Top 8 Reasons to Use a Pro Recording Studio
Originally posted on http://evermoresound.com/blog/top-8-reasons-to-use-a-pro-recording-studio
As a musician, this is one of the best eras to be creative.
Thanks to advances in technology, we have been spoiled with a wide range of ways to record our musical ideas.
Many years ago, composers, arrangers, and musicians had to jot down melodies on anything they could find so as not to forget the idea.
If they didn’t jot it down, the idea could easily escape into thin air without ever being heard.
Today, we can literally sing, hum, or even play these musical ideas straight into our smartphones with just a click of a button.
So with all the choices of affordable microphone preamps, digital interfaces, laptops, and recording software, why should we still use a recording studio to record our music?
This blog hopes to explain the reason you should still use a professional recording studio.
What can a Professional Recording Studio do?
A recording studio is a specialized facility for recording, production, and mixing.
This can be for spoken words, vocals, instrumentals, or any other form of recording.
Professional recording studios are often large buildings with spaces for multiple bands, musicians, and even a full orchestra.
Recording studios are ideally equipped with both monitoring (mixing and listening) and recording spaces.
These spaces are designed specially by an audio engineer or acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties.
This helps to reduce echo that could otherwise interfere with the final results.
The saying that “you get exactly what you pay for” is true for so many things, including recording music in a studio.
You can’t expect your song to sound as clear and clean as a release by a John Legend or Red Hot Chilli Peppers whose tracks must have been produced at a recording studio staffed with experienced and knowledgeable professionals.
Additionally, if outside help is needed, the experience and skills of the session musicians being used by professional recording studios are especially important.
It would be a tragedy if you wind up working with a so-called “bedroom producer”…
…who does not know the importance of setting up a good sound-treated room for recording live instruments, despite having all the necessary equipment.
Professional recording studios that are worth your time and money will make it clear how experienced or qualified their members of staff are.
What Does an Audio Engineer do?
An audio engineer is a trained professional who works with the mechanics of recording, mixing, and reproduction of sound.
Audio engineers are different from sound producers as they specifically deal with the mechanical and the technical aspects of recording sound and music.
However, some audio engineers assume the role of a producer or go on with their careers to double as sound producers.
Often, audio engineers assist musicians and record producers to help give their work the sound they want to achieve.
How do I Find a Record Producer?
You have probably spent a lot of time and effort writing your music…
…so when it is time to lay down the tracks, it is crucial to choose a recording studio and producer that shares your musical vision.
Here are some tips on finding the right recording studio and producer.
- Go for a producer with recording experience in your genre.
- Thoroughly research the producer and check to see the music they have produced before booking studio time.
- Make sure you know exactly what you want to achieve and what you want the sound to be before approaching them.
- Ask the producer to send you samples of their most relevant work of music.
- Is their communication clear and are they easy to deal with?
- It is important to be confident with the producer you plan to work with and let him work his magic to get the best out of your recording.
Why Use a Professional Recording Studio?
Having great vocals and writing down suitable lyrics is all good, but having a logical musical arrangement that pulls it all together makes it even better.
How you derive the final product – the expertise used to produce it and the type of audio equipment will make all the difference in determining how far it will go and who will listen.
The audience you are creating the music for is also an important factor.
Are you a song lyricist with plans to make music and forge a career?
Or do you simply want to record a track or two so you can play it for your spouse, or maybe you are a producer who has to create the perfect sound for musical projects?
the case may be, you will need a professional recording studio at some point along the way.
There are many recording studios with different types of equipment, but it is a given that the more ambitious you are, the more likely you will need to do a professional recording.
1. Knowledge and Experience
Anyone who has ever tried their hand at recording will know that there is a lot more involved than just pointing a mic and pressing record.
An experienced studio engineer knows the right mic to use, where to point it, and the external equipment that will sound best with it.
This will save you tons of time (and money) getting it recorded the right way the first time.
The main reason you should use a professional recording studio is the expertise of its producer or engineer.
This is because they have logged thousands of hours of recording in different styles of music.
Their insight might be all you need to take your music to the next level.
Having trained professionals behind the board is a great way to ensure you have a successful recording.
Audio engineers have the required experience and knowledge to help you turn your sound into a polished, warm, and clean sound.
Studio engineers not only have an ear for what works best musically but are also prepared to help critique your music.
Having an extra set of ears listen to your music can take what used to be a bedroom recording into an actual hit song.
2. Top-Notch Equipment
Although you can churn out lots of music from home, the resulting recordings are sometimes of inferior quality as compared to those made by a professional recording studio.
Lack of live instruments makes it nearly impossible to get the type of clean and rich sound available at a recording studio.
Besides, most users of the digital audio workstation (DAW) lack the proper training and knowledge to get the most out of it, even with a tutorial.
They also lack the necessary skills to edit, mix, and master a track the right way.
All of this means you might end up hurting your music career rather than helping it.
If you are serious about making great music that is desirable to listeners, it is important to use a professional recording studio.
After all, there is a reason studio engineers are well trained.
If you have ever seen the picture of any professional recording studio, you will easily understand why your home studio isn’t a match.
Professional studios spend lots of money into acquiring microphones, software, hardware and musical instruments.
When it comes to creating that sound in your head successfully, having all these options at your disposal opens the door for more creativity.
Often, at home we cannot achieve the sounds we have in our heads and this is often because of the lack of equipment and or experience.
Working in an Orlando recording studio with all the equipment you need can open the door to more creative expression.
3. Acoustics
Another reason why you should use a professional recording studio is the recording environment.
Sound needs space to propagate and do its thing.
There is a lot of science behind how waveforms interact and behave with each other.
In an untreated space, this can cause frequency cancellation or augmentation, unwanted reflections, and likely issues in the low end.
Professional recording studios are acoustically treated and soundproofed in a way that helps to significantly reduce sound fluctuations.
You will understand the importance of acoustic treatment if you have ever recorded yourself in the bedroom.
Working in an acoustically treated room allows you to know that what you are hearing during playback is exactly what you should be hearing.
The high end is crisp, the mid-range is warm, and the bass response is tight.
With a properly treated room and great gear, you will notice things you have never heard before in your performance.
4. Advanced Technology
Over the last few years, technology has exploded, allowing music production equipment to be brought into the comfort of the home.
However, although this equipment is convenient, it pales when compared to the very expensive recording equipment professional recording studios offer.
This equipment allows recording studios to dissect the music they work on, to perfect it even to the minutest details.
If music is your life, you should not settle for anything less than the best equipment you will find in a professional recording studio.
5. Don’t Take Your Work Home
Working in an Orlando recording studio can make your recording stress-free.
You can free up your schedule by paying someone else to record, mix, and edit your music.
It can also give you more time to write more songs.
Why waste time learning how to make your music sound right when you can easily pay someone else to do it and spend your time writing your next album?
Save yourself the heartache and stress, leave the work to the professionals in the recording studio and spend your time on other important things such as rehearsing, networking, and writing.
6. Team Work
At the end of the day, making music is not a solo endeavor; it is more of a team effort.
A team of professionals you will only find in a professional recording studio can help you in creating the best music possible.
It is important to value your time.
As an aspiring artist, your music is probably not paying the bills.
Your mind might not be as creative and sharp as it ought to be when you get home from your regular job.
You have to spend a lot of time writing songs, and recording them yourself may even seem more tedious.
So it is important to pass that task to professionals whose day job is recording music.
7. Freedom to be Creative
Musical creativity and engineering use different parts of the brain.
If you are the songwriter, engineer, and producer in your home studio, you will most likely wear all the hats.
Would it not be nice to focus on your music rather than on the equalization of the snare drum?
When you go to an Orlando recording studio, you are enlisting the help of professionals to handle the technical aspects of your recording.
8. Produce a Superior Finished Product
Step up your creative process by having a team of professionals behind your music.
You will significantly increase the possibilities of creating an album people won’t easily throw in the trash…
… when your only job is to make music and you allow someone else to do the recording for you.
Professional recording studios have the musical knowledge, the right gear, and the abilities to make your recordings sound better than your wildest imagination.
It is important to have a superior finished product to promote so that people can take you seriously.
Recording in an Orlando recording studio gives you the confidence that your music sounds comparable to all your favorite records and should help you feel proud of your product.
If you are really interested in having a career in music, whether as a music producer, artist, or musician, it is smart to invest in a recording studio.
A professional recording studio gives you an environment that removes all barriers from capturing the ultimate recording.
Luckily our Orlando recording studio is cost-effective and convenient.
At Evermore Sound, we have recorded many award-winning records and would be delighted to help you on your journey.
Evermore Sound is one of the best recording studios in Orlando, Florida.
Feel free to contact us and learn more about our space, client list and gear.