks are drawn to and why. When I built my previous and current studios, I had years of experience at other studios, so I knew what I wanted/didn't want for the live room feel. -09 I made my most recent record in a handful of studios nearby, all of which were new to me. One of the studios was "in some guy's house." Or, really... it WAS his house. He had a dedicated control room built outside the house with your standard lava lamp and Bowie/Beatles posters on the wall, but all tracking was done in the living room. We got great drum sounds and everyone had a comfy whatever to sit on. Not clinical by any means, but certainly a practical space. Even when we landed on a great take, the feeling of listening back was always kinda matter of fact. There's something intangible that *wasn't* present even if the recordings were all keepers. The next place I used was more a proper space, though reliant more on its remote location for soundproofing than anything else. My wife knew the owner for his work as musician and while his studio tech tended to be a few hundred years out of date, he knew the gear well and the result we got were always really nice. His house kit wasn't fancy, but it just had such a righteous sound. It sat next to a chopped Hammond which seemed stuck in overdrive. Whether anything needed repair or not, the gear sounded fab. The tracking room was comfortably big, but still felt cosy. There was no talkback mic. When I was in the iso booth doing vocals, my wife would pop her head in to relay messages like "maybe do the second chorus again?" That's vibe! The third studio I used was the most "proper" space, owned by a fellow with a history of working with all manner of groovy weirdos. His place was great. I first worked there as guest musician on a friend's band's record. I knew from that session I wanted to do my own work in this place. My wife and I booked a full day, but the owner let us split the session across two half days so we could take advantage of his guest house for the night. We lived only 40 minutes away, but being able to immerse myself in the recording until wiped out and then slither across the driveway to watch an hour of Danzig videos before crashing was nice. The next day's work fell on the hottest day of the year... something like 115F! The 40 feet between guest house and A/C'd studio was a challenge. Anyway, his studio was wonderful. Instruments everywhere and of all sort, from classic to quirky. The sound of his main room was lovely. I could hear the air move around me yet still felt I was working in secret. I've mostly done all my own overdubs at home for years, but being able to record really loud guitars was a treat. Of these three studios, this was the one that got photographed for the album artwork, right? This was the place of all-vibe, all-the-time. The latter two studios are in Grass Valley, CA and the fourth studio, where we did the mastering, is in Nevada City. NC is thought of as a very vibe-y place in its own right and it felt good to wrap up the record there. I mentioned in a previous post that the ME's space was what inspired me to want to build a nice little studio in our basement at home. His studio was nothing but vibe. Much of that was on him - fascinating, responsive fellow. I've never worked with a mastering engineer who tunes into lyrics like he did. My first few records were mastered by the late George Horn at Fantasy. Classic, custom designed mastering zone. Working with a new (to me) ME in a room that was open and filled with books and daylight was in real contrast to other sessions I've attended. Long ramble from me, sorry, but I'm fascinated by studio vibe! |
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Post by Omicron9 on Jun 9, 2023 9:47:41 GMT -6
Some interesting replies; thanks, all. My original post and query was triggered by working in two new (to me) studios recently. By "vibe," I don't mean anything to do with gear, workbenches, coffee, etc. I mean when you walk into the live room, how does it feel to you? Do you want to immediately get to work? Does its look/feel/atmosphere seem to be one of creativity? Or does it feel like a hospital? I've performed in so many studios over the years that I feel as if I can work equally well just about anywhere, but there are some studios that make me feel like yeah, I WANT to be in here. Others make me feel like as soon as this session is over, I'm out of here. Not in a I-want-to-hang-out kind of way, but more of an off-putting feeling instead of a welcoming/embracing feeling. Arduous to describe what I'm getting at. I'm sure one man's creative space is another man's hospital vibe, but just curious as to what kind of live room environment folks are drawn to and why. When I built my previous and current studios, I had years of experience at other studios, so I knew what I wanted/didn't want for the live room feel. -09 I made my most recent record in a handful of studios nearby, all of which were new to me. One of the studios was "in some guy's house." Or, really... it WAS his house. He had a dedicated control room built outside the house with your standard lava lamp and Bowie/Beatles posters on the wall, but all tracking was done in the living room. We got great drum sounds and everyone had a comfy whatever to sit on. Not clinical by any means, but certainly a practical space. Even when we landed on a great take, the feeling of listening back was always kinda matter of fact. There's something intangible that *wasn't* present even if the recordings were all keepers. The next place I used was more a proper space, though reliant more on its remote location for soundproofing than anything else. My wife knew the owner for his work as musician and while his studio tech tended to be a few hundred years out of date, he knew the gear well and the result we got were always really nice. His house kit wasn't fancy, but it just had such a righteous sound. It sat next to a chopped Hammond which seemed stuck in overdrive. Whether anything needed repair or not, the gear sounded fab. The tracking room was comfortably big, but still felt cosy. There was no talkback mic. When I was in the iso booth doing vocals, my wife would pop her head in to relay messages like "maybe do the second chorus again?" That's vibe! The third studio I used was the most "proper" space, owned by a fellow with a history of working with all manner of groovy weirdos. His place was great. I first worked there as guest musician on a friend's band's record. I knew from that session I wanted to do my own work in this place. My wife and I booked a full day, but the owner let us split the session across two half days so we could take advantage of his guest house for the night. We lived only 40 minutes away, but being able to immerse myself in the recording until wiped out and then slither across the driveway to watch an hour of Danzig videos before crashing was nice. The next day's work fell on the hottest day of the year... something like 115F! The 40 feet between guest house and A/C'd studio was a challenge. Anyway, his studio was wonderful. Instruments everywhere and of all sort, from classic to quirky. The sound of his main room was lovely. I could hear the air move around me yet still felt I was working in secret. I've mostly done all my own overdubs at home for years, but being able to record really loud guitars was a treat. Of these three studios, this was the one that got photographed for the album artwork, right? This was the place of all-vibe, all-the-time. The latter two studios are in Grass Valley, CA and the fourth studio, where we did the mastering, is in Nevada City. NC is thought of as a very vibe-y place in its own right and it felt good to wrap up the record there. I mentioned in a previous post that the ME's space was what inspired me to want to build a nice little studio in our basement at home. His studio was nothing but vibe. Much of that was on him - fascinating, responsive fellow. I've never worked with a mastering engineer who tunes into lyrics like he did. My first few records were mastered by the late George Horn at Fantasy. Classic, custom designed mastering zone. Working with a new (to me) ME in a room that was open and filled with books and daylight was in real contrast to other sessions I've attended. Long ramble from me, sorry, but I'm fascinated by studio vibe! Cool post; thanks for sharing it, antbar. This is exactly the kind of thing in which I was interested and hoped folks would share. -09 |
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Post by antbar on Jun 9, 2023 10:37:26 GMT -6
I made my most recent record in a handful of studios nearby, all of which were new to me. One of the studios was "in some guy's house." Or, really... it WAS his house. He had a dedicated control room built outside the house with your standard lava lamp and Bowie/Beatles posters on the wall, but all tracking was done in the living room. We got great drum sounds and everyone had a comfy whatever to sit on. Not clinical by any means, but certainly a practical space. Even when we landed on a great take, the feeling of listening back was always kinda matter of fact. There's something intangible that *wasn't* present even if the recordings were all keepers. The next place I used was more a proper space, though reliant more on its remote location for soundproofing than anything else. My wife knew the owner for his work as musician and while his studio tech tended to be a few hundred years out of date, he knew the gear well and the result we got were always really nice. His house kit wasn't fancy, but it just had such a righteous sound. It sat next to a chopped Hammond which seemed stuck in overdrive. Whether anything needed repair or not, the gear sounded fab. The tracking room was comfortably big, but still felt cosy. There was no talkback mic. When I was in the iso booth doing vocals, my wife would pop her head in to relay messages like "maybe do the second chorus again?" That's vibe! The third studio I used was the most "proper" space, owned by a fellow with a history of working with all manner of groovy weirdos. His place was great. I first worked there as guest musician on a friend's band's record. I knew from that session I wanted to do my own work in this place. My wife and I booked a full day, but the owner let us split the session across two half days so we could take advantage of his guest house for the night. We lived only 40 minutes away, but being able to immerse myself in the recording until wiped out and then slither across the driveway to watch an hour of Danzig videos before crashing was nice. The next day's work fell on the hottest day of the year... something like 115F! The 40 feet between guest house and A/C'd studio was a challenge. Anyway, his studio was wonderful. Instruments everywhere and of all sort, from classic to quirky. The sound of his main room was lovely. I could hear the air move around me yet still felt I was working in secret. I've mostly done all my own overdubs at home for years, but being able to record really loud guitars was a treat. Of these three studios, this was the one that got photographed for the album artwork, right? This was the place of all-vibe, all-the-time. The latter two studios are in Grass Valley, CA and the fourth studio, where we did the mastering, is in Nevada City. NC is thought of as a very vibe-y place in its own right and it felt good to wrap up the record there. I mentioned in a previous post that the ME's space was what inspired me to want to build a nice little studio in our basement at home. His studio was nothing but vibe. Much of that was on him - fascinating, responsive fellow. I've never worked with a mastering engineer who tunes into lyrics like he did. My first few records were mastered by the late George Horn at Fantasy. Classic, custom designed mastering zone. Working with a new (to me) ME in a room that was open and filled with books and daylight was in real contrast to other sessions I've attended. Long ramble from me, sorry, but I'm fascinated by studio vibe! Cool post; thanks for sharing it, antbar. This is exactly the kind of thing in which I was interested and hoped folks would share. -09 Glad if it does the trick. I'm far more tuned to vibe and chemistry and such than to the tech side of recording. I've got a million more tales... Ask me whose toenail clipping was on the floor of the control room in Studio Two! |
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Post by tonygunz21 on Jun 24, 2023 22:06:53 GMT -6
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Post by drbill on Jun 24, 2023 23:07:37 GMT -6
Thanks man! Appreciated!! I like it.  Wish it was a little bigger so I could fit more gear though..... Haha! |
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Post by antbar on Jul 15, 2023 10:11:10 GMT -6
![]() Having trouble uploading photos, so I've edited my post a few times now. Basically... "Look, an orange wall and a purple door! It must be a studio under construction!" |
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Post by thehightenor on Jul 16, 2023 5:13:44 GMT -6
I can only have freedom of musical imagination in a tidy clean studio.
My dad taught me - spiritual freedom through discipline.
So I do Yoga, exercise, I'm highly organised and tidy and totally free thinking in my creativity.
But I'm left handed and that might be part of the way that works for me.
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Post by notneeson on Jul 18, 2023 23:13:14 GMT -6
Natural light, windows. So much more pleasant on long days than the typical cave studios you find in urban settings.
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Post by Omicron9 on Jul 21, 2023 8:22:37 GMT -6
I can only have freedom of musical imagination in a tidy clean studio. My dad taught me - spiritual freedom through discipline. So I do Yoga, exercise, I'm highly organised and tidy and totally free thinking in my creativity. But I'm left handed and that might be part of the way that works for me. Agreed. Disorganization, clutter, mess, etc., always strikes me like visual static. I can almost hear the in-between-stations-on-a-TV static noise when I see a space like that. My studio is very neat and organized, and that almost makes it visually disappear for me, if that makes any sense. IOW, I'm not focusing on anything visually; I can totally focus on all things audio instead of visual. -09 |
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Post by Omicron9 on Jul 21, 2023 8:24:42 GMT -6
Natural light, windows. So much more pleasant on long days than the typical cave studios you find in urban settings. Agreed. My first studio I built was dark. Black carpet, dark stone wall, small windows. I liked it for the most part, but my current place is white, bright, big windows. I've learned you can make a light space darker, but you can't really make a dark space brighter. -09 |
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Post by nobtwiddler on Aug 10, 2023 19:23:11 GMT -6
I've only moved into my new space 10 days ago...
It's literally been hell.
But, I'm getting close.
Right now it's really about putting things in place...and then slowly wiring it up, and ringing it out.
But that said, I took a few quick pics tonight, after wiring all day.
Trying to recreate the vibe my places were always know for.
Gonna take some doing, as I just arrived, but it's doable.
As long as everything works as it should, the vibe of a room is one of the most critical things for clients, (and me toooo!!)
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Aug 14, 2023 22:10:04 GMT -6
I've only moved into my new space 10 days ago... It's literally been hell. But, I'm getting close. Right now it's really about putting things in place...and then slowly wiring it up, and ringing it out. But that said, I took a few quick pics tonight, after wiring all day. Trying to recreate the vibe my places were always know for. Gonna take some doing, as I just arrived, but it's doable. As long as everything works as it should, the vibe of a room is one of the most critical things for clients, (and me toooo!!) Very nice! Reminds me a bit of Sylvia Massy's place. I love the trees out the windows too. |
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Post by notneeson on Aug 16, 2023 8:14:47 GMT -6
Some interesting replies; thanks, all. My original post and query was triggered by working in two new (to me) studios recently. By "vibe," I don't mean anything to do with gear, workbenches, coffee, etc. I mean when you walk into the live room, how does it feel to you? Do you want to immediately get to work? Does its look/feel/atmosphere seem to be one of creativity? Or does it feel like a hospital? I've performed in so many studios over the years that I feel as if I can work equally well just about anywhere, but there are some studios that make me feel like yeah, I WANT to be in here. Others make me feel like as soon as this session is over, I'm out of here. Not in a I-want-to-hang-out kind of way, but more of an off-putting feeling instead of a welcoming/embracing feeling. Arduous to describe what I'm getting at. I'm sure one man's creative space is another man's hospital vibe, but just curious as to what kind of live room environment folks are drawn to and why. When I built my previous and current studios, I had years of experience at other studios, so I knew what I wanted/didn't want for the live room feel. -09 I made my most recent record in a handful of studios nearby, all of which were new to me. One of the studios was "in some guy's house." Or, really... it WAS his house. He had a dedicated control room built outside the house with your standard lava lamp and Bowie/Beatles posters on the wall, but all tracking was done in the living room. We got great drum sounds and everyone had a comfy whatever to sit on. Not clinical by any means, but certainly a practical space. Even when we landed on a great take, the feeling of listening back was always kinda matter of fact. There's something intangible that *wasn't* present even if the recordings were all keepers. The next place I used was more a proper space, though reliant more on its remote location for soundproofing than anything else. My wife knew the owner for his work as musician and while his studio tech tended to be a few hundred years out of date, he knew the gear well and the result we got were always really nice. His house kit wasn't fancy, but it just had such a righteous sound. It sat next to a chopped Hammond which seemed stuck in overdrive. Whether anything needed repair or not, the gear sounded fab. The tracking room was comfortably big, but still felt cosy. There was no talkback mic. When I was in the iso booth doing vocals, my wife would pop her head in to relay messages like "maybe do the second chorus again?" That's vibe! The third studio I used was the most "proper" space, owned by a fellow with a history of working with all manner of groovy weirdos. His place was great. I first worked there as guest musician on a friend's band's record. I knew from that session I wanted to do my own work in this place. My wife and I booked a full day, but the owner let us split the session across two half days so we could take advantage of his guest house for the night. We lived only 40 minutes away, but being able to immerse myself in the recording until wiped out and then slither across the driveway to watch an hour of Danzig videos before crashing was nice. The next day's work fell on the hottest day of the year... something like 115F! The 40 feet between guest house and A/C'd studio was a challenge. Anyway, his studio was wonderful. Instruments everywhere and of all sort, from classic to quirky. The sound of his main room was lovely. I could hear the air move around me yet still felt I was working in secret. I've mostly done all my own overdubs at home for years, but being able to record really loud guitars was a treat. Of these three studios, this was the one that got photographed for the album artwork, right? This was the place of all-vibe, all-the-time. The latter two studios are in Grass Valley, CA and the fourth studio, where we did the mastering, is in Nevada City. NC is thought of as a very vibe-y place in its own right and it felt good to wrap up the record there. I mentioned in a previous post that the ME's space was what inspired me to want to build a nice little studio in our basement at home. His studio was nothing but vibe. Much of that was on him - fascinating, responsive fellow. I've never worked with a mastering engineer who tunes into lyrics like he did. My first few records were mastered by the late George Horn at Fantasy. Classic, custom designed mastering zone. Working with a new (to me) ME in a room that was open and filled with books and daylight was in real contrast to other sessions I've attended. Long ramble from me, sorry, but I'm fascinated by studio vibe! Which one is Tim Green? (I’ve never been to his spot but he has mastered a few things I mixed and/or tracked). My first mastering experience was also with George Horn, although I was just the keyboard player and didn’t attend. Too bad about Fantasy. |
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Post by antbar on Aug 16, 2023 21:12:15 GMT -6
I made my most recent record in a handful of studios nearby, all of which were new to me. One of the studios was "in some guy's house." Or, really... it WAS his house. He had a dedicated control room built outside the house with your standard lava lamp and Bowie/Beatles posters on the wall, but all tracking was done in the living room. We got great drum sounds and everyone had a comfy whatever to sit on. Not clinical by any means, but certainly a practical space. Even when we landed on a great take, the feeling of listening back was always kinda matter of fact. There's something intangible that *wasn't* present even if the recordings were all keepers. The next place I used was more a proper space, though reliant more on its remote location for soundproofing than anything else. My wife knew the owner for his work as musician and while his studio tech tended to be a few hundred years out of date, he knew the gear well and the result we got were always really nice. His house kit wasn't fancy, but it just had such a righteous sound. It sat next to a chopped Hammond which seemed stuck in overdrive. Whether anything needed repair or not, the gear sounded fab. The tracking room was comfortably big, but still felt cosy. There was no talkback mic. When I was in the iso booth doing vocals, my wife would pop her head in to relay messages like "maybe do the second chorus again?" That's vibe! The third studio I used was the most "proper" space, owned by a fellow with a history of working with all manner of groovy weirdos. His place was great. I first worked there as guest musician on a friend's band's record. I knew from that session I wanted to do my own work in this place. My wife and I booked a full day, but the owner let us split the session across two half days so we could take advantage of his guest house for the night. We lived only 40 minutes away, but being able to immerse myself in the recording until wiped out and then slither across the driveway to watch an hour of Danzig videos before crashing was nice. The next day's work fell on the hottest day of the year... something like 115F! The 40 feet between guest house and A/C'd studio was a challenge. Anyway, his studio was wonderful. Instruments everywhere and of all sort, from classic to quirky. The sound of his main room was lovely. I could hear the air move around me yet still felt I was working in secret. I've mostly done all my own overdubs at home for years, but being able to record really loud guitars was a treat. Of these three studios, this was the one that got photographed for the album artwork, right? This was the place of all-vibe, all-the-time. The latter two studios are in Grass Valley, CA and the fourth studio, where we did the mastering, is in Nevada City. NC is thought of as a very vibe-y place in its own right and it felt good to wrap up the record there. I mentioned in a previous post that the ME's space was what inspired me to want to build a nice little studio in our basement at home. His studio was nothing but vibe. Much of that was on him - fascinating, responsive fellow. I've never worked with a mastering engineer who tunes into lyrics like he did. My first few records were mastered by the late George Horn at Fantasy. Classic, custom designed mastering zone. Working with a new (to me) ME in a room that was open and filled with books and daylight was in real contrast to other sessions I've attended. Long ramble from me, sorry, but I'm fascinated by studio vibe! Which one is Tim Green? (I’ve never been to his spot but he has mastered a few things I mixed and/or tracked). My first mastering experience was also with George Horn, although I was just the keyboard player and didn’t attend. Too bad about Fantasy. Tim Green's place is Louder, if that's what you mean! With the Danzig vids in the guest house etc. I loved working with him/at his place. Would happily go back for another long session with him. The mastering engineer in Nevada City was Oz Fritz, Grammy winner for his work with Tom Waits. He and Tim are pals, which makes sense. Both of them are solid people, which is a vital part of "studio vibe." |
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Post by notneeson on Aug 17, 2023 8:25:41 GMT -6
Which one is Tim Green? (I’ve never been to his spot but he has mastered a few things I mixed and/or tracked). My first mastering experience was also with George Horn, although I was just the keyboard player and didn’t attend. Too bad about Fantasy. Tim Green's place is Louder, if that's what you mean! With the Danzig vids in the guest house etc. I loved working with him/at his place. Would happily go back for another long session with him. The mastering engineer in Nevada City was Oz Fritz, Grammy winner for his work with Tom Waits. He and Tim are pals, which makes sense. Both of them are solid people, which is a vital part of "studio vibe." I just meant one of the places had to be Louder but I wasn’t sure which. I also worked on a project that Oz Fritz touched, but we didn’t get to interact. He was famous (per our mutual client) for carrying around a bunch of location recording DAT tapes of things like jungle noises etc. some of which made there way into the mixes. |
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Post by antbar on Aug 17, 2023 8:59:53 GMT -6
Tim Green's place is Louder, if that's what you mean! With the Danzig vids in the guest house etc. I loved working with him/at his place. Would happily go back for another long session with him. The mastering engineer in Nevada City was Oz Fritz, Grammy winner for his work with Tom Waits. He and Tim are pals, which makes sense. Both of them are solid people, which is a vital part of "studio vibe." I just meant one of the places had to be Louder but I wasn’t sure which. I also worked on a project that Oz Fritz touched, but we didn’t get to interact. He was famous (per our mutual client) for carrying around a bunch of location recording DAT tapes of things like jungle noises etc. some of which made there way into the mixes. One of the easy connecting points with Oz was indeed location recordings... the album I was mastering had loads of sounds brought in from my travels. A song written about a drunk Hungarian woman on the train to Prague featured said drunk Hungarian singing "Happy Birthday" to a bunch of not-as-drunk German men! I'm a very "write what you know" type, but also I'm a "make field recordings of what you're writing about "type, too! Anyway, Oz is one of the most far-out/grounded people I've met. My basement studio was built by the fellow that did Oz's room. Oz will, once things here are finished, hopefully pop down the hill and help me do some drum tracking. |
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Post by antbar on Aug 23, 2023 17:15:16 GMT -6
For me, the biggest thing was simply having most things connected and/or mic'ed up already so that we can act fast, move fast. When I lived in Berlin, my home studio was in the smallest room in our apartment. High-ceilinged rectangular room with solid, concrete walls on two sides and, as ours was a two-floor place, nobody above. My room, compact as it was, was both very well treated acoustically (nearby studio going out of biz sold me a LOT of foam padding), and had everything I needed either directly to hand or was wired to work from a few feet away. A perfect way of working for a one-person operation. |
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Post by antbar on Sept 8, 2023 12:05:25 GMT -6
I'm sure I've posted more in this thread than elsewhere on the site, but my basement studio is nearly finished. And vibe is its main feature. You'd laugh if you saw it... my "desk" is a stainless steel med cart from a long-gone local mental hospital. One wall is painted bright orange to go with the purple door, the other wall is concrete blocks. Soundproofing - keeping sound in/out - isn't a concern, as we live on a farm. Sound treatment consists of a load of purple foam squares from Amazon. I'll never be a pro engineer, but I can make records on my own and I can now easily import musicians into a space that's comfortable and flexible. I've got Oz Fritz not far up the road willing to engineer, and a stellar drummer also into doing sessions here. Both of these guys have worked in the best studios around, but they're down with the "anything, anywhere, as long as it's good" approach. I have zero channels of API, but I've got a comfy sofa!
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Post by gravesnumber9 on Sept 8, 2023 12:56:32 GMT -6
I'm sure I've posted more in this thread than elsewhere on the site, but my basement studio is nearly finished. And vibe is its main feature. You'd laugh if you saw it... my "desk" is a stainless steel med cart from a long-gone local mental hospital. One wall is painted bright orange to go with the purple door, the other wall is concrete blocks. Soundproofing - keeping sound in/out - isn't a concern, as we live on a farm. Sound treatment consists of a load of purple foam squares from Amazon. I'll never be a pro engineer, but I can make records on my own and I can now easily import musicians into a space that's comfortable and flexible. I've got Oz Fritz not far up the road willing to engineer, and a stellar drummer also into doing sessions here. Both of these guys have worked in the best studios around, but they're down with the "anything, anywhere, as long as it's good" approach. I have zero channels of API, but I've got a comfy sofa! Sounds a little bit like where The Joker might make a record if he was given recreation time in Arkham Asylum. |
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Post by Omicron9 on Sept 9, 2023 16:09:49 GMT -6
I'm sure I've posted more in this thread than elsewhere on the site, but my basement studio is nearly finished. And vibe is its main feature. You'd laugh if you saw it... my "desk" is a stainless steel med cart from a long-gone local mental hospital. One wall is painted bright orange to go with the purple door, the other wall is concrete blocks. Soundproofing - keeping sound in/out - isn't a concern, as we live on a farm. Sound treatment consists of a load of purple foam squares from Amazon. I'll never be a pro engineer, but I can make records on my own and I can now easily import musicians into a space that's comfortable and flexible. I've got Oz Fritz not far up the road willing to engineer, and a stellar drummer also into doing sessions here. Both of these guys have worked in the best studios around, but they're down with the "anything, anywhere, as long as it's good" approach. I have zero channels of API, but I've got a comfy sofa! Would dig seeing pics if you feel comfortable sharing! -09 |
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Post by antbar on Sept 9, 2023 17:13:44 GMT -6
I'm sure I've posted more in this thread than elsewhere on the site, but my basement studio is nearly finished. And vibe is its main feature. You'd laugh if you saw it... my "desk" is a stainless steel med cart from a long-gone local mental hospital. One wall is painted bright orange to go with the purple door, the other wall is concrete blocks. Soundproofing - keeping sound in/out - isn't a concern, as we live on a farm. Sound treatment consists of a load of purple foam squares from Amazon. I'll never be a pro engineer, but I can make records on my own and I can now easily import musicians into a space that's comfortable and flexible. I've got Oz Fritz not far up the road willing to engineer, and a stellar drummer also into doing sessions here. Both of these guys have worked in the best studios around, but they're down with the "anything, anywhere, as long as it's good" approach. I have zero channels of API, but I've got a comfy sofa! Would dig seeing pics if you feel comfortable sharing! -09 I'd be happy to - once things are settled enough. Right now it looks like a basement with a piano obscured by drums etc. I'd like to slick things up a little for the cameras! |
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Post by antbar on Sept 28, 2023 14:48:32 GMT -6
My humble studio is now up and running. One thing I like about it, vibe-wise, is that it's quite variable. There's sun through the window in the morning and afternoon, and at night it's dark as I want or lit with various mood lights... here's a pic of the inaugural session. It started as a joke, but my hometown band is doing a reggae album. Huh! I'm editing to add a couple more pics. Nighttime vibe in the "control room" corner, and "songwriter's corner" opposite side of the room... ibb.co/YhJgJR9ibb.co/51F1MjGibb.co/2djwnLc |
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