Market demand in Ireland

digitaldeath

Hey guys, just wondering what the studio demand is like in Ireland, or am I better off sticking with just mixing projects with my home setup?

I'd love to upgrade so I could track drums etc. but I honestly dunno if there's a "market" demand for studios and if I'd be just wasting my money for the odd full-tracking & mixing project I'd get.

Rockshamrover

digitaldeath wrote: »

Hey guys, just wondering what the studio demand is like in Ireland, or am I better off sticking with just mixing projects with my home setup?

I'd love to upgrade so I could track drums etc. but I honestly dunno if there's a "market" demand for studios and if I'd be just wasting my money for the odd full-tracking & mixing project I'd get.

Good question.

Robin Ball

There is a lot of 'studios' in Ireland, too many at the moment for the demand. I'd say if you wanted to record go to one of the good ones and save money!

PaulBrewer

Digital ,

It's a conundrum I face daily with my customers.

My view is, like Robin's, Ireland is full of 'Studios' .... notice the apostrophes.

As a rule there's little to separate a lot of these institutions technically - and the results they get musically.

However there are many examples of Studios around the country who have carved a niche - a niche the owners aren't getting particularly rich on, but a niche none-the-less.

That's the secret (as it is in most business' ) a Unique Selling Point.

That can be your space, location, a particular combination of gear, acoustics ... and not to be forgotten, Studio Personnel.

I know lots of guys who runs quite successful studios in Ireland - I know a lot more that don't.

Best of Luck if you decide to take the plunge !

DamagedTrax

as i'm someone trying to get a new studio off the ground my advice to you is to be very thick skinned and be prepared for a lot of waiting. if you're good and your name gets out there, then the work will eventually come but until you build up a client base it can be very very hard to generate an income.

dav nagle

Drum room = twice as much space = twice the rent, so if you can cover 1k a month plus your living expenses be that renting an apartment or paying a mortgage on top then your set! So your studio needs to be taking in 1500 just to live every 30 days and then you need to make profit on top of that!

The breakdown:

Studio rent: 800
House rent: 500
Bills: 300

Total: 1600 (before profit)

krd

dav nagle wrote: »

Drum room = twice as much space = twice the rent, so if you can cover 1k a month plus your living expenses be that renting an apartment or paying a mortgage on top then your set! So your studio needs to be taking in 1500 just to live every 30 days and then you need to make profit on top of that!

The breakdown:

Studio rent: 800
House rent: 500
Bills: 300

Total: 1600 (before profit)

Why do small studios have drum rooms any more?

I mean, I think it would be a good idea, on the day of recording, you sent the drummer to a rehearsal room somewhere and had them believe you were recording their drums, while you were back in the studio building the drum track on EZ drummer or whatever. The drummer is never going to know.

This is a reason, I'd never like to own a studio - and have to listen to a day of a drummer whose snare sounds like he's hitting a wet nappy - and he can't even hit that in time. Like someone hitting a ***** filled nappy out of time.

Rockshamrover

krd wrote: »

Why do small studios have drum rooms any more?

I mean, I think it would be a good idea, on the day of recording, you sent the drummer to a rehearsal room somewhere and had them believe you were recording their drums, while you were back in the studio building the drum track on EZ drummer or whatever. The drummer is never going to know.

This is a reason, I'd never like to own a studio - and have to listen to a day of a drummer whose snare sounds like he's hitting a wet nappy - and he can't even hit that in time. Like someone hitting a ***** filled nappy out of time.

Is a drum room really necessary?

You could always get a good electronic kit. Have the drummers use that. They get to play on the track and you get midi drums that you can manipulate to your hearts content.

PaulBrewer

There's nothing like a good drummer doing his thang - off which there are loads in Ireland .

With the world being de-personalityised by Beat Dehomogenousective etc - anything you can do to give a track some personality is a positive.

I was on a session recently with one of our esteemed Boards Person where the drummer was doing an untypical, but musical, drum fill.

In the course of the day it was suggested that the fill got removed.

I thought otherwise - because the drumming then became the same as on any track.
At least it now had some personality - which a program can't really give.

An electronic kit is a totally different playing experience for a player too - the sort that could put a chap and therefore the session, off ...

A good drum room, of which there aren't an abundance about, is a definite positive for a studio aimed at rock.

Aridstarling

PaulBrewer wrote: »

There's nothing like a good drummer doing his thang - off which there are loads in Ireland .

With the world being de-personalityised by Beat Dehomogenousective etc - anything you can do to give a track some personality is a positive.

I was on a session recently with one of our esteemed Boards Person where the drummer was doing an untypical, but musical, drum fill.

In the course of the day it was suggested that the fill got removed.

I thought otherwise - because the drumming then became the same as on any track.
At least it now had some personality - which a program can't really give.

An electronic kit is a totally different playing experience for a player too - the sort that could put a chap and therefore the session, off ...

A good drum room, of which there aren't an abundance about, is a definite positive for a studio aimed at rock.

+1 to all this. I genuinely believe there are huge benefits to having a good drum room. And a great drum room even more so. Not everything can be achieved with an e-kit, not by a long shot.

Rockshamrover

Aridstarling wrote: »

+1 to all this. I genuinely believe there are huge benefits to having a good drum room. And a great drum room even more so. Not everything can be achieved with an e-kit, not by a long shot.

No doubt about it the real thing done properly is always going to be better.

How much would that cost though to do properly and is there enough business out there to justify that cost?

Just wondering.

digitaldeath

I have a Roland TD-3 e-kit, but overheads and hi-hats never seem right to me (Toontrack, XLN Audio etc.)
I could offer e-kit recording, or acoustic kit recording...most of an acoustic kit would be sample replaced anyways (hard rock/metal), so it's only my overheads that are hugely important.
I could not send a drummer off to somewhere else while I program their parts, that won't get me more customers. And convincing drummers to record on an e-kit won't always swing well, even if using real hats and cymbals!

Robin Ball

I am a drummer, I have been playing for 20 years... spending countless hours learning how to hit the drums so a sound comes out that I like. If any studio engineer would ever suggest that I use an electronic kit I would promptly leave the facility.

I am concerned with head types, tuning, dampening... cymbal choice, kick beater type. All of this changes with each song. Different drums tuned in small amounts to achieve the sound and texture to match the song.

I expect the people that I work with to be professional and have the space and equipment to make those small differences count. There are those facilities and people here in Ireland to get the job done, they are usually expensive and for good reason.

If you are looking to be one of these then a drum room is essential...

Robin Ball

but it costs a lot....

digitaldeath

Robin Ball wrote: »

but it costs a lot....

As I drummer, I agree with you 100% Robin, unfortunately that is not always the case with the reality of recording drummers. Most are lucky to have decent cymbals. Experimenting with drum heads? Most don't even know how to tune their snare!
I guess I'll try record my own kit here at home and see what kinda results I can get. Less than ideal, I know, but still better than nothing I suppose.