times they are a'changing
In my neck of the woods (los Angeles) the reality of keeping a multi-room facility economically feasable is becoming almost nil.
One major studio in Hollywood is offering their 'c' room for $35 per hour. A Neve console, tons of vintage gear and engineer included You have to purchase ten hour blocks, off hours, third engineer etc. but still, this is a rate that most budget studios can't offer.
Recently I was invited to a session where a 50 piece orchestra was being recorded. The musicians were in Prague but visable on a large monitor. The cost (for the orchestra) was somewhere in the $3000 range; A fraction of local union costs. The orchestra, by the way, sounded fantastic.
I really love this new technology; I love the fact that I can record a sax player or singer while being thousands of miles away;
I love garage band, band in a box, sample libraries like Hollywood Strings and Hollywood Brass. I love the fact that anyone can post their music on the web.
but at the same time I really hate it.
Sonar Producer X2/ProTools/Cubase/Reaper
Studio Cat 32 Gig Ram
East West:
Hollywood Strings/Brass/Woodwinds/Goliath
Kontakt Ultimate / FabFilter Bundle / EaReverb / Maag4 / Izotope Ozone 5 / Izotope RX2 / Elastique / Waves