View Full Version : How many people are in bands\groups, etc
How many people are in bands, groups, solo singers (not karaoke), etc and if you are or you know people who are, do you \they find it hard to get places to practice.
I am having trouble finding places to set up and rehearse. Now apart from turning my front room into a studio and my wife leaving me, it seems to be that many places now dont want the hassle of allowing musicians, setting up and strumming away :cuckoo:
Anybody else having this trouble?
I'm in a band with a few mates and we struggled for a while to find a place to practice. However, as we're younger, we found a band room at the local youth centre, which we could hire out.
Recording studios often have rooms which you can hire out, with a drum kit, PA system and mic's included. These rooms can be fairly expensive though.
Try asking at your local music shop or other bands if they know of any siutable places.
KeyserSoze
22-10-2005, 10:43
Well noise and space is always going to be an issue. You can rent out studio space but thats obviosuly gonna cost quite a lot. But between a few a of you it might not be too bad.
Where abouts are you based? I live in the Birmingham area and have been in a band for about 7 years! We have never had any trouble finding rehearsal rooms. Have a look in the yellow pages under rehearsal studios. Most practice rooms are equpiied with Drums, Amps, P.A so all you need to take is your Instruments and leads and plug in! (Drummer will need his cymbals although most places hire these out at an extra charge)
stillill
24-10-2005, 11:37
We rehearse in a unit on a small out of town industrial estate near Rochester. It's a bit of a pain to get to, but as long as we practise in the evening/weekends, there's not bother. The walls are soundproofed with foam/eggboxes etc, and the drumkit and amps are all stored there. Not too expensive.
Rehearsal rooms are a bit of a killer, if you're paying £50 at least once a week, but you'd hope to be rehearsing twice at least I think.
My friends from college are in a band and supported Tsunami Bomb which I thought was impressive.
http://www.3gunpete.com/
I'll pretty much echo what everyone else has said - unless you're on a remote Hebridean island, there are probably rehearsal rooms near you. Rates will probably be between £5 - £8 per hour for a fully equiped room - which split between about 4 band members isn't too bad. Many rooms are cheaper during the day, too.
BTW shouldn't this be in the Music Forum? :)
splobber
24-10-2005, 13:22
Probably more at home in the Music Forum.
bertieblueshirt
24-10-2005, 14:00
I play drums in two bands, one of which I am very excited about and we should be hitting the Midland scene very soon. A practice room is the way to go but they can vary widely in quality. Phone a few up and ask them what equipment they have.
If you are in the West Midlands, MadHouse in Birmingham is one of the best facilities available IMO. We pay around £11 per hour for a big room.
Whilst I play the guitar a bit I'm not in a band but my friends are, they've just got through to the final of a battle of the bands competition at the Rock Garden in Covent Garden next Sunday, http://www.thebo.co.uk
meat puppet
24-10-2005, 15:50
We use the local music forum which has recording studios and rehearsal rooms which are complete with drums, amps and Pa. They charge by the hour £7.50 split 4 ways isnt too bad. It depends how much work you have to get through, we have done some ultra long sessions (for people with full time jobs) of around 5 hours, but that starts to get expensive.
LeftHandedGuitarist
24-10-2005, 17:32
Interesting prices you guys are quoting here. My friend is in a band and the rehearsal studio they were using was £35 an hour, and it did not provide drums or amps.
£35 an hour sounds pretty high. I practice in Clapaham Junction for about £10 per hour and croydon for £35 (or something like that) for four hours /£5 per hour in work hours, they all provide PA amps and drums.
However I also have a set up at home that means the band can come round and use headphones. I used pods for bass and guitar instead of amps and a yamaha mesh pad kit so that we are almost compleately noiseless.
£35 an hour? Who are they, U2?
We pay £5 an hour which is the going rate round here I'd think. That includes PA, guitar/bass cabs and a rudimentary drumkit (though our drummer uses his own anyway).
Sure, it's a bit cold in winter and a bit mucky but that's rock 'n' roll innit? If it was good enough for The Kaiser Chiefs then I imagine it's good enough for most.
£35 an hour?? :eek: For that I'd expect hot & cold running sex slaves or something.
I'm gobsmacked that they can stay in business with rates like that... :cuckoo:
bertieblueshirt
25-10-2005, 07:10
I used pods for bass and guitar instead of amps and a yamaha mesh pad kit so that we are almost compleately noiseless.
Yeah, we do the same. I've got an old Yamaha DTXpress electronic kit that we use when working on new songs. It's not completely noiseless (the rubber kick drum gives a loud thwack when played) but it does enable you to practice in a house without falling out with the neighbours. Another band I was in used to practice using headphones via a headphone amp.
Oh, and I agree £35 per hour is way over the top. That sounds more like the cost of a recording session!
Rich Bitch in Birmingham... For £11.50 an hour that gets you a full stage set up. Backline (Mixed down by an engineer), Guitar Amps, Drums, Stage Monitors etc.. and you can record yourself live onto mini disc for no extra costs!!..
Man you people should really shop around!....
bertieblueshirt
25-10-2005, 09:58
Rich Bitch in Birmingham... For £11.50 an hour that gets you a full stage set up. Backline (Mixed down by an engineer), Guitar Amps, Drums, Stage Monitors etc.. and you can record yourself live onto mini disc for no extra costs!!..
Man you people should really shop around!....
We've used the dance studio at Rich Bitch before now and it's pretty good. I have to say tho, in all other areas I've found Rich Bitch to be lacking. The parking is appauling, the owner is a grumpy sod, they take retainers for everything (including the felts on the cymbal stands!!) and the other rooms are usually dirty with poor equipment. MadHouse is much better IMO!
I agree that the parking is appauling. As for Rob the owner he is ok! Always very helpful and friendly with us!...
As for retainers our drummer uses his own felts and cymbals so we never pay the retainers.. And think about how many felts and stuff get nicked hence the retainer. They may only be pence but when you are replacing them every other day that i guess it mounts up!...
The rooms are well equipped i think! We never get a sound like we get in Rich Bitch anywhere else in Birmingham. What i love about Rich Bitch is they aren't as anal as other studios. Places like Fatback are extremely anal about there equipment and rooms and i find you spend the first 30 mins trying to set up and get the sound right where as rich bitch we normally plug and play!...
Madhouse are good studios one of the better ones. Rich Bitch has been there for around 20+ years and still going strong so some of the places do look a little dated.. It just boils down to personal preference i think... I hate Robanna's some poepl love it there...
bertieblueshirt
25-10-2005, 10:50
Fair play Stu!
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