Should I go to a studio or release demos?

Question

I'm in a bit of a predicament. I'm a solo rock artist with CFS/ME (chronic fatigue syndrome). If I was healthy I would definitely pay to produce my songs in a studio or send them off to labels etc, but I'm not. My fatigue has the following negative effects on my music:

1. Can't play live (don't have the physical stamina to play a song all the way through at once).
2. My voice sounds worse.

What I can do is self-produce demos at home, slowly (need many days off to rest). All in all I'm very happy with the composition of my songs and relatively happy with the recording quality of the instruments but unhappy with the vocals.

The problem is if I paid to use a studio I'd still have a weakened voice.

But could a studio do some magic effects on my voice (while still sounding natural) it that make it sound better? I'm trying to weigh up whether it could be worth giving a studio a go just for one track to find out how out how it sounds.

So far I've released two demos onto soundcloud and received mixed feedback. Some people say its great, a few have commented on the vocals needing improvement. I want to eliminate that problem but I'm not sure if a studio will be able to solve it or not.

Does anyone have any advice?

A side note I would obviously love to have polished studio recordings rather than my demos, I just don't want to do it if the vocals will still sound a bit naff.

Answer 1

A studio will work with the material you bring to it. If you have vocal problems and others don't, obviously that's what going to make a difference. It sounds to me like you should rather invest in a vocal coach (preferably with a focus on the style of music you want to end up producing) as well as whatever medical care you need in order to learn to control and/or deal with the effects of your condition.