Getting clients without using Digidesign Pro Tools doesn't have to be a big deal. In fact, my studio was booked constantly and I was using Sonic Foundry Vegas. There are handful of reasons that my studio was so busy (before I switched to only producing).

What are people looking for in a studio:

1. Price – If they can't afford it, no deal.

2. Sound – Bands are paying out their dough to come out with a cd they are proud of.

3. Comfort – No one wants to feel like they've built a pyramid after spending a day in the studio. Of course, that's just one kind of comfort. What about the band being comfortable around the engineer? Engineers who are fun to be around will always get lots of work. What about the smell of the place?

Well, those are the big ones. If a band leaves your studio with a cd they are proud of (both musically and sonically), in a fairly comfortable environment (no one was bitten by a cobra, no one was swarmed by roaches, and the place didn't smell like piss), and they didn't max out 12 credit cards getting this, the band is going to be happy.

As you know, you can't please everyone. Most bands will not take any responsibility for #2 (THE SOUND!!) even though the band is pretty much 96% in control of that one. But with that said, if you can provide all three of these things, you will run a busy studio....maybe TOO BUSY!

Misunderstanding What Pro Tools Does

I'm not hear to discuss Pro Tools. The fact that your studio doesn't have it clearly illustrates that you felt there was a better product for the money to handle your recording needs. Well, the average metalhead read about Lamb of God in Guitar World. It said that they used Pro Tools and some trick where they strung 14 amps together. (I made this up, but this is the type of crap I heard all the time when I didn't hand pick my bands). The band thinks they need Pro Tools and 14 amps to get that same sound.

Basically, it's the consensus of the layman musician that Pro Tools somehow makes you sound better than the “other stuff”. Well, Pro Tools has it's strong points, but I'm not sure a person could claim that recordings done on Pro Tools will sound better than recordings made on Logic, Cubase, Digital Performer, or Sonar. In most situations, I don't think the band is going to be any more happy or proud of the music or sound quality of the recording based simply on recording system used.

Usually these layman who are not very knowledgeable about recording, have no idea that quite a few people (but still the minority) like Radar better than Pro Tools. Many people use analog still these days.

My point is simple. There are a billion different ways to make the client happy with their recording. The brand/method of “recorder” you use has very little to do with it. If a client really wanted to record with Pro Tools, ask him why

Explain Why You Bought Your Recording Software

I have no problem explaining why I use Cubase SX3. I usually tell bands that I wouldn't mind using Pro Tools, but I'm not dumping $15,000 into a recorder when I have one that does just fine for MUCH less. People like to counter with “Does Pro Tools sound better?”. Of course, I said that the “sound” you are referring to is mostly coming from the converters. I would tell the potential client that I use Mytek converters (which cost an arm and 2 legs) because I wanted BETTER converters the stock Pro Tools converters (even when compared to their HD3 converters. (Note: The irony here is there are very very very few guitar players who can hear the difference between Mytek and Pro Tools converters or would even care even if they could hear a difference).

I would go on to explain that I really like the MIDI sequencer in Cubase and I do a lot of that these days. I'd explain that I have dumped quite a bit of cash into DX plugins in the past and I don't want to throw them away and start with scratch with Pro Tools.

I'd explain that I almost always do all projects start to finish so it's not like I need to interconnect with another studio.

Let Future Clients Hear Your Past Work

By far, the two most powerful ways to sell your studio and engineering services is by letting future clients here your past work and by letting future clients talk with bands you've already worked with. If you've taken care of the bands you worked with, they were happy with the recording, and other bands who heard the recording were happy with the recording, you win! You'll have plenty of business.

The One Reason To Use Pro Tools

There is only one good reason for a band to insist on using Pro Tools.. If they know they are going to be working in multiple studios, it's smart to use a system that everyone uses so that all you need to do is plugin your external hard drive and open up the session no matter which studio you are located in. In this case it makes a lot more sense to use Pro Tools.

Of course, when I track drums with bands in big studios, they often track with Pro Tools. I have the engineer do a “consolidate all” and export the tracks as .wav files. It has worked fine for me.

Conclusion

There are many good reasons to use Pro Tools. There are many good reasons to use other recording software / recording systems. In the end, it's your judgment that is important. You know what you are doing and it shouldn't be tough to explain that to future clients. If you don't have a clue what you are doing, this will become brutally obvious when future clients hear your past work or speak with musicians you have already worked with.