Here are some ideas on how to budget the recording, production, and mixing of your next musical project. I made some assumptions for simplicity’s sake: All the process ideas laid out below are for EPs or short albums between 4 and 7 songs long (probably somewhere around 20-30 minutes). I also assumed that you don't have any recording gear or experience using it, but could learn some basics (because the basics are actually quite easy!). If you already have some gear and or experience the prices may end up being even lower for you. The first few entries are for a band who just wants a good recording of what they sound like when they play together, the later entries are more for bands who want to build a record in the studio and create something unique and different from the sound of their live show.

I hope this is helpful!

Important: these are just estimates, context changes and so do prices. To make it very clear: things might turn out to be more expensive than what I outline here depending on a lot of factors (when we record, how it’s done, how busy I am at that time, etc.). 

Goal: 4-7 track project with simple functional arrangements (not much more than what you play when you play live). You are a: basic rock band ensemble (bass and drums plus guitars, keys, etc.). 

$100:

Come to my home studio and record everything in one day. You’ll have to be very well practiced beforehand, and it’ll be a long day, but we can do it! I’ll then give you the stems of what we recorded (the comps, or arranged best takes). I’ll give you some pointers on how to acquire a good DAW for free, and you mix it. If you hit me up I’ll be happy to answer any mixing questions you have too. 

Downsides: If you’re looking to make a record that sounds significantly different from what your band sounds like live this is not the strategy for you. All there will be time for is multiple takes of the basic tracks that each of you play when you play live, no writing extra bits, no layering, no editing now that you’ve heard what it sounds like recorded. You might also get frustrated with the mix and dissatisfied with the way it ends up sounding. 

$200:

Come to my home studio and record everything in one day. Then hire me for one more day where I’ll mix everything. This is cheaper than my usual mixing rate, but it also means that whatever I come up with on mixing day is what stays (no revisions, except for on that day). Downsides: same as before, it only works for bands that sound good live and want their record to sound like their live show, bands that don’t depend on complex arrangements.

$300 option 1:

Buy a cheap (maybe used) interface, and find a couple mics on craigslist (an SM58 and an SM7b might be the best bets). Pirate logic. Record everything one instrument at a time, using a phone to record drums as well as the two mics (ask me about this micing technique, it actually sounds pretty good). This is likely to be not the highest quality recording (although I am happy to answer any questions you might have along the way). 

A good mix can really help songs that were recorded in this way, but you wouldn’t have enough money left over to hire anyone to mix. A good compromise would be hiring me to make a template of a mix that would work on all of the songs, and some pointers on how to use it and how to mix in general. Either that or hire me for the one day mix strategy outlined above. 

Downsides: You’d probably end up with something charmingly low budget sounding, not the punchiest or cleanest thing, but you’d get a decent final product that people could listen to and get a sense of what’s cool about your band. The $200 option would probably sound cleaner, but give you less time to experiment in the recording process. 

$300 option 2:

Two days at my studio: basically the same approach as the $200 option, only this time two days at my studio for recording. We’d record all the basic tracks in one day except for the vocals, then come back and change or add anything that needs to be changed and record vocals. You’d still need to be a tight band with simple arrangements, but you’d be able to polish some things that need polishing too. Doing vocals on a separate day also means that the vocalist isn’t tired while trying to give their best performance. The same mixing options apply as in the $300 option 1 above. 

$500 option 1:

Basically the same as the $300 option 1, only this time you’d have more or less enough money left over to hire me to mix, which would greatly help with any sonic issues caused by the cheap gear or lack of recording experience. 

Buying gear and recording on your own is the best cheap strategy for: bands who want to experiment with playing their songs in a different way for the record, or compensate for not having an instrumentalist that they need (bassist or drummer), or can’t record quickly for some other reason (whacky schedules, inexperienced musicians, etc.).

$500 option 2:

Record two days at my studio and hire me to mix. If you’re looking for a great recording, with the sonic character that you want, but without going crazy on the overdubs and studio trickery (or, god forbid writing in the studio), this is the way to go. 

$700:

If, for whatever reason you prefer to record over the course of a few days with shorter sessions, that would be slightly more expensive. You’d still likely have money left over to hire me to mix though. 

$1,000

Spend some extra time recording, dial in perfect tones, make some test recordings to make sure everything is sonically exactly how we like it. To be honest though if the arrangements are simple the extra money might be best spent on a mastering engineer who isn’t me. 

Goal: 4-7 track project with more complex arrangements that you want to spend some time perfecting in the studio. You are a band who plays all the instruments you’d like to work with, but not necessarily at once (“our bassist also plays synths!”). 

$500:

Come to my studio, record all the basic tracks that we can in one day, maybe two. Then spend a couple hundred bucks on a mic and interface, and add all the layers your heart desires. Starting with a strong foundation of a well recorded rhythm section (plus whatever else is possible), will make the lower sound quality of the rest of your home recording much less of an issue. You might be somewhat locked in to song structures and dynamics, so maybe this isn’t the freest studio experimentation, although you could try some creative sound warping and chopping of the studio recorded tracks if it fits with your style. If you have money left over hire me for a one day mix or a template, if not mix it yourself!

$700 option 1:

Book 4-6 days of studio time. This would give us enough time to freely mess around with arrangements, form, the best way of performing songs for the record, and generally having fun with the sounds and the songs in the studio. The mixing might have to be one of the cheaper options though. 

$700 option 2:

Book 5-10 shorter sessions over the course of a couple months, and use the time in between the sessions to plan and write, which makes the sessions more efficient, and gives us time to mess around and layer sounds. We might not have quite enough time to go off the deep end into studio experimentation bliss, but we can get nicely layered, intricate songs recorded. Full mixes too, or more sessions with a cheaper mixing strategy. 

$1,000 option 1:

The same as $700 option 1, only with full mixes, not one day mixes.

$1,000 option 2:

More shorter sessions, or the sessions are slightly longer than described in $700 option 2. This would give us time to experiment, and write in the studio, craft the songs to the band’s liking, try things that could be cool but might not work, etc. Full mixes too