Thats my line. Bad song, great recording, Still bad. Great song crappy recording still great song. Great Producers CAN hear great songs through the "noise".

These Arrangers have great mixes out of the box. Far better than many can accomplish on their own. Home recording is getting easier and easier by the year. Prices are way down on great gear, I remember when the AT4033 was the cheapest large diaphragm one could get at $600. I thought I had dies and gone to heaven to be able to use a Large diaphram mike!! Now you can get that "quality" for less than 1/2 the price. Pre Amps, DA/AD converters, Software plug ins rivaling the best hardware of years gone by. Never be discouraged by those in the business of selling "dreams" by the hour. Take those thousands and buy the gear and learn the process and record what you want when you want. IF you have a good song and a regular crowd, the gear will pay for itself.

There are enough players who are not technically inclined and will want to pay to record in someone else studio. That's a good thing for them and a great reason to have professional commercial studios out there.
But its not a requirement anymore. IF the studio thinks the material is good enough and wants a Master. They will see that one is recorded. If they don't like the material no matter how good the recording, the money spent making the CD was wasted when it could have gone to purchasing their own gear. Hollywood ,Nashville and NY waste bins are filled with $5000 recordings.

But if one doesn't care about recording contracts they can do it themselves. Even if they do and have a decent demo they can get a deal....ITS ALL ABOUT THE SONG. Thats what they all will tell you in Nashville. A good producer will hear a great song with just piano part perhaps and actually look forward to painting the rest of the pallet.