Value, price, quality- these aren't clearly understandable concepts in audio recording. It's not common knowledge to the layperson how much a CD can cost. When you were 10, you probably didn't have a great concept of money. $100 was maybe a lot to you at that time. As an adult, it doesn't hold nearly the same value. The more you learn about it, the more you understand its value. Audio recordings are no different, in this sense. The problem arises when you have a musician or a band spend, at least their definition, a significant amount of money recording an album. Spending $2000 on an album might seem like a fortune to some people. And because it's what they consider to be a fortune, unfortunately, they mistakenly compare their recording to the only other recordings they have to reference: commercial recordings.
Financially, you can think of making an album and buying a car almost interchangeably. Not only because there are varying degrees of usefulness and value, but because their costs are relatively similar. You can buy a working car for $500 or $20,000. It all depends on your needs and budget. In the same respect, you can spend anywhere between those amounts making an album.
But this information isn't common knowledge. Most people don't know that the songs they hear on the radio come from albums that literally cost $20,000 to produce. In the same vein, it would be ridiculous to spend $500 on a Geo Metro, and expect it to look, feel, and perform, exactly like a Mustang. So the short answer to why doesn't your album sound like Band X's commercially released album? Because you didn't spend $20,000 making it.
Now, I'm not mistaking correlation for causation- merely spending $20k on an album doesn't guarantee it will sound amazing. But, having a budget of $20,000 allows you access to the same high-end tools required to make those pristine sounding records. Even though it's very rare, we non-commercial studios, occasional get a client who is disappointed that their $2,000 album doesn't sound like Band X's $20,000 album. Those commercial albums are made using some of the best equipment money can buy (sometimes $100K+). Our demand is different than that of a commercial studio. Our clientele aren't releasing records meant to go straight to radio and be sold to the masses at record stores around the country. Sticking with the car analogy, my clientele need a nice make and model, in good condition, to get from point A to point B, without being too lavish and won't break the bank. They need a used Toyota Camry. And so to meet that demand, I carefully chose every piece of equipment I use, to provide the highest quality with the lowest overhead.
This post isn't meant to make you feel like you're getting something cheap and worthless. For some people, a Geo Metro is all they need. Just don't buy a Metro and expect a 69 Mustang.
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