5 Reasons to Record at a Professional Recording Studio.
As musicians, we've found ourselves in one of the best eras to be creative. With technology, we've been spoiled with hundreds of different ways to record our musical ideas. Years ago, musicians, arrangers, and composers had to jot down melodies on anything they could find just to remember that idea. If they forgot to jot it down, that idea could have escaped into the universe without ever being heard. Now, we can literally hum, sing, or even play these musical ideas right into our Smart Phones with the click of a button! Now that's awesome!
So, with all the choices of recording software, laptops, digital interfaces, affordable microphone preamps, and everything else in between, why should we still record our music in the studio? In this blog, I hope to explain 5 reasons why we should still record in a professional recording studio.
Experience & Knowledge
Having trained professionals behind the board is pertinant to a successful recording. Audio engineers have the knowledge and experience to help you craft your sound into a clean, warm, polished sound. Studio engineers have an ear for what works musically and are prepared to help critique your music. Having an extra set of ears can help take what was once a bedroom recording, into an actual hit song!
Top of the Line Equipment
If you've ever seen pictures of professional studios, you'll understand why your home studio just doesn't compare. Studios spend tens of thousands of dollars into hardware, software, microphones, and sometimes instruments. Having all these options opens the door for more creativity when it comes to successfully creating that sound you have in your head! Sometimes, at home we can't achieve the sounds we have in our heads, and sometimes it's due to the lack of experience and or equipment. Working in a studio with great equipment opens the door to more creative expression.
Acoustics
Studios are sound proofed and acoustically treated in ways that reduce sound fluctuations. If you've ever recorded yourself in your bedroom you'll understand why acoustic treatment is necessary. When working in acoustically treated rooms, you know what you're hearing during playback is exactly what you should be hearing. The bass response is tighter, the mid range is warm, the high end is crisp. With great gear and a properly treated room, you'll notice things you've never heard in your performance.
Don't Take Your Work Home with You
Working in the studio can be stress free. The way music should be! Paying someone else to record, edit, and mix your music frees up your schedule to write more songs. Why spend time learning how to make your music sound like your favorite record when you can pay someone else who already knows how, when you could be writing your next album? Without fail, every personal project I've written, recorded, edited, and mixed, had me pulling out my hair 24/7. I couldn't stop thinking about how I needed to finish something or record a new part. It really puts a damper on relationships! Save yourself the stress and heartache, leave the work at the studio and spend your time on more important things, such as writing, jogging, networking, and rehearsing.
Produce a Superior Finished Product
Having a team of professionals behind your music really steps up the creative process. When the only job you have is making music, and the recording is up to someone else, the potential of actually creating an album people won't throw in the trash has significanlty increased, roughly 98%! In all seriousness, professional studios have the right gear, the musical knowledge, and abilities to make your recordings sound better than you could have ever imagined. If you want people to take your music serious, you must have a superior finished product to promote. Recording in a professional studio gives us confidence that our music sounds comparable to all our favorite records and should help us feel proud in our product.