I was in the middle of writing a large reply when I thought of this.

You really should break this question up into heaps of small ones with specialised reponses. For example: instrument mics and technique, mixers, monitor systems, software, audio-digital interfaces, soundproofing & acoustics.

You will get much better, helpul response that way.

best of luck though.

tim...

Don´t.

I mean don´t start a studio that way. Your are going to loose your money.

Instead, buy expertize. Find people who has done this and hire them to help out. Start by doing a business plan, checking that there actually are customers willing to pay for this kind of job. Look around the world and find similar studios and try to get them to help you out with what helps them out. Do a bit of travel and visit them.

Once you know how to get your customers to pay, find out what those customers are asking for. Maybe your main customers will require you to use DAW brand x and mic brand y. Maybe the most important issue is that your studio is in the right part of the town. Maybe they don´t care at all, you have to find out.

Gunnar

ghellquist wrote: Don´t.

I mean don´t start a studio that way. Your are going to loose your money.

Instead, buy expertize. Find people who has done this and hire them to help out. Start by doing a business plan, checking that there actually are customers willing to pay for this kind of job. Look around the world and find similar studios and try to get them to help you out with what helps them out. Do a bit of travel and visit them.

Once you know how to get your customers to pay, find out what those customers are asking for. Maybe your main customers will require you to use DAW brand x and mic brand y. Maybe the most important issue is that your studio is in the right part of the town. Maybe they don´t care at all, you have to find out.

Gunnar

All good words of advice.

One thing I see a lot of is people coming into GC or Sam Ash with a fist full of money and wanting to buy "enough equipment to do some recording" The salespeople at GC and Sam Ash are only too glad to take the money and give the customer what is on "spif" this week. I recently was at GC and witnessed the following: Four young college age guys wheeling out a cart filled with equipment, there were microphones,speakers, an all-in-one digital audio console/cd burner and even a two slot CD duplicator. Interested I went over and asked what they were doing. "We each put in $1500.00 and we spent our $6,000 buying enought equipment to open our own recording/mastering/duplication business" Oh said I and what are you going to record? "We have friends that told us it would be great for us to have the equipment to do their recordings and we will advertise with leaflets at concerts we attend" I asked them where they had gotten their training in recording and mastering and one of them held up two books one on recording and one on mastering. "We are going to learn as we go and after we get good enough we are going to start charging for our services" I handed them a business card for my mastering studio but they handed it back saying they did not need it. The last I saw them was them trying to cram all the equipment in their car along with themselves. A couple of months later at GC I saw one of them trading in some equipment. I went over and asked how things were going ?"terrible" said the person. "The four of us thought we would be up and running in a couple of weeks and making money but after two months we are still doing recordings for our friends for free and we are in the process of looking for someplace to record since none of our parents wants us to record in their house" "We are seriously considerding selling off all the equipment and going into the mobile DJ business" I asked them if they had prepared a business plan before going into the "business" but I already knew the answer which was of course "NO"

You can't drive from one coast to the other without some kind of a map and a business plan is like a well thought out map/plan of who, what, where and when. If you can't come up with good answers to the tough questions a business plan will force you to answer then you may want to think about it more before going into this line of work. This is not to discourage you but just to make sure you do your home work before spending the big bucks and losing it all.

One other word of advice. Get your studio space nailed down first and then figure out how to equip it.

Best of Luck!

Instead of asking for suggestions, read these forums. Everything you've asked about has been covered, recovered and then covered again. Both facts and opinions abound and you should read everything you can and then make your own decision.

prapanch wrote: Please suggest the equiments for starting an pro audio studio.. . .mainly for audio ad jingle puposes, and maybe post-production..like background music and dubbing. . .

Suggest for the following
1. DAW
2. SOUND CARD INTERFACE
3. MONITORS
4. MICS
5. COMPRESSORS
6. DELAY/REVERB UNITS
7. DAT MACHINES
and anything more you feel i have missed out. . .

Hey Prapanch!

First off - Welcome to RO! :D

I know the answers listed so far probably don't make you happy and you are likely to run to a different forum to ask this question. My only advice is to listen with an open mind to the suggestions above. These guys are very smart and they definitely know what they're talking about.

If you truly are interested in starting a studio, you would do yourself one better by finding someone local in your area that you could volunteer with. Help them out and all the while, soak up as much knowledge as possible.

I'm making the assumption that you are fairly new to the game, but only because you're asking some very elemental questions. You will not serve anyone (including yourself) by rushing out and dropping hard earned dough on stuff if you don't have the proper training on how to use it. Instead, you will quickly gain a reputation of one who doesn't know what you're doing.

Take your time, be patient and learn. You can't just go to guitar center, spend a few thousand dollars and have a recording studio.

Where are you located? Perhaps there are some folks here on the boards who are looking for an eager intern/volunteer.

Thanks!
Jeremy

Cucco wrote: You can't just go to guitar center, spend a few thousand dollars and have a recording studio.

Well actually, you can. What you won't have is any customers.

Cucco wrote: [quote=prapanch]Please suggest the equiments for starting an pro audio studio.. . .mainly for audio ad jingle puposes, and maybe post-production..like background music and dubbing. . .

Suggest for the following
1. DAW
2. SOUND CARD INTERFACE
3. MONITORS
4. MICS
5. COMPRESSORS
6. DELAY/REVERB UNITS
7. DAT MACHINES
and anything more you feel i have missed out. . .

Hey Prapanch!

First off - Welcome to RO! :D

I know the answers listed so far probably don't make you happy and you are likely to run to a different forum to ask this question. My only advice is to listen with an open mind to the suggestions above. These guys are very smart and they definitely know what they're talking about.

If you truly are interested in starting a studio, you would do yourself one better by finding someone local in your area that you could volunteer with. Help them out and all the while, soak up as much knowledge as possible.

I'm making the assumption that you are fairly new to the game, but only because you're asking some very elemental questions. You will not serve anyone (including yourself) by rushing out and dropping hard earned dough on stuff if you don't have the proper training on how to use it. Instead, you will quickly gain a reputation of one who doesn't know what you're doing.

Take your time, be patient and learn. You can't just go to guitar center, spend a few thousand dollars and have a recording studio.

Where are you located? Perhaps there are some folks here on the boards who are looking for an eager intern/volunteer.

Thanks!
Jeremy

THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!!! I WILL GO BY WAT YOU SAY..MAYBE I SHOULD BROSE THE FORUMS THOGROUGHLY...THANKS ONCE AGAIN

First off, I have a day job. Recording is a hobby for me. I don't make enough to pay for my pizza habit, much less live on.

I started off with Cool Edit (not the PRO version) a soundblaster card and a couple of (old, crappy) borrowed mics and an (old, crappy) borrowed mixer. I did a few live recordings of small-venue events - a guy and a guitar - a girl singing, a guy with a guitar - etc.

After a few recordings and a few mixes, based on the feedback I was getting, I decided I had the right stuff. Then I started picking things up a little at a time - learning all the time. I had some grand plans at one time, and I'm damn glad I didn't go through with any of them because I had no idea what I was doing at the time (now that I look back on those times).

If you want to drive race cars you don't go out and buy an Indy car - you start off in go carts, 1/4 midgets, etc. You and your equipment grow up together until you get to the point where you don't need to ask what comes next - you know.

Start slow - learn as you go - make sure you have the "right stuff" and a reasonable chance at paying clientele before you dive into the deep end.

[edit] by "right stuff" I mean ears, brain, etc - not gear [/edit]

Okay, here you go-------------

1. Decide exactly what business you are going to get into. This will dictate your equipment needs. It will also determine what type of space you will need. Do you need a large studio (for bands, etc.) or just a booth for ADR and voice-overs.

2. Have your budget firmly in place. Remember that fully one third of your equipment budget is going to be for cables, racks, a desk, power conditioning, etc. This DOES NOT include rent, utilities, marketing, phone/fax/internet, insurance and all the other things people forget when starting up a business. It may sound stupid, but the cosmetics of your workspace has a big influence on how much work you will get. There are quite few other "project" studios in my area which are actually better equipped than I am, but I spent a little extra time and money so that my studio is a comfortable place to work and as a result I get more work.

3. Try to keep everything "in the box", as little outboard equipment as you can get away with. I do audio post for film and video, so everything is done in ProTools LE on a G5. The only outboard stuff I use are mics and mic pres.

4. Don't go cheap on anything. You'll be much better off with one really good versitile mic than a collection of inexpensive mics for example.

Gain some experience by interning, finding a mentor, reading books and mags, surfing the 'net, sticking your fingers into everything you can and LEARN, LEARN, LEARN, LEARN, LEARN!!!!! I've been in the entertainment industry for almost 30 years, mostly as a performer, and I am still learning, almost on a daily basis. Be patient, which for me is by far the hardest thing to do. I got into audio post about three years ago. I have just completed the first season of a network cartoon and begin season two next month, I've done ten shorts, one feature, have one in-house and another pending. To me it felt like an eternity getting here, yet everyone here at RO and my other groups have remarked upon the speed with which my career in audio post has progressed.

You're in the right place for info and advice. There are many other forums and groups out there that can be a help as well. Good luck!!!!

As important as gear if not more is to have good acoustics, good ears , a comfortable space for people to play and something which you don't have to buy which is sympathy and professionalism.