{"id":5757,"date":"2019-07-22T09:43:47","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T09:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/currentsound.com\/?p=5757"},"modified":"2020-05-13T16:06:17","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T16:06:17","slug":"the-hidden-world-of-los-angeles-recording-studios","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/currentsound.com\/general\/the-hidden-world-of-los-angeles-recording-studios\/","title":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Recording Studio Types"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There are lots of different types of recording studios in LA. Some are easier to find. Some are more hidden. Los Angeles recording studios are can mostly be summarized as these main types:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Spaces for rent<\/li>
  2. Engineer operated studios<\/li>
  3. Music producer & engineer operated studios – a little more hidden<\/li>
  4. Beat-maker studios & home studios – mostly hidden<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    1. Spaces for Rent<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"Recording<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    These are just furnished recording spaces for rent that make their money by renting the space just like how hotels make their money by renting a room. These studios sometimes contain multiple rooms and the price is usually advertised without an engineer and staff to record you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They sometimes have in house engineers available at an additional rate but you often don’t know who is going to be doing the session and what their skill level and previous credits are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These are usually the large, traditional studios you see in old movies and even new movies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This type of recording studio is what most artists who have never been into a studio think a recording studios looks like. This is where they think they should record… until they see the price tag lol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Famous Artist Credits…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Their website probably contains lots of famous artist credits but those are just the people that have been inside the building. It doesn’t mean the staff that will work on your song recorded and\/or mixed them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Decline<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    These recording studios have been in a steady decline since the 2000s<\/a>. As music sales declined, most of the large studios couldn’t afford the high rental prices, equipment maintenance costs and engineer fees to stay competitive. Over two thirds of the large studios in LA have shut down in the last 20 years and only a handful now remain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Large label owned recording studios have become a bit of a thing of the past. A lot of the large studios have also been sold off to music producers and artists to be used as their own personal private studios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Engineer Operated Studios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"Sound<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    These probably what you think a recording studio is in terms of what they do. You go in there, they record an amazing sounding song for you and you leave with your amazing sounding song. The engineer may or may not own the recording space but they often run the company and book the sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They Aren’t Usually the Biggest<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    These studios might not ‘look’ like what you think a studio looks like. They are usually smaller in size than the large studios but this is often on purpose. The reason is so that they can offer more affordable prices to independent artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    They sometimes have a vocal booth. The ones that do lots of bands might have a traditional sized tracking room\/live room and booth. The ones that do hip-hop and pop usually have only a booth or sometimes no booth at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Increasing in Popularity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This now is where the majority of new music is recorded and created. Music sales are much lower and budgets are smaller than in the 80s and 90s so artists have been moving away from the large studios. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many engineers have moved away from the large studios and have started their own studios. These days, there are more engineer owned studios than ever before but there are also some sketchy ones so make sure to checkout their work and if it’s too cheap, as in under $50 an hour, chances are it’s someone starting up without the experience you’ll get at other places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Music Producer & Engineer Operated Recording Studios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \"Current<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Pictured: Current Sound, Hollywood<\/a><\/em>, Los Angeles<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This is really the most modern type of recording studio you can get as it combines recording music with creating the music and instrumentals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the 80s and 90s, bands would book a studio and walk out with their song. In the 2019, there aren’t as many bands. Look at the charts and you’ll see singers and rappers. These artists don’t play their own music. So where does their music come from?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    From beat-makers and music producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    VS Studios Without a Music Producer…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Look at the photo below of what people think a recording studio looks like. This is actually a music school but resembles a traditional looking large recording studio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Large<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    When a rapper or a singer comes into a large recording studio like the one above… <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    How many of these knobs and buttons to you think are used to record them?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    \"Recording<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    One channel.<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Out of the large board above this photo that contains over 100 channels, 99% of the time only 1 channel is used to record the vocal as circled. That means 99% of the mixing desk is unused. Just sitting there and looking pretty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The rest is usually mixed in the computer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If the engineer only has an instrumental, no track-outs and and did want to use the desk, the best he can do is to send out a left and right channel which looks like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Mixer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    You’ll also notice all the faders are down in the photos but the DAW\/software is running. That’s because all of the visible faders\/channels, almost 100 of them weren’t being used! These missing channels are for mics for the extra musicians and band members, you know, the ones that aren’t in the studio anymore!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    So What Are Music Producer Studios? Are they Beat-Makers?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    People often confuse beat-makers and music producers<\/a>. Even beat-makers themselves often get it wrong and don’t know the difference. It’s quite simple though. Beat-makers make the beat\/instrumental that rappers and singers buy (usually online) and then take into a studio to record over and have no say in what they do with it after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Music producers work with the artist in person to create music for them to perform over and help them create the full song from start to finish and help the artist with the performance, arrangement and are effectively a director for the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A music producer can also be a beat-maker but the difference is that they care about the whole song, not just the instrumental. Their job is to create full songs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Often a music producer is also a sound engineer but not always.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This means instead of simply recording over an instrumental\/beat, they are making all the music and mixing it together. Just like in the old days when musicians used to get together in the studio and make the whole song. Except that the producer plays most of the instruments and sounds on the keyboard\/synth and Maschine\/MPC. As well as sometimes bringing in session players to add guitar and other instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    These types of studios exist but they are not the ones you usually find on Google. There are only a handful of them in Los Angeles available for hire to the public for independent artists as most music producers work for a particular label directly or as a freelance music producer<\/a>. Current Sound<\/a> is one of the handful of music producer owned and operated recording studios here in LA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    4. Beat-Maker Studios and Home Studios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n