[cosus]

I have no idea about music, but I'm trying to help a friend with his ambitions of playing music and building a music supplementary company. The underlying theory is that 1) large labels will cease to exist as a major influence, 2) People will be producing music at their own homes more and even less reliance of studios, 3) One big issue with bands are getting good quality instruments for shows, and 4) Studios generally are in crappy neighborhoods… though that makes sense considering Los Angeles and California in general being a musical mecca the penniless musicians and pseudo musicians and live in crappy neighborhoods. Back on point, 5) Getting a studio perhaps in more popular saturday night neighborhoods, and lastly 6) post production is expensive, a decent computer, buying protools or logic pro/studio, and the mac necessary.

My friend's original idea was to start just a high quality equipment rental company with a warehouse and no delivery included. It's for those performances where you want better equipment that you can't afford when just starting. My idea was to have a studio and post-op facility in one complex. The Studio would supply the big equipment and just be scheduled as I imagined post-op would occupy take more time unless you are really, really good. After my friend convinced me that the ratio to computers and studio would be out of whack considering my idea was to have only one studio and that seems insufficient. If that's bad I was thinking just stick to the mixing and post-production part. Financing the software and computers, perhaps a mixing engineer or two to help people out too and make sure equipment stays put. Have either cubicles and headphones or speakers and small enclosed rooms.

[Yontsey]

I don't like the idea of renting equipment and then using it in a studio. There's a lot of risk if you're using high end equipment to people that want to play out live with it, whether it being damaged/abused, needing constant setting up, messing up things in the head and all that jazz. Come to think about it, I've never really even heard of anything like this. In my career in music, every serious or signed band I have played with, mine included, has already acquired good to high end equipment and when they go to record, any good studio will have a good selection of guitars, basses, amps, and the like.

Correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds like, as far as the studio goes, you're talking about doing a DIY studio with an engineer/producer on hand as well as employing an in-house mixer and master engineer. Starting up a studio is not cheap. You have to properly handle the acoustics of the rooms, as well as sound proofing, as well as the high end cost of mics, computers, software (Pro Tools HD, which is studio standard, can cost anywhere from $10-20k), as well as compressors, interfaces, equalizers, ect ect. Then if you're going to get into some nice guitars, basses, heads, cabs, and all that equipment, you're easily looking at another chunk of money.

I had a buddy start out doing this in his basement then moved out to a custom made studio, where he did a lot of the work, and he ended up having to close the doors because costs were so high and like you said, more kids these days have access to quality, DIY equipment as well as software like Pro Tools and Logic. I have very good equipment and some good mics and interfaces, as well as use Logic and I have done some quality tracks on my own and just send them off to a buddy who has a studio to mix and master. I can do just about anything in my basement except drums. Drums are hard as a MF to try and record because of all the mics and placement.

Is your friend a professional in the recording industry or is it a big passion and he's taking the next step? Is he well connected in the music industry?