Forget Garage Band. It’s Time to Start Using Recording Studios Again.

March 9, 2014 Alan Cross 0 Comments 1 min read

I have a two year-old 11-inch Macbook Air that has more power as a recording device than a $1,000 an hour professional studio in 1975. And that’s part of the problem with today’s music.

Recording technology has become so cheap and accessible that (a) anyone can make and distribute music–even those with little talent; and (b) the new standards for acceptable recordings have dropped.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s great that anyone can make professional-sounding recordings in their bedroom. But the fact is that you can always do more with a big, professional, well-equipped recording studio. Proper vocal booths, a vast selection of microphones, a place to get that perfect drum sound, all the coolest outboard gear–these are the things you won’t find in a bedroom.

Yes, that can be a hideously expensive proposition, but the cost of working in a recording studio can be one way of keeping out the less-talented among us.

FastCoCreate takes a look at those musicians who understand that laptops and samplers have their limitations.

[A]nother revaluation movement appears to be emerging among recording studios and session musicians who have found themselves feeling minimized in the wake of laptop recording and the ubiquity of digital samplers. Many are finding it necessary to not only re-educate consumers but to remind their fellow musicians and producers of the value of having living, breathing musicians perform in real time within the acoustically maximized walls of a well-designed recording studio.For these professionals, the question is how do they re-value their specialized services in a post-digital marketplace?

Keep reading.