The Admiral Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I'm looking for a bit of input from BC'ers re the above. I have been talking for years with an old friend about doing something together , and we'd always thought of a recoding studio. However, given the ability of the world and his wife to record to a computer these days - the funky little 8 track/16 track studios of our youth - which we always liked the idea of emulating, is an idea who's time has gone - so we've been looking at maybe opening a rehearsal facility. We have looked at a couple of spaces, and whilst they will both require a bit of work - to get stud walls and soundproofing/electrics in - we can't agree on what good looks like. On our list so far is (amongst many other things) : 1. giving people good 'house' gear (in the hope that they'll appreciate it and exercise some care!). 2. being pretty selective (as much as possible) about who books in - mindful of long term security and treatment of the gear etc. 3. offering deals on block bookings - 8 hours for the price of 7 etc if you book in a block and pay monthly in advance by ddm. Loads more thought needed, and any input gratefully received. One thing we've considered is : Could we offer a 'Band HQ' facility - where you have keys to an exclusive room of your own and can come and go as you like, in opening hours? What I'd love to know is - what works for you at your rehearsal rooms and - how much are you paying? Cheers A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 village hall comittee room, 500m down the road. £10 all night, pub next door, bring own gear. Works great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judo Chop Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Well we use two rooms, one costs us £1 an hour with all gear and a PA included, and another that costs £2 an hour but they add another £3 an hour on if you want to use their vocal PA, and another £4 if you want to use their drum kit. Amps aren't included in the price there either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Clientèle is important. Okay, you're never going to be 'country club' selective but I've often found rehearsal rooms trashed when going in after young bands. Student indie type bands in particular, where larking about and making a mess has obviously come before the actual rehearsal. But my main gripe would be the amenities. Something like a clean, well looked after toilet makes a big difference. A well lit car park. There is nothing worse than a scruffy rehearsal room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Regarding recording. The hardest part is getting the scratch track down. Offering the facilities to do a multi track recording in whatever format for the band to take away and overdub/remix at their leisure is a good bonus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BottomE Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Good luck mate. I used to have a little rehearsal studio in Bournemouth called Pastorious Studios . I was far too lenient with the bands and ended up chasing people all over for money. It was a major PITA but all totally my own fault for being too nice. Nowadays we rehearse in an Estate Agents shop. Its free and has a water cooler thingy and we can photocopy stuff. These days local rehearsal facilities are quite upmarket - least round here and charge between £25-30 per night. For that type of money i think you should expect a decent backline and kit with a PA and mixer in a clean sound prepared room thats big enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybass 70 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Good Soundproofing is a good start, we really like a room that has good acoustics, you can rehearse at a lower volume and hear every instrument, if a room is boomy it tends to mess the frequencies up, IME.[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Adequate Ventilation is a good one, too many memories of being stuck in a sweatbox room with no air and 4 sweaty blokes![/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]controllable lighting to enhance the creative atmosphere, we had a rehearsal room with coloured lightbulbs and a dimmer switch, much better than a couple of strip lights.[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]with a bit of thought and some canny ebay purchases this is possible to do quite cheaply.[/font] [font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]good luck with the project and to a great rehearsal facility,[/font] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Parking, good PAs, reasonable affordable refreshments, decent gear that can be hired, clean toilets. And most importantly, get someone organised to take bookings, cancellations etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 We use 2 studio/rehearsal rooms, depending on which is available. Both are £10/hour, but one has a minimum charge of 3 hours whether you use them all or not. One is in the basement of a large building in town, with limited parking. The other is a Portacabin on the edge of a small industrial estate in the country, with plenty of parking right outside. Both have a reasonable drum kit, but our tub thumper brings his own snare and cymbals. One has 2 x combos (bass & guitard), the other has 2 x head/cabs. Our guitard like to use his own amp, so has to bring a cab along as well for the combo. The basement is dark, dingy, hot and smelly - but has a good acoustics. The owner is very laid back, and we've ha a few issues with him turning up late to let us in. They use SM58's and a full recording studio type mixing desk for the PA The Portacabin is clean and bright, but the sound isn't as good. The owner is there waiting for us and everything is right on the money. The mics are Happy Shopper quality but the mixer is small and easy to use. So, in essence, we would like...... Good parking Clean, but not sterile Someone on the ball with bookings and letting us in Heads/cabs not combos Half decent drum kit Proper mics Easy to manage PA/mixer Over to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bremen Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 To turn it round, here's what I hate about the place we rehearse: Boomy acoustics Clutter; heaps of random junk and debris everywhere Guaranteed bangers and mash in the bog Dingy, fluorescent light Scuzzy carpet partly covering rough concrete floor Cold in the winter Bass rig so sh*tty I have to bring my own What I like about it: Adequate vocal PA Easy parking Cheaper than the posh one down the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 [quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1347219436' post='1798236']These days local rehearsal facilities are quite upmarket - least round here and charge between £25-30 per night. For that type of money i think you should expect a decent backline and kit with a PA and mixer in a clean sound prepared room thats big enough. [/quote] We use this one [url="http://www.notes-studios.co.uk/"]http://www.notes-studios.co.uk/[/url] and it definitely ticks all of the above boxes. I like to bring my own backline, but on occasions when I can't be arsed, there is reasonable quality stuff already there. Ashdown MAG anyway... PAs are good quality, but obviously not top-line pro gear. Service is polite and friendly and they are very helpful indeed. You could do a lot worse than speak to Phil (the owner)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roland Rock Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 My ideal rehearsal studio would satisfy the following criteria: - No stairs - Sell cold drinks - Car parking - Ventilation in the rooms I've kind of gotten used to average old kit and smeggy toilets, but enough about my house.. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rOB Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 For me, its largely about the below Location - got to have decent free parking. Ideally close to public transport aswell for those that don't drive or prefer not to. Rooms - got to be decent size, not too hot, decent sound Gear - decent PA, loud enough to use for at least vocals over a drum kit. At least 2 vocal mics per room with stands and xlr leads. Guitar and bass rigs, appropriate to the size of room. Decent but obviously not expensive drum kit, I'd maybe rent cymbals and snare separately as their the bits that seem to break most often and most drummers will bring their own anyway Staff - Organised enough not to ever double book rooms. Friendly and willing to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
51m0n Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 [url="http://www.monsterstudios.co.uk/"]This [/url]is the very best rehearsal studio I have ever used. They have very very clean and tidy air conditioned spaces to use. The guitar amps and drum kits are OK, the bass amps are a massive let down for me however (but I am a total snob) so I take my rig. They sell cold drinks, strings/sticks/fast fret whatever you damn well need to keep going. They are very friendly, but take the money up front (and why not, seems reasonable to me) with a very strict cancellation poilcy (again so they should!). They have a bright white light in each room which they turn on from the counter 10 minutes before the session ends to let you know its time to wind it up and get out for the next band, asystem that workds very very well indeed! If I could change anything it would be to improve the bass amps and cabs - but then I would say that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaypup Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Check out The Arches in Cardiff - they've got it pretty good I reckon. You pay monthly and get to use it a certain amount depending on your monthly rate. You book the times yourself online. There's storage there which you can pick-up drop-off to [u][b]24 hours a day [/b][/u]-so useful for when you have gigs. here's the site: [url="http://www.thecardiffarches.com"]http://www.thecardiffarches.com[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musophilr Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 We use one that's got a toilet you wouldn't want to bare your bum at, but it has a bass rig and 2 guitar half stacks, plus a kick drum & toms - you bring your own snare & other hardware. There's also a 12 channel mixer, a PA, and some microphones. It costs £24 for an evening. Were it mine, I'd want the lav fixing, and I'd also want better lighting - dim lights may be atmospheric but it's hard to read a chord chart by them. The gear is the main reason we go there. We could get a village hall for the same price, but we'd have to take our own PA & backline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz666 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Never used inhouse gear (apart from PA) so decent parking, nice WIDE doors from bringing in kit in, Ground floor is possible, decent sized rooms, a toilet and a wee bit shelter outside for a fag mid practise, a wee selection of consumables to buy incase of the inevitable.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 We use a rehearsal room sort of weekly when we're rehearsing a new set. Usually three of us - bass, guitar and drums. We pay £30 for 7 pm to midnight for one place ( which we realise it a great rate ) or £10 an hour for a place in town ...... or £15 an hour for another place in town. A good enough PA with three vocal mics and stands, a decent standard amp and cab for the bass and guitar and a drum kit with a stool - but no cymbals is sort of standard everywhere. And required. Extra nice to haves are somewhere to park, a tea and coffee bar (or at least a vending machine) and a shop counter with strings and plectrums etc. I guess you could also make some money from these. Also ... ALL ... of the places I go to have recording facilities. That can be just room recording that you can buy at the end of the session for £5 to £10 ...... slightly more if you want video ....... but they all have a proper recordings studio which can be used with an engineer at a daily or hourly rate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barkin Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 We use either local rehearsal rooms, or a village hall. The Village Hall costs us a tenner for as long as we want it (provided it's not booked for anything else - we fit in around whatever else is going on, otherwise we'd have to pay the regular hire rates) It's clean, has decent toilets and a usable kitchen should we want a brew. Downside is that the acoustics aren't great, and we have to lug our own PA. For those reasons, we tend to go low volume and just use a small powered mixer and a wedge monitor for vocals. The rehearsal rooms are £10/hour in 2 hour slots. For that, the standard offering is: an adequate sized room with good acoustics, a half-decent PA with as many mics/stands as we need. a "nothing special but perfectly usable" basic drum kit - drummer brings his own breakables. a bass rig of some sort - they seem to have an assortment of Ashdown MAG & ABM, Laney, Hartke etc heads and cabs, but they seem to get swapped around a lot so it's pot luck as to what's in a particular room at the time. a guitar amp of some sort - we usually ask for 2, and they always oblige. But why they feel the need to provide mahoosive 4x12 Marshall/Orange stacks in a small rehearsal room I don't know... It's easy to get to for everybody, easy free parking, and perfectly usable gear so we don't need to hump loads of our own stuff around. The toilets and rest areas aren't very appealing, and there's always heaps of junk lying around everywhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Personally, amps that don't go too loud and air conditioning. A Well lit car par and security are a bonus too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Admiral Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 Many thanks for the input guys. The room size seems to be a constant theme, but I'm keen to understand what 'a good size' is? Clearly, the smaller you go per room, the more rooms you can squeeze in, but what is the optimum for a 4 piece band for example : 5m x 5m? Larger? There is also some question over what gear is necessary : combos don't appear to be popular, but another post quite reasonably ponders the wisdom a 4 x 12 guitar rig in a small rehearsal space! Would an AC30/Fender twin type amp etc cut it perhaps? Cheers A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1347283134' post='1798779'] [url="http://www.monsterstudios.co.uk/"]This [/url]is the very best rehearsal studio I have ever used. They have very very clean and tidy air conditioned spaces to use. The guitar amps and drum kits are OK, the bass amps are a massive let down for me however (but I am a total snob) so I take my rig. They sell cold drinks, strings/sticks/fast fret whatever you damn well need to keep going. They are very friendly, but take the money up front (and why not, seems reasonable to me) with a very strict cancellation poilcy (again so they should!). They have a bright white light in each room which they turn on from the counter 10 minutes before the session ends to let you know its time to wind it up and get out for the next band, asystem that workds very very well indeed! If I could change anything it would be to improve the bass amps and cabs - but then I would say that! [/quote] I like Monster too. Its only problem for me is it has too few rooms and so it can be difficult to get a room when you want one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Naaaaah! This is the best rehearsal room I've ever seen: [IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Just%20Stuff/Music%20and%20Musicians/danogirlslarge.jpg[/IMG] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I built my own in the back garden 30 square metres. Double doors to get kit in. The drummer leaves his kit there and I have a few amps kicking around for folks to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musophilr Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Ref the size of the amplifiers: I see no need for big stacks, or the need (as some bands obviously do) to play at the kind of volume that would get you banned from most pub gigs. If I feel that it's time to get the ER15s out of their little purse thing, then we're getting too loud. Happy Jack's rehearsal room looks good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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