[Secret Agent Man]

Yes. Internet IS the distribution and video release mechanism. Don’t need big record labels. Archaic. Litigious. Screwed their own pooch.

[Perdogg]

Can you get freeware to manipulate existing mp3s?

[Mr. Jeeves]

I recorded my CD at home - just had a professional mastering engineer give it a quick review when I was done. Used Logic and Sony ACID - the hard part was the actual performance, not the technical aspects of recording. I’d agree that studios are in big trouble.

[GeronL]

amaze.fm

[John Will]

1000 dollar PC and software, maybe 3000 for a quiet room. I don’t see a need for a studio anymore.

[gaijin]

cannot WAIT until this happens to the motion-picture industry.

Will take more time, but can’t but happen, by and by.

[TheStickman]

1 2006 Macbook 2 ghz Core 2 Duo + 2 gigs ram + firewire sound interface + Shure 58 mic + Mackie 1202 board + Logic Express = all I used to release my last CD.

Can listen here for free http://stickmanbleeding.artlife.us

Our Airman son produced the music video on the front page also.

Peace

[230FMJ]

bump for later

[KoRn]

The advancements in technology to allow musicians to make quality recordings themselves are great! I remember back when there was no hope of putting quality music onto media without either being signed by a record label or knowing someone who owned a studio.

With this technology being affordable, combined with the internet, the big traditional ‘record companies’ are nearly irrelevant.

[Cacique]

btt

[RedStateRocker]

I’ve got a dedicated 16 track digital recorder, and a Mac with Garageband.
The Fostex (16 track) can record 8 tracks at once, great for live recording. I have a synth (Roland Vsynth) a MM ‘Ray and a Strat hooked up to tie imac even as I type this.

Now there is still a place for studios - two things most homes lack are a good acoustic space and enough room to have four or five people play at once; IMHO it’s still better to track as much live as possible for some kinds of music, but gone are the days of needing a half million Neve board or 2” 15ips tape.

[wku man]

Maybe the big studios could and should go the way of the dinosaur, but I can tell you there will always be a need for good facilities and people who know how to produce a quality recording.

I have a "home studio", and can't produce my way out a paper bag! Fortunately, there a number of local studios here in Boise, and people who really know how to tweak the knobs to turn out a professional recording.

Many songwriters are like me, in that they can create a good song, but they need a producer to maximize its potential.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[I Shall Endure]

Rudi Van Gelder recorded some of the greatest jazz in history in his parents’ living room in Hackensack. Everything old is new again.

[dynamitehack]

For longtime veterans, such as pop songwriter Marshall Crenshaw, who recorded his first album in 1982, laptop studios infect music with an ultimately “plastic sounding” experience. He has never used GarageBand and prefers to make his album in the studio, which he says is “a magical place” because it blocks out distractions and allows for creative clarity.

Mr. Crenshaw argues that the recording industry’s bottom line encouraged the growth of digital music software, but ended up creating the very reason why record sales have declined every year. Consumers, he says, devalue music because the new standards have made it sound so disposable.

“That’s why [the industry] is crashing and burning,” he says. “It’s really a craft. I have a lot of respect for a good recording engineer who can really paint that sonic picture. That person really does a service to humanity, in my opinion. I love to listen to a beautiful sounding recording. That people don’t strive for that anymore ... is a really bad sign for where we’re at as a culture."

No one seemed to notice when the computer radically changed the printing industry where I had been employed for the last 27 years.

I remember when trained typesetters complained about the inferior quality of work being produced by their former customers...money talks, typesetters are a thing of the past. Same with people that were trained to do four color separations for print reproduction.

The rapid improvement in technology wiped out the need for million dollar equipment and highly paid operators. The ultimate result of the technological revolution converted printing from a true craft into nothing more than another commodity.

The music industry had better get used to it...the same thing is happening to them!
'Hack

[FreeManWhoCan]

One of my best friends has been producing at home since he had an Amiga. Now he uses only Macintosh. He never uses a studio. Here is a link to his new CD which he produces under the name ALPHA WAVE MOVEMENT:

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~alphawav/cosmicmandala.html

And yes he HATES, BHO.

[ShadowAce]

[paulycy]

What interests me is how to set up the best sounding software-based synth sounds (particularly for analog-sounding strings, brass, orchestra and jazz) instead of using dedicated hardware synth boxes.

I’m starting from scratch with freeware and will build over the next couple years. But I’m not even sure where to start. I’m fine on music, editing, arranging, etc. but not at all knowledgeable about gear beyond open source software for win.

Any experts out there know a good path for me to follow?

[JerseyHighlander]

Various guys I know have put together home studios from $10k to about $240k .

For 10k you can build a studio to release semi-pro country, bluegrass, and guitar rock albums.

For $85k you can put together a decent ensemble blue grass, chamber quartet, or piano studio that can record in full EAX 7.1 HD2 and other highest quality recording standards.

For $240k you can get hired as a professional to do intro, outro and advertiser bumpers for cable networks. You will also be able to rent yourself out as a producer for various better off musicians. You also need lots of space cause you’ll be hired to do ensemble stuff.

All of these guys spent decades in the music industry before they got to where they are. Several have masters/PhDs in music field or production or sound engineering and went self-employed route after losing the corporate gigs.

For those who want to start quickly, check out the newest ubuntu release of the distribution called ‘Ubuntu Studio’. Has everything you need except the mic’s and talent to get you started.

[antiRepublicrat]

It will hurt a bit, but don’t expect to just buy some good software and be done. You need the isolated, soundproofed room. Your average everyday microphone isn’t going to cut it either. There’s thousands of dollars worth of equipment to buy just to get started with anything remotely resembling a professional studio.

But that’s nothing. Aside from all the equipment, a professional engineer is expensive, and good luck getting one to come to your converted bedroom to do his job.

[sand lake bar]

Here’s a cool Christmas song my daughter and I recorded in our basement using Cubase and Wavelab.

http://alturl.com/p4tj