Setting up a new Jamming/Recording Studio

[EngelFaeuste]

Jamming studios are not recession proof businesses. Sorry to burst your bubble but you have to realize that jamming/music is seen as a 'luxury good', to use the economic term. When the recession hits, the first to get cut out of the spending loop are the 'luxury goods'. The recession proof businesses would be trading in necessities such as food and water.

 

[xXIanxcorEXx]

dude.. 20 bucks for jammin studio??
i think its kinda expensive
hw bout 16 bucks for studio
and also. try no make somesort of membership where ppl can join in as members for a certain amount of money and have some exclusive stuffs just for members.well thatz all dude. gd luck aites : )

 

[backagain]

Think twice

If you want to open a studio for fun it's ok. But for business, I think you better think twice. Do your mathematics properly before you start.Make sure you sign at least a 3-year contract with the landlord.You are going spent some money on sound proofing and equipments therefore make sure all these expenses can be covered within two years,at least. Don't end up like a few studios closing down because
1) Landlord wants to increase the rent after a two-year contract
2) Neighbours complain due to insufficient sound proofing and make sure no tuition centres and residents surrounding your studio. I came across two studios close because their neighbours are conducting tuitions every day.
3) No sustaining power because you have to take at least 6 months to break even.
4) Make sure you get a permit because if someone complain on fire safety and what not then our police will have to tell you to cease operation.Sometimes they get you to install either sprinkle system or fire fighting equipments. All these cause money,so do'nt leave them out.

Not so easy as what you think, eh.
Good luck.

 

[EngelFaeuste]

Just remember, expect the worst, hope for the best.

 

[HEAVAN]

A Good Studio

I been jamming in some of the studio's in Singapore.To me a good jimming rooms should be
for all kind of people. Some may want flourescent lights cause they are practisting for school,church,temple event etc.. Some older people will want it to be bright enough so that
they can read the notes.The younger jammers will want it to be dim so that they have the
mood to play .Do not put tape on the drums skin if it torn.It will not sound nice. Replace the
guitar strings if it rust.Make sure the air-con is cold.Make your customer feel that they own
the studio.

Ps: Jammers must take care of all the instuments there. If not you give them the best stuff
to use also no point. Hahaha..

 

[TravisK]

Huh..serious? Fluorescent lights....okay lor! install both then!!

 

[zari_maxi]

Wow! Some more positive feedback. Some here and some PM me. It's really great that WE are all concern about whats going on and whats going to happen in our small island.

The music scene here is....well subjective...but for the best interest of everybody, almost everyone has their positive input. I'm really glad to be a Singaporean and proud that I have fellow SOFties, to share my vision.

Flourescent and dimmer lights are on! Best of both world.

But $20 have to stay. No membership tho.

I'm in the process of learning from other studios that have closed down.
That's why I post my vision here, and gather feedback, so that I don't repeat the same mistakes as others. Your input are really helpful and beneficial. Half of what have been said here, never even cross my mind, even tho I'm a businessman myself.

Keep it coming. Be blunt, sharp, direct, straight to the point. I'm really opening up to a new way of thinking, because of your positive input, suggestions and advice.

Don't worry, me no heart feeling. Everything I take in good strike.

Keep it coming tho

Zari

May Peace Be Upon To You All

 

[theunknown]

to me, its location(accessible by MRT), big room(have sofa like Lcube) and decent equipments(eg mics that dont give electric shocks OUCH!) that'll be enough. price subject to quality.

 

[mockingbird]

I'll be direct, and I agree with the guy who suggested opening it in the west. There's just a big lack of studios here in the west unlike our eastern and central counterparts. More west-based SOFTies and bands flocking to your studios = more business for you. Plus, no worries of competitors in the west. Win-win situation.
8)

 

[zari_maxi]

Yeah! GO WEST!

 

[Santa]

Yo zari, I think putting up a decent jamming studio in the west is a good idea. Here are my suggestions:

Have a decent PA system, or at least one with power monitors that have high headroom. A major turnoff is when the vocals and acoustic guit/piano starts to distort at medium volumes. If you are tight on budget, consider having an all PA setup:

i.e.: 2x multi effects with patches into PA, vocal preamp into PA, bass preamp into PA, etc etc.

Price and maintenance would be a lot less than whole amps, you only have to worry about people spoiling a pair of power monitors (or more).

At the price point of $20- people would expect

1) Better service
2) Better equipment
3) Convienience

What makes you better than the other studios charging $16? What makes people want to come back and pay the extra $4? Answer these questions with the 3 points above, and advertise them.

Also, don't bother with tube amps, people don't know how to use them. Good solid state amps lagi bagus.

 

[zari_maxi]

Hi SANTA

Good points and well noted. Valid and worth the thought.
And I agree, for jamming, Tube Amps are a little challenging in maintaining.

WEST???

I'm in the midst of negotiating, taking over a studio at Toh Guan, near IMM.
I've checked the location.....not bad.
From Jurong East MRT, take the free shuttle bus to IMM and about 5-7 mins walk.

Studio already setup nicely and very big room? BTW, anybody jamm there before?
Can feedback?

Can operate 24hrs. Hopefully they accept my offer. Because I see the place can expand and tons of potential. Rent is reasonable. If they accept my offer, can run it 1st March.

Fellow SOFties, wish me luck. If successful, I will have and open house, with free drinks and snacks for all to celebrate the Studio Opening Ceremony.

ZARi

 

[bigblackbear]

wohooo. i stay in the west, so that's good for me. can't wait to hear the good news

 

[Quietus]

Hi and may peace be upon you, zari_maxi!

I pretty much like what you're doing (in fact, what you're about to do) and all although the only downside for me(just me) is that I have to travel all the way to Jurong East MRT, then take a shuttle bus, and then walk for a couple of minutes(no problem) just to reach your place. So, if me and my friends were to make it there, we'd expect quality customer service AND equipments from you and your staff, yeah? Hehe. Really, we just wanna make sure that our money and time spent together is worthwhile. If you know what I mean.

I really like the people at SOFT. Helping one another out, giving constructive feedbacks and stuff..is just like having an awesome virtual bestfriend.

Oh! And this thread reminded me how long me and my friends had last *jam-ed. Being a slave to education really sucks. But we have to, don't we? In order to to survive. Bahh.

Anyway, good luck and all the best in whatever you're planning to do. I'm off to catch Man Utd's game now. Bye and do take care.

Peace be upon you.

Quietus

 

[Ang3L]

Hi, peace upon you too.

Well to start off with,

Name? Doesn't really matters to me.

Location? Yup, seconded your idea as the major concern is noise-pollution & accessibility.

Opening hours? Cool!

How many studios? $ would be IDEAL but let's jz do w/o the recording facilities first & see how it goes.

How big each room? I don't really know how big is a 300sqft but importantly is, not too big, especially those factories's sites with high ceilings, as I find the sound produced is less compact, you know what I mean but too small also can be restrictive. As long as it can house a couple of plastic-chairs to sit & not neck-to-neck for the guitarists, should suffice!

How much to charge? Well, it depends on the equipments provided & most importantly your operating cost needs!!! Kids or people in general nowadays I find it that they really have the spending power unlike my days in the late 80s, schooldays, where pocket $ is so limited. S$20/hr sounds reasonable but then again your equipments must be justifiable.

Equipment? Well, you can get great bargains from SOFT buy/sell sections as well, no worries. I don't think you would want to get smething brandnew, right? That would certainly be a blow-off to your budget!! I think all you need is amps & drums' sets..Hahaha...

Accoustics/Sound insulation? Yes, of course a good sound-insulations contributes to the compactness/quality of the jamming! This, you have to really invest, to make it simple!

Do we need a lounge for jammers to hang around or 'lepak' before of after jamming? Not really but the best is to have a Teh-tarek & roti prata stalls nearby your studios. That way, you'll save $ & xtra housekeeping (can drinks/bottles contributes to the hygiene of the place) on these lounges you have in mind.

Do I need to advertise the new studio? Yes, of course, especially when yours is new in town but don't worry much as words of mouth goes around really fast if yours is a reliable ones, trust me! Maybe get the bands to recommend their friends & give discounts to those who did the recommendations, stuffs like that..

How about setting up a KTV/Pub kind of setup? That would be of secondary importance. Wow, you really think this far, man...Upz to you!

Last but not least, all the best & hope to try out your studios!


Peace upon you!

Best regards,
Ang3L

 

[zari_maxi]

Peace Be Upon to All Bros. (cos no Gals reply lah)

Really appreciate your sincere and constructive input and advice. I'm again proud to be a fellow SOFTies. Although we don't even know each other, but when it come to common good cause, almost everybody chip in. including some current studio owners.

I'm planning to setup the studio, as if you are "Jamming It Live".
Especially for the vocals, there will be a monitor speaker.
Equipment wise, no worries. All in excellent condition. I'm myself a jammer, and really fussy about equipment. So basically, this studio is setup By Jammers, For Jammers.
You have to try it out before pass judgement.
These are some of the things to justify $20.00/hr rates and the "leceh" part to walk from IMM.
There are Kopitiams, below the building and across the street. So, can 'lepak' before or after jamming.
If you are driving, there's a car wash kiosk opposite the buildng, and charges $5.00 for cars. No commission for me tho! Hehe!

BTW, any of SOFTies jamm there before? Really appreciate your feedback.
(Can't publish name lah! Wait kena hentam! But if you check the Studio Listings, you should know which one. It's the only one in Toh Guan).

I'm still waiting for the good news from the current owner. Hopefully soon. I'm itching to get it done.

Thanks to ALL

ZARi

 

[growlingsoulpup]

Peace Be Upon to All Bros. (cos no Gals reply lah)
I'm planning to setup the studio, as if you are "Jamming It Live".
Especially for the vocals, there will be a monitor speaker.

That would my awesome. My most common complaint when jamming is that I can't really hear myself properly. A monitor speaker would definitely be very useful.

I have a few suggestions. To be honest $20 is quite steep when compared to some of the other studios out there. What is gonna justify the extra 25% for all the jammers? How about customer service. Singaporeans always complain about the lack of good customer service in Singapore, so it shouldn't be too hard to stand out. Simple things like helping the vocalist to equalize the mic, helping the guitarists to set up and get their ideal tone, helping drummers to tune their drums etc, will go a LONG way. I've noticed that a lot of the people who run jamming studios look quite bored all the time. They're either surfing the net or listening to music etc. Why not take that time and spend it constructively by making sure your jammers have the best jamming experience ever? You seem like somebody with a lot of passion for this so I'm sure you'll do well.

Looking forward to the opening of your new studio!

 

[zari_maxi]

Helping Hand

Bro, you are right. I'm passionate about the things I wanna do, or what I'm doing.
Cos, IMHO, if you wanna do things, do it properly and honestly, if not, why bother doing it?
Waste of time, effort and money. Time waits for no man. It flies in a blink of an eye!

Like I said before, WHEN the studio opens, you jamm and judge.

The setup may be a small fish, to some, but, this is what I believe to justify the rates.
SMALL ENOUGH TO BE PROFESSIONAL, BIG ENOUGH TO BE PERSONAL.

I make sure, the extra effort will be put in, to make sure jammers are satisfied, from head to toe, with vocals and all instrument sound. Shisssh! Secret Recipe!

Then probably our motto will be, Probably The Best Studio In The West.

Thanks

ZARi

May Peace Be Upon To All

 

[sg_legion_of_ hell]

i dont know though bout your idea.
you sure anyone is gonna invest 5k?
cmon man the economy now is like toot.
And it takes 2 years just to get that 5k back.
n personally $20?
if a band of teenagers jam for 2 hours 40 sia.
rather they pay 60 cents take a bus to somewhere in city hall or something
and get jamming for $16/17 and save money.
And isnt this your first time doing a studio?
How can u proof that you're gonna make money instead of losing?
you must think.
NO JAM=LOSS
LOSS=DEBT
DEBT=BANKRUPT
Nothing personal but i saw alot of studio's going down the drain cause the depend to much on the studio rather than music.

 

[zax]

its debt btw?