The console and other equipment are part of the landscape of the studio.
Leighton Williams, Staff Reporter
RECORDING studios are big investments, costing millions of dollars to set up and maintain. What is surprising, though, is that no one knows for sure just how many studios exist locally.
A studio is a place where recordings for music, film and radio programmes are made. At present, there are at least 70 recording studios islandwide with the majority in the Corporate Area. This number does not take into account studios that are in homes, or persons who use computers and other technology to make music.
Although the recording of music was said to have begun in the 1870s, the whole concept of studio recording took off in the 1960s as producers became more experienced with the technologies that existed at the time.
In 1967, the Beatles most legendary breakthrough in studio production Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is widely thought of as the first studio 'concept album' and was said to take over 700 hours to record. Its admirers showered it with praise, pointing out that it had a number of musical effects and conveyed the moods of the singers.
In the worldwide recording industry, Jamaican studios have featured prominentl playing host to some of the world's top artistes and musicians.
Geejam in Portland has seen the likes of groups and artistes such as No Doubt, Dru Hill (two weeks ago), Adelante, and a host of others. Tuff Gong studio is of top class standards boasting an acoustic set-up which is modelled off British-made studios.
Locally, Stanley Motta's on Hanover Street is said to be the first commercial studio which replaced the concept of recording in Radio Jamaica Rediffusion (RJR) studios. Dynamic Studios is the oldest existing studio since the Stanley Motta's studio is no longer in operation.
The number of studios has grown over the years. While the current number may be in question, the reasons for starting them are clear.
"The reason was to motivate young artistes who weren't getting any producers. We released records and do productions for the youths because it's really a ghetto youths studio," said Daniel Barcon of Sound Bomb studio in Montego Bay. The studio has been in operation since 1994 and is located in Norwood, Montego Bay, on property belonging to Howard DaCosta. The studio, which was located at Westgate, is now being extended to meet the needs of the youths in and around the area. Barcon explains the studio has seen many musicians in its time, including the bass guitarists for Maxi Priest and Beres Hammond.
While self-improvement is the most popular reason for building a studio, it can be an expensive dream, depending on taste.
"At the time when I was building my studio it was very costly. The machinery was expensive then in comparison to now. Building a studio now would cost me a third of what it cost then," said Mikey Bennett of Grafton Music Complex in Kingston.
"To buy a Pro Tolls, depending on grade, for a reasonable basic system, the cost is about US$30,000 (J$1,455,000). A good mixing console can cost several thousand dollars," Danny Browne of Main Street Studio said. Depending on taste, a console can be had for about $US5,000 (J$242,500) for a cheaper model. "For the cheaper console if something goes wrong, then you have to take out the whole thing. When you buy an expensive console each part comes individually so if something goes wrong you can just fix that particular part," explained Browne.
One owner employed creative measures to set up his studio and realise his dream. "It never started out with a bang and I had to be creative. I had to save to buy equipment and buy it piece by piece. I had a little room on my house converted for this purpose," said Phillip Williams, owner of Kingswell Music Studio in Spanish Town, St. Catherine.
Williams added that he also read a lot of literature to help in the running of the studio, which he uses mainly for his personal work.
While it remains expensive to open a fully, equipped studio, industry players point out that it is much cheaper now than in the past to open a quality studio. They add that a computer and a keyboard, or a computer with specific programmes as well as a host of cheaper means are in existence to allow a music lover to achieve his dream of making his own music.
"To set up a studio these days can be low (in terms of cost). It depends on taste. You may want a room that has the right acoustics or you may just want something simple. For the room to be acoustically suitable, you have to hire an acoustician. This can cost about $US50,000 (J$2,425,000)," said Danny Browne, owner of Main Street studio, which has been around since 1993.
However, not only is a studio expensive to build, it can also be expensive to maintain.
On a busy month, electricity can cost $30,000, staff can cost $10,000 per person, if they are trainee engineers, while cleaning can cost roughly $8,000. All told, the owners point out that on a busy month the studio costs run as high $80,000 or more.
To ensure that they are able to run the studio, the owners charge users various fees to recover offset expenses.
Rentals for studios run from a low of $1,000 to a high of $2,000 per hour as different packages are offered. Some studios may charge a fee by the hour for recording while there may be a separate fee for mixing a song, which may take a few hours. Some of the studios are not fully commercialised, however, owners may allow persons to use them from time to time.
"It started off with people asking to do stuff. Renting it out gives the trainees more experience. Our biggest clientele, though, are artistes doing their own thing but we don't rent it for less than four hours," said Bennett.
The main reason most of the studio owners frown on full commercialisation is due largely to that fact that this idea would mean having to constantly upgrading to newer technology.
"I would not have opened it as a commercial studio because it's not just good business just as rental. I would have to keep up with the latest technology, which can be expensive," Bennett pointed out.
However, Bennett says he will be acquiring Pro Tools which is the latest studio technology. He adds that he will still use analogue equipment.
Still there are those who shower praises on the analogue equipment.
"A fully digital studio will cost less but quality and durability will be less. I have my studio from 1993 and it has never broken down. There's not much difference between an analogue and a digital studio except in terms of economics where digital is better," said Browne.
