In answer to a question from Evan in another thread (http://macnichol.com/forum-post/3775):

I'm quite comfortable with computers (Mac anyway), and considering the awesome technology available to us all now, I always assumed that I would record at home. Two things changed my mind:

1) The realization that I could not always count on my apartment in Berkeley being free of noise from neighbors and the street, and

2) A session I did as a sideman in a studio with a truly wonderful engineer.

Having realized that just because I could record at home didn't mean I must record at home, I started noticing other advantages to using a commercial studio:

1) A time to focus. For me, it's great to have those spots on my calendar when I know I'm going to show up at the studio and have nothing else on my mind but recording.

2) There's no substitute for really good mics, preamps, analog to digital converters, and other outboard gear (effects, etc.). Commercial studios may use the same computers and software that the rest of us can buy, but the signal chain pre- and post-computer can add a couple of zeros to the price tag. Engineers often collect mics and other high-end recording gear the way some people — Kramster comes to mind — collect guitars. My engineer has not just one great (and expensive) mic, but a selection of them, so we could try a variety of solutions for recording my guitars, ‘ukulele, percussion, and voice. (We ended up using Neumann KM 184s on the strings and Hawaiian percussion instruments— no surprise — but for vocals, we're using a Royer ribbon mic, which is more commonly used for micing electric guitar amps! What does that say about my voice? I'm not a screamer, believe me.) Because instruments recorded direct do not depend on mics or acoustic space, I'll be overdubbing electric bass at home before bringing the project back to the studio for mixing and mastering.

3) Not only a quiet place to record, but an acoustically tuned environment. It's not vital that the space has a zilltion dollars worth of acoustical treatment — it's more important that the engineer knows how to work with what he or she has got.

4) Which brings me to the biggest benefit of using an outside studio: If you find the right engineer, he or she will be worth more to the outcome of your project than all the guitar setups, string experiments, and even those great mic choices that I talked about. I was lucky to find someone who is incredibly knowledgeable in tech as well as music, has better ears and sense of timing than anyone I've ever met, makes my instruments sound drop-dead gorgeous just with skillful mic setup (even before applying any EQ, which is great), keeps track of takes and advises me when he thinks we've "got it", is fun to work with, takes away the burden of computer wrangling (as I said, I'm good with the tech, but I'm a complete newb compared to my engineer, and it's really great to be able to focus on the music) and more that I'm not remembering right now. And no, you vultures, I'm not going to give up his name — he's hard enough to book time with as it is. ;-)

Evan, I know you were expecting a tale of home recording adventure, but I hope the story of my divergent path will provide some food for thought.

Let me know if I can be of further help.

Mālama pono ā hui hou,
Uncle Pauhana