At Interscope's request, Zutaut investigated the project's budget. He found that the band were spending thousands of dollars a month on rented gear that went unused, and made changes that he estimated saved around $75,000 a month. Additionally, Rose kept erratic hours, which meant that the salaried musicians, engineers, and assistants were often unable to work. Zutaut said: "These fucking people are getting paid shitloads of money and they're sitting on their arse doing nothing because Axl's not coming to the studio and they can't get him on the phone."