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Hi there.

I posted this on another forum a while back.

I don't know if any of you caught this on TV in the UK but 'The Gadget Show' on Channel 5 done a show on how home recording stands up against high-end studio production. The programme ran an experiment with one of its presenters using PC based recording software from home whilst another presenter used Pete Waterman's recording studio. Their results were judge by alleged industry experts.

You can watch the 17 mins airing http://fwd.five.tv/…"]here[/]="http://fwd.five.tv/…"]here[/]. I think there may be a 1 minute advert first.

I was paying attention to the gear in all cases. I'm a sceptic when it comes to programmes like this as I feel their always geared towards advertising and product placement. Having said that, I felt they gave a fairly good representation of what would be used in both sets of circumstances.

However, I think it could only have been a fair shootout if both producers were trying to recreate the same song or if the same producer was used in each set of circumstances being compared.

Home
- Reason 4 - £250
- GarageBand '08
- M Audio Oxygen 8 USB Midi Controller - £50
- KRK Rokit Powered 5 G2 Monitors - £229
- Dunlop Heil Talkbox - £123
- Various other stuff unlisted (mic, amp etc)

Studio
- SSL 4000 G+ Console - $50,000
- Sony C800G Tube Condenser Mic - £3000
- Neve 1073 Preamps - £2466 per channel
- SE Reflection Filter - £194
- Melodyne Plugin - £200

AND. The Winner was. The Home Studio's offering. This should stimulate some discussion.

Regards

LiD

Comments

RemyRAD Mon, 03/02/2009 - 14:01

It definitely sounds like a commercial for pitch correction software. But that process does fascinate people. Of course it all means why there are those of us here. While the recording studio, with their half million dollar investment is more geared toward recording actual bands & instruments, they have the same $500 worth of software you can have at home. For a technically savvy solo artist, with a knack for video games, you'll be producing "stuff" in no time. For an artist, concerned more about their art than video games? A recording studio with competent staff, cannot be avoided. For everything else? There's MasterCard.

Priceless
Ms. Remy Ann David

JoeH Mon, 03/02/2009 - 15:17

It's all apples and organges anyway. Put someone like Chuck Ainlay or Phil Ramone or (Name your favorite producter/engineer here) in a private home/project studio, and they'll probably blow away a commercial studio's offering. The reverse is true as well.

What about the talent in front of the mics? Neither of these two had much to begin with, so it's hard to really judge.

The line is so completely blurred any more, it's almost pointless to debate it. You can buy vintage mics and $2k preamps, with killer converters, and do it all in your living room or friend's basement. IF you know what you're doing, that is. Doesn't matter to me where I work; I'm going to capture it where it's best to be captured, then I'm bringing it back to my private facility anyway to mix/edit & master it. Perhaps the most important part of the whole chain, as that first DJ guy said is good monitoring so you know what you're working with all the way through, right up to the final mix/master.

It comes down to your budget, goals, and preferred workflow. If you want to have someone else do it for you in toto, turn-key style, with a set budget as she did, hire a pro studio and let THEM do it. If you want to DIY and tweak it to your heart's content (as he did, even without a singing voice), you can easily work from home, or a project studio IN your home.

Perhaps the single most over-used tool in the pop biz right now is the melodyne software. I don't know the guy's name, but there's one rap/R&B artist who doesn't really even use his own voice anymore, it's all vocoded/pitch corrected. Mr. Robot, indeed.

Davedog Tue, 03/03/2009 - 14:03

I found this very interesting and after the second play wasnt so much into whether someone 'won' but whether someone on a budget could generate the kind of horsepower needed to produce a clean and clear representation of their art.

I really dont feel there is much of a battle between the two differing environments and gear selections.

I do know, however, that I am totally in love with Suzy Perry and that accent and those eyes have got me considering moving to England and possibly stalking her for a few years.