Originally Posted by joeq ➡️

I disagree.

It is definitely a terrible idea.
take a look around you. You are on a website that is one of the most successful sites of its kind because it caters to people who are recording themselves - that is the new paradigm.



IMO, running a studio and worrying about trying to make enough money to live on as you would from a 9-5 job will do nothing for your mental health in the long run. I have run studios all my life and even in the boom times, there are um... dry spells. Business comes and business goes.

You have to have something to take up the slack. 9 to 5 may be a grind but it is a steady paycheck. I got into teaching and a few other things that gave me more flexible hours. IMO, the existential dread of not having this month's mortgage or rent payment; of not having money for food; will be a greater psychological strain. I don't even think it is necessary to try it to understand this point.


you do not need a mixing desk at all if you mix itb. You need an interface with the capacity of X inputs and X amount of preamps if they are not included in the interface. You will want a headphone distribution system.

Everyone is saying you need to distinguish yourself. Clearly your budget will not let you accomplish that with your gear list. I don't know what reputation you have as a great engineer in your local community. But consider that your potential clients are all musicians - the brokest and most irresponsible group of people on the earth. How big is your city? How many other studios are there competing for business?

I work at a studio that is still in business, but we have a huge, extremely well treated room and a gorgeous grand piano and iso booths galore. A band can track in there, with great sight lines and separation and headphones. Where will your studio be located? In a room in your house? Just like the band's home studio? If it is in a commercial space, what is the rent?

One idea that might suit your low-end local-band concept would be to set up a mobile rig. You and the bands find a place to record - their rehearsal room, someone's barn, a church basement, anywhere where there is a good acoustic. Go there, set up and track. Then hopefully you get the mixing gig. You wouldn't need to provide the drums or amps then. This is something you could set up and see how it goes before you quit your day job or go part-time.

Originally Posted by stylesforfree ➡️

Thanks for the link to the podcast, giving it a listen now.

Originally Posted by stylesforfree ➡️

I'm very depressed and I've been drinking nearly every day. All motivation has drained away from me and I've completely disconnected from life.

Originally Posted by stylesforfree ➡️

I'll be coming into some money soon and I have been thinking about setting up a small recording/tracking studio business for bands/artists to hire to record demos.

This is probably a terrible idea but I don't want to work 9-5 anymore for anyone else and with this never ending cycle of existential dread that I have been endlessly enduring while suffering from other mental health issues, I've decided to take a run at doing something I will enjoy before I decide to give up.....

So to start I will probably be running the software side of things on a macbook pro M3, either with Logic, Reaper or Cubase.

I currently have a couple of Drawmer compressors (1968 & 1978) and I have a few analog mono synths (moog subsequent 37, sequential pro 3, korg ARP)
Starting a small studio setup on a budget is totally doable if you prioritize smart gear choices and efficient workflows. One thing that really helped me was outsourcing non-core tasks like customer support and admin so I could focus on recording and mixing. I found this article useful: https://wow24-7.com/blog — it covers how outsourcing can streamline small creative businesses. Definitely worth a read if you're juggling everything solo.
I also have a few decent tube amps (Fender deluxe, supro black magick, supro amulet) and have plenty of fx pedals and some decent guitars too.

I have an RME fireface UFX II, a patchbay and a pair of Wharfedale Diamond Pro monitors.

So my main issue is that I am lacking a decent drum kit, some decent microphones and a mixing console, I'll also need some mic preamps and a couple of EQ's. I currently have my eye on a Warm Audio WA273-EQ.

I was thinking of picking up a 12 channel mixer, maybe a TL audio M1 tubetracker.

I think all in all, I would like to be able to build up a facility that can cater to small bands that involve a drummer, bassist, rhythm and lead guitar and vocalist and possibly a keys player.

I'm looking for suggestions on how I would go about setting up a small budget friendly studio by adding some decent pieces of gear to what I currently have.

Or if I am just going to be tracking bands, do I just need a basic, decent mid range mixing desk and the RME interface? Do I keep it minimal in this respect?