Where can I practise and record my music?

June 14, 2007 7:59 PM

Where can I practise and record my music? I'm only looking for very basic demo quality, and need to do it very, very cheaply.

The flat I live in (London) has terrible sound, and such thin walls and floorboards that I can't really play or sing any music freely without having to worry about disturbing the neighbours. I'd like to pay for some time in a recording space somewhere, but really can't afford to spend much. I'm only looking for very basic, demo-quality sound - not looking for any special equipment, just a half decent mike in a half decent room would be great. I'm very inexperienced as a musician anyway and know little about production. A piano there would be absolutely wonderful, but otherwise just a space to myself to practise and record. Did I mention cheaply?

Any suggestions? I've been asked to write and record a song for a friend's little girl's 4th birthday, and I really would like it to sound better than the recordings I've managed so far. Thanks!

posted by Ira.metafilter to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Pick up a copy of the NME. They have a classified section in the back which lists rehearsal rooms and recording studios. Failing that there should be rehearsal rooms listed in the Yellow pages. Are you looking to record yourself? Or have someone else record you? If the former. Just rent a rehearsal room for the afternoon and go for it. If the latter definately check out the NME. I remember about 5 years ago getting 3 songs done in an afternoon for about £50.

Good luck.
posted by gergtreble at 8:22 PM on June 14, 2007

For my rehearsal recordings, I record off of my laptop which I connect to a SHURE 58. There are a lot of very basic programs you can use to do the actual recording. And since it's a laptop, I've recorded all over the place, often just setting it up at one of my instrumentalists' houses.
posted by miss lynnster at 8:30 PM on June 14, 2007

Pay a college music student off to schedule practice room time and then sneak you in.
posted by nanojath at 8:41 PM on June 14, 2007

I recommend investing in a halfway-decent ribbon microphone. I have a Russian model that cost about $100 new, and even in noisy settings with poor acoustics I sound surprisingly lovely; condenser microphones (Shure 58 et al) just can't hold a candle.
posted by davejay at 9:40 PM on June 14, 2007

Shure 58s aren't condenser mics, they're dynamic mics.
posted by davey_darling at 10:08 PM on June 14, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks for your answers so far!

gergtreble: I'm looking to record myself. I'll look up rehearsal rooms - thanks!

miss lynnster - sadly my old laptop has died, and my new imac won't travel. And don't you need something between the laptop and the Shure 58? Can't afford both at the moment, unfortunately. Besides, it's less a mike problem, more a recording environment problem.

davejay: good recommendation thanks, but still doesn't solve the problem of having to worry about the neighbours - I'm really looking for a recording space away from home first and foremost.
posted by Ira.metafilter at 2:56 AM on June 15, 2007