Photo by Alexey Ruban on Unsplash

If you want to take your music to a professional level, there’s a chance you will need to use a professional recording studio. When it comes to finding a studio, it’s important to make sure that you are making the right choice, since your studio will not only impact the final finish of your music but also your mood while you are playing. By now, you might have written some music and even played some gigs and gained some fans as a musician. Finding and choosing the right recording studio is important if you feel like now is the right time for you to release a single or album. These are some of the main things to consider before you choose the right recording studio for you.

Facilities

If you are looking for the right recording studio for you, there are lots of factors to consider before making your choice. The facilities are one major thing to consider before you determine if a studio is the right fit for you or not. The size of the rooms, what kind of equipment is available, and any additional facilities on offer like dance studios or music video recording studios are all some major things to keep in mind. Go into your search knowing what you want from the facilities, to make narrowing your options down easier. A popular example can be seen through PIRATE’s Dallas studio which is one with a wide range of great facilities including a wide range of equipment, different room sizes, and more. PIRATE is the largest creative studio and artist community network worldwide, with almost fifty locations around the world so if you aren’t based in Dallas, you’re still likely to find one that’s not too far away!

The Team

Before choosing a recording studio to use, it’s a good idea to get more familiar with the team behind it. Unless you have your own audio engineer who will be working with you, the studio’s audio engineer is one of the most important people to get to know. Spend some time getting to know them and make sure that they are somebody you can see yourself working well with. Getting to know the team behind the studio gives you a chance to find out more about who you are going to be working with while recording, and if they are a good fit.

Costs

Another factor that most people will need to consider before they choose the right recording studio for them is how much is it going to cost them. Hiring a recording studio does not always come cheap. And cheap recording studios might be less likely to have modern equipment and good facilities, so it’s sometimes worth paying more rather than simply going for the cheapest option that you find, as you get what you pay for. It’s important to research the prices of each recording studio individually and consider what you are getting for the rates. When budgeting, consider adding an extra 10% buffer to allow for any extras that might come up such as additional time or more equipment.

The Equipment

Most of the time, the main reason behind hiring a recording studio is to get access to equipment that you do not have readily available at home. The equipment that’s available for you to use at the recording studio is going to be one of the biggest factors that you’ll consider when it comes to whether or not this is the right studio for you. It’s crucial to spend some time learning more about the equipment included in the room rental to make sure that it is the right fit for the type of music that you want to create, and worth what you are going to be paying for it.

Tour the Studio

Once you have found a studio or a few studios that meet your requirements in terms of facilities, equipment, price, and the team who you’ll be working with, it’s a good idea to book a tour of the studio so that you can look around, see the facilities in-person, and make a more informed decision regarding whether or not it is the right fit for you. While there is lots of information online about different recording studios, the truth is that you simply don’t know exactly what to expect until you get there. Booking a tour gives you the chance to make sure that the information you have on the studio matches up with what’s actually on offer. It also allows you to get a feel for the place, meet the people in-person, and figure out how you feel while you are there. Your gut feeling can play a huge part when it comes to which studio is the best fit for you – how do the facilities make you feel? Are you excited, or worried about something you’ve heard or seen?

If you are getting started with recording music, then finding the right recording studio for you is one of the most important first steps.