benjamin costello : blog

Monday, April 17, 2006

Need Advice

So, I have been thinking about possibly hitting a real studio to do my album. I am worried that it will take forever if I keep at it on my own. There are obstacles -- one is money, but my parents would like to invest in it, so that might not be so big an issue.

The biggest logistical challenge is that my bass player is in Nashville, and if I were to go do it for real, I would want him there. The thought of buying him a plane ticket doesn't bother me, but now we are getting pretty serious :)

I would have to pay my drummer to come back again, and gah - I don't know - it would just be extreme. But, it would be done so much faster, and I'm sure the quality would be superior to what I'm doing on my own.

I am thinking I can wait until my second album to self-produce -- maybe I will have more time (and better equipment) then.

At the end of the day, the album isn't an expression of my mad pro tools skillz, just my music, so I'm not heart broken if I don't engineer - in some ways it will make my performances better to only have to think about the music and let someone else concentrate on the technical stuff.

What do people think? Am I giving up to easily? Is self-producing worth enough to have the album take another year and a half to be completed?

posted by Benjamin at 6:24 PM

3 Comments:

MeliMuse
4:47 AM

Well, it's a tough one and I know that I can't give you the answer but I would say this: When you think about it, what's the choice that pops into your head first, before all the ifs and buts? If it's self produce, then I say do that, if it's for studio time, then go that way. If you think that you will get more of what you want by self producing, then an extra year or so is definately worth it.

I don't produce music and have no idea what goes into it, so I'm not exactly qualified to give a solid response. All I can say (apart from all that above, because as you know, I'm never short for words), go with what your heart says and work out the rest later. You have plenty of people supporting you.

Mel :)

DRMS_7888
8:15 AM

Even if you record in a real studio, you should be able to still engineer at least somewhat.

I would love to play drums for you very, very cheap. But, alas, I live far from New York.

I think its also a matter of advertising. Do you want a superb sounding record with little money to advertise or tour with it? or vice versa? I think somewhere in between would be perfect. A small, afordable studio that still offers you a better sound than home recordings.

supergurg
8:42 PM

hmmm that is a tought one Benj - on one hand, look where Imogen Heap is now with a self-produced album!! Wowza!

On the other hand, sometimes its helpful getting the input of an experienced engineer during the recording process

good luck with whichever way you choose

Gurg :)