The Secret Ingredient Of A Great Recording Studio
There are many studios out there with state-of-the-art equipment and crack engineers running space-age (or very vintage) boards. Too many to count, but what separates the ‘good’ ones from the ‘bad’ ones or rather the successful from the unsuccessful? In my experience and from what I have gathered from others’ experiences there is one secret ingredient that not everyone is aware of. That ingredient is called “The Vibe.”
Artists are most creative in an environment where they can feel free and comfortable. The more the environment fosters those feelings of freedom and comfort, the better the recording will be. Recording, at the end of the day, is just performing. Yeah, it may be a very unconventional performance, but a performance no less. Whether in a live venue performance or the Music recording studio production, the performances we call ‘magic’ happen when the environmental elements combine to create the kind of vibe that can foster an amazing performance. Amazing is what we aim to capture every time we record, whether as artists or engineers.
Building a rapport between those that run the recording studio and the artist is the most important step in the recording process. It has nothing to do with recording in reality, it has everything to do with relating to the person and building a level of trust to where they can be comfortable just being themselves. The more they are in their element, the more they will reproduce the feeling that was present when the art was created initially. There are a lot of engineers and studio managers out there who are stuck in their ways and are not willing to bend. Those are the studios you see losing money. The studios willing to facilitate the artist and let them go through their session in their way are the ones that the artist will come back to, even if they don’t have as nice equipment, etc. As long as a good recording can be produced, which it can at any recording studio worth its salt, then equipment becomes a non-issue and the vibe will dictate the overall success.
Some recording studios will have meals waiting on their artist, some provide lodging and amenities. Those are all good things, but no start-up studio is in a position to be able to offer all of those luxuries. That said, small or startup recording studios can still compete if they get a reputation as a ‘cool’ place to record that other artists enjoy going to. Word of mouth is the main form of advertising in the studio world and if you show a client a good time and produce a quality product the advertising will take care of itself and for free. Don’t be afraid to get to know a client a little bit before you hop into the recording studio and start creating. Creativity when in collaboration thrives off of familiarity. You play your cards right and you may end up with lifetime clients who will inevitably turn into friends.
