As a benefit of studying at SAE, I have had access to some amazing equipment and some incredible studios that I have utilised to great potential when and wherever possible. With the current EP I’m working on, the equipment we have used has been pretty extensive, so I’m going to take a quick look into what equipment we will/have used and draw up a budget and take a real look at the realistic cost of a project such as this one.
Here is the equipment we will be using and have used, and their RRPs in AUD.
DAWS
- Pro Tools 12 – $895
Microphones
- Rode NT2A x 2 – $730 ($365 each)
- Rode NT5 (pair) – $445
- Rode NT1A – $238
- Neumann U87 – $3499
Instruments
- Tanglewood Electro Acoustic Guitar – $599 (Not Specific Guitar – Roundabout model used)
- Novation Launchkey 61 – $369
Other Equipment & Necessary Items
- Microphone Stands x 5 = $195 ($39 each)
- DI Box – $189
- XLR Cables x 6 – $101.70
- Guitar Lead – $12
- Audio Interface (Scarlett 18i20) – $680
- Various Plugins (EQs, Compressors, etc.) – $200
- Headphones (Audio Technica M30x) – $95
Total = $8247.70
As you can see, the equipment we have utilised to create this album is pretty extensive, with a lot of money mainly spent on microphones. It is definitely quite an investment to begin building up equipment and using it to its fullest, which is why I am extremely lucky to be able to use this equipment at SAE without actually owning it. The benefit of audio equipment is that, once you own it, it does generally last a long period of time, which is lucky, because buying a new set of equipment for each session would definitely add up to a costly experience!
After creating this budget, it has become clear to me that planning out pieces of equipment needed and how much it will cost is vital to the success of a recording session. Without such a plan, the risk is run that not enough equipment is available, thus resulting in a recording of lesser quality, or too much equipment is available, leaving you out of pocket. I know that in future I will definitely be doing cost analysis’ and budgets to ensure I have all that I need to create successful work.
Connor 