I have been stuggling with this issue for a while so I thought I'd toss it out there and let the experts have a go at it.
When I record instruments it try to capture exactly what I'm hearing.Then when I mix I try to fit them in there own space so there not stepping all over each other, using small amounts of Eq/comp/etc.

Do all of you think that the commercial studio as we now know it will survive? What can those of us who have commercial studios do to keep the lights on? I personally think that we are witnessing a metamorphosis of the business with most pop music production moving into personal studios.

Without going off the deep end about how expensive all the equipment is, I'm interested to learn about how one starts up a small commercial studio. Some things are obvious: you need acoustically-treated rooms for recording and control, for instance. But do you need to incorporate? What sort of business plan would you need? Ideas?

Hi again,

What do you think will be the timeframe when all studios will be expected to be surround sound capable? Or, in your opinion do you believe it will be a speciality request by the major label projects only (or just some major label projects)?

Regards,
Nathan Eldred
Atlas Pro Audio, Inc.
http://www.atlasproaudio.com

I'm ready to pack in the day job, and part of the retirement package gives me a lump sum of about 35K. I'll have a pension that I can live on. I can invest about 25K of the lump sum.
The decisions I'm faced with: