If it's going to be a Bussines, you need the full wangdanga,
so I agree with the 32 channel mixer alla Presonus..

Some extra external Controllers wouldn't be out of place,
or even a pad-thing like Maschine or something, as it could be quite customizable..

You will also need an in-house Weighted keyboard,
something like a Nord, Yamaha, Kurzweil, Kawaii, Studiologic.. with integrated sounds, or just a controller,
but it needs to be of Quality or your pianists will most likely complain.


Then about the Drums, I would add:
+1 Floor Tom
+1 Extra for every Tom
+1 Extra for Snare
+1 Extra for HiHat

Ride/Crash/Splash Cymbals and Tambo/Bell could also have a more dedicated mic sometimes,
depending on the style..

+1 Extra for Bass
+2 Extra for Guitars

+1/2 Extra for Choirs

That would be a more featured base-line.


But then think about Brass/Winds, or a Percussionist..
This could add considerably more lines, so it's good to be prepared.


Also you got to have some Quality microphones,
you cannot do everything on SM57/86's..

You'll need at least a proper Big Diaphragm condenser mic for Voice, something alla Newman,
then a couple more as Drum Orverheads, or Room/Amb mics..

And another one for any extra delicate instrument like a Cello or something, maybe a AKG 414..
Or a proper Ribbon for a Doublebass like a KSM353, or a Lavalier style cond.

Some instruments like Acoustic/Classical guitar, Ethnic instruments or some Percs,
also like to be recorded in Stereo with matched pairs..

So you will need to do a pretty considerable investment in just Microphones if you want to record Live Full Bands,
or be prepared for any situation..


Also better not to get started on Guitar Amps/Pedals.. it would be infinite,
and other random external gear like proper Compressors, Mic Pres, a Vocal FX pedal..

Then also think about Monitoring, one wired Closed Headphone/IEM per musician,
so it would be good to have a system ready for that.. some Personalized HP Mixers exist,
where you could adjust the mix for every musician, and so on.


But well, ofc you don't need to have Everything at once from the beginning,
you can start with a lower profile, get the ting going, get the clients interested, and then grow along etc.


If it was more a of a personal thing than a business,
a very viable option would be just using an E-Drum, and a proper VST Drums+Expansions.

It might not be as Real,
but it could save you a considerable amount of money and PITA in the long run.

 

Last edited: Oct 8, 2021

Wow, thank you for the awesome detailed explanation of this matter.
I deeply appreciate it! I will consider everything you said!
Do you think PreSonus is the right one? Or what other 32 channel digital mixer would you recommend?
Thanks!!!

 

Having owned and worked at a number of commercial studios, I would recommend getting an analogue mixer. They're cheaper and you'll be able to work very quickly with a desk that has knob per function .... ummmm, function.
I hope you know what you're getting yourself into. Recording bands is a giant step up from ITB sequencing and mixing. Do you know what to do when the guitarist, singer, bass player all want different mixes in their cans? Do you know how much wiring is involved in getting microphone and headphone feeds from the control room to the studio? That's why an analogue mixer with plenty of ins, outs auxes, inserts, etc... is going to be a real asset. Oh for got. Your microphone locker of maybe 20 or more mics are going to need stands and quality cables. Wow... just thinking about it brings back bad memories. Having a band all ready to play and you can't locate the one cable that's humming. I need a valium and a lie down.

 

You'll also need a whole bunch of microphones to capture a whole band. A few vocal mics at least are mandatory as not every mic is good for every voice. You'll also have to learn which mic to use for what instrument and situation. In addition, you need a shitload of cables and have extras when they inevitably break. Cable is expensive and is sooo much more cost effective if you can learn to make them yourself. Direct boxes you'll also need as well as a dozen headphones for live monitoring. . And don't forget to stock up on toilet paper for the bathroom, the species "musician" tends to shit a lot...and perhaps some incense too for when the going gets tough.

A few guitar and bass amps and a variety of cabinets would be nice as well as a few guitars and basses themselves.

Also depending on where you'll be working, the soundproofing will be very expensive as well as treating acoustically each room. Don't forget rugs and furniture and a hangout room is a must. Soundproof doors cost too and that big plate of glass out from the control room ain't cheep to buy and have installed.

A studio is a continual work in progress.

It might all cost you $25,000 before you open the door or even more.

More than one computer is a good idea for when the first stops functuoning in the middle of a session.

Do you know what den of snakes you two will be opening?

 

And as much faith as you have in working with a DAW and a mixing Console, you will need outboard hardware.

 

With all the Gear/equipment, Installation and Soundproofing,
I'd say more like minimum 250K-300K€ just to get the thing going..

And that's not even factoring the locale itself,
if you're gonna work on the space, make the glassed booths, wire installation, soundproofing etc,
you better put that into a space that you own, not a rental place..

So unless you already own the place put another 100-200K€ on top,
depending on where you're living.. but you want to have clients, so you need to be in/close to a big City.

So yeah, tell your associate he needs to drop 500K€,
and send us a picture of his face.. lol

But don't tell him you're asking this type of questions in a Forum, he needs an Expert..

 

My 25,000 was a typo, it was meant to read 250,000, but what's a zero among friends or bankers?

Edit:

...and, running a business like this is something that one should already have a deep and fast grasp of the profession. With literally no experience in the field and asking the most basic of questions shows that you and your business partner do not. While so many established studios are being starved out of existence because of lack of business and exorbitant rents, what do you offer in the way of technical support for your clients and why do you believe that if you build it they will come? What do you have to offer as a partner in your startup and why should your business partner get involved by financing this studio. I'm not dicking you around, these are fundamental questions that you need ask yourself before you proceed. If someone were to start a computer software company with just a rudimentary knowledge of coding and needed to spend €250,000 to get stsrted, what would you say?

 

Last edited: Oct 8, 2021

If you need to ask these questions then you are not ready for the next step yet.
These are very basic questions that should not be asked before opening a studio for business.

 

First question to ask oneself: "Is there a healthy market for that service?" Secondly "What can I offer that others can't?"

These two are paramount before even discussing spending two fortunes on gear. As others have said most musicians have basic recording covered at home. What can you offer them to make them want to pay extra? Two things only here 1. Superb talent as a mixer/producer with success already under your belt. 2. Pro recording rooms and/or pro analogue gear they can't afford, SSL, Neve, API board or preamps, Eq's, compressors 1176, LA2A, Distressor etc

Pro studio with only plugins doesn't exist. If you were using that model simply for mixing being set stems via internet, fine but tracking live bands and wanting them to pay for your service then that simply won't suffice.

Getting a Band to pay up is like squeezing lemonade for lemons, virtually impossible.

I salute your ambition but music was already on its knees, Sound City closed for God's sake and it had an original Neve board (Dave Grohl now owns in his Studio 606) that had churned out classic records. Still under the madness of today's restrictive world, any business venture should be taken with fear and trepidation. Classic large format Studios have been running on empty for 18 months now.

Look what this fellow went through and that's just mixing stems, no tracking live bands. Building a new studio with Paul "Willie Green" Womack - Plugin Alliance (plugin-alliance.com)

Good luck whatever you decide.

 

Last edited: Oct 8, 2021

Reaper works well with all types of controllers. Quite a few manufacturers have custom configs for popular DAWs including Reaper.
For those that do not, check the Reaper Stash. Odds are someone has already created one.

 

This is the desk where I work. It is not suitable for anything except recording myself. And yes, it cost me a lot of money. To expand it to record a band would be a fools errand since as others have pointed out, customers with money are rare.

 

Oh you have a lot of nice toys there Lenny!!!

 

The human individual uses the most modern technology to produce and edit music. Your workplace (a place to work) is similar to that of a pilot. If the pilot does not operate the controls and buttons properly, there is a crash. It's the same in music.

Lenny is a skilled worker capable of operating the most modern technology.
Because of his professional experience, he is a master of his field.

Of course we can go deeper and take the technical devices apart, then we
will find out that thousands of people were involved and that there is
also concentrated knowledge and raw materials from many countries.

The music quality, the picture quality. has reached a very high level in the history of human development.

 

Right right.. but how many of those Pots/Faders are Sratchy?
How many Keys of that piano are Untuned?

And where's the altar to Saint Cecilia?
I expected more from a true man of Faith like you..

(I've got here my (pagan?) image of Saraswati, kid you not )

 

If you look around a bit and buy materials intelligently, you can realize a live studio, i.e. control room and live room, for 25,000 or less. Instead of soundproof doors, for example, 2 simple fire doors can be used, if you insulate them with rubber. This is much cheaper, but still very effective.

Control room equipment and microphones excluded of course. This comes on top of the 25,000.

 

Thank you @ Sinus Well for assessing the amount required.

The question also arises as to whether one has to live on it or not. You may already be a pensioner and your dream will come true. Or has some other way of making money and would like to mix bands or soloists. Maybe the topic starter takes a position on it.

 

Yes that would probably be the best. I could not even read from the original post and the following posts what is meant by studio at all. For one person, studio already means hanging a few acoustic modules on a plaster wall, while for the other it means building a studio room in room with a decoupled floor, sandwich walls and reasonable air exchange. Which is expensive, but above all very time-consuming.

 

Thanks everyone for all your advices and suggestions. You made me think for the best decision. I understand and respect everyones opinions. All your inputs made me take better decisions about this matter. Thank you all for your time in this!

 

16 should work fine. Then you just need to buy any good 16 input interface that has 2x ADAT I/O and buy two 8x pre-amps. I would go for something like the RME Fireface 802 and two Audient Asp 800 or 880 (or even better, one RME 12Mic so you can control all of the pre-amps digitally from Totalmix FX). A Presonus Faderport 8 or Behringer X-touch should work fine for your DAW controller needs, but there is also other controllers like Qcon or Mackie.

 

Last edited: Oct 10, 2021

The RME 12Mic seems like a really good thing, you'd get 24 inputs from just the two rack spaces and with the Totalmix bonus of control. If I was in the market for recording bands or working remotely capturing classical performances this would be a no brainer for me.