RECORDING
TIPS
Before You Come to the Studio
- Your best bet when scheduling your session is to talk to the studio personnel and give them as many details as possible about what you are trying to accomplish with your recording. They do this everyday and probably can help.
- Decide how many and which songs you'll be recording and have them prepared BEFORE your session. Practice the songs straight through, including intros, endings and dynamics. Work out all your solos before you get to the studio. Be prepared to play with headphones on.
- If needed, put a new set of strings on your guitar at least 2 days before the session. Do not change them the day before, as they will go out of tune quickly.
- Check your equipment for buzzes, ground irregularities, squeaks and rattles, and fix any problems.
- Get a good night's sleep; don't stay up partying the night before your session.
- ARRIVE ON TIME for your session. Remember - the clock starts at your scheduled session time.
What to Bring to the Studio
- Guitarist: Bring your guitar, tuner, any effects pedals (don't forget batteries), cables, picks and extra strings. We have amps available for recording, but you are also welcome to bring your own.
- Bassist: Bring your bass, any effects pedals, picks, cables and extra strings. Bass guitar is almost always recorded directly through the board, so a bass amp is not necessary.
- Drummer: At a minimum, bring your cymbals, snare, kick pedal and drumsticks. We have drum kits available for recording. If you would like to bring your own drum kit, remember it will add time to the setup.
- Vocalist: If you have a favorite vocal mic, bring it to the session. Bring your lyrics even if you have them memorized!
- Recording Media: If you already have and want to use your own DAT cassette and/or regular cassettes, remember to bring them.
- Food/Beverages: You may bring snacks or beverages to the session (within reason). We also have bottled water, iced tea, soda, chips and candy bars for sale, and there are also several restaurants in the area that deliver (including a great Mexican restaurant across the street).
- Consider
leaving friends and fans at home. Extra people may distract you and
in the long run cost you money in wasted studio time. Our studio is
not set up for large groups - we have "standing room only"
for anyone beyond a couple of guests.
In the Studio
- Introduce all band members to the engineer and discuss your plans for the session (songs, order, length, anything out of the ordinary). Know what kind of sound you're going for.
- TUNE YOUR INSTRUMENTS! Guitarists and bassists should all tune with the same tuner, and drummers should tune their drumheads. If it's out of tune for the performance, it will be out of tune on your final mix.
- When ending a song, WAIT until the engineer tells you it's OK to talk, which can seem like forever. Too often, someone yells out "Woohoo!" while the last note or cymbal is still ringing and ruins the take.
- When you mess up, and you will because everyone does in the studio, don't let it get to you. Some people really get affected by a bad take, and it usually shows in the next take, not usually for the better. We have the luxury of being able to press "rewind" and go again - a bad take is not the end of the world!
- The best
mix is achieved by an excellent recording. A "fixing it in the
mix" attitude will make it harder to get the final product right.
A common misconception is that a lot of reverb or delay will make a
bad track sound good. Nothing could be further from the truth. An out-of-tune
note with a huge amount of reverb on it gives you a lot of out-of-tune
reverb! Remember: a bad track will always stick out. No amount of effects
or anything else will make it sound better. The only way to fix it is
to remove or replay it.
The Mixing Session
- This is the time when you will "mix down" the 16 tracks to 2-track CD-R. This is your final stereo master and will be the last chance to get everything sounding exactly right. After the mixdown there is no going back except for re-mixing, which is mixing the whole song all over again.
- Mixing has three stages. First, you go through each recorded track and adjust the sound so that the instrument (or whatever) sounds as good as possible. Secondly, the effects are added. Effects are things like reverbs, delays, flangers, phasers, compression, gating, and all the other wonderful "toys" that modern technology has provided for us. The third part of mixdown is the actual balancing of all the tracks together to get the best blend. Levels will have to be adjusted, and some tracks will have to be turned off and on at particular times during the song.
- Your most important asset in the mixing session is having "fresh ears." Get a good night's sleep and make sure your ears are rested before the mixing session.
- Your worst enemy at the mixing session is a short attention span. The number one mistake bands make when mixing (especially younger bands) is losing interest halfway through mixing the first song, goofing off for the rest of the mixing session assuming the engineer will take over and make all of the mixing decisions for them, then complaining later that the mix isn't what they wanted. Remember that this is YOUR mix - be prepared to sit still for a long time and hear your songs over and over and over again. Stay involved.
Some Final Things to Remember
- Live sound and recorded sound are two completely different worlds. The sound you have when you play live will change when you play in a studio.
- Be open to suggestion if you are new to the studio, and don't think you have to try a certain complex recording technique just because you read in Guitar Player that Smashing Pumpkins used it. Each song is unique and must be recorded in a fitting way.
- The quality of your recording is directly related to the quality of your instruments. In other words, a crappy drumset or guitar will still sound like a crappy drumset or guitar no matter how good the engineer or recording equipment. Use the best quality instruments you can!
- The quality of your recording is directly related to the quality of your performance. In other words, don't expect the technology to make something sound fantastic if it's badly played. You can't polish a turd!
- Above all, treat the engineer with respect. His job is to make you sound good - do what you can to make that job easier. Remember that he is the expert on his equipment, placement of people and mics, and how best to capture the sound. Follow his instructions on where to stand, what not to move or touch, when it is and isn't OK to play or talk, etc. Temper tantrums, rough-housing, obnoxious yelling, drunkenness, and drug use are all unacceptable behavior in the studio.