MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR STUDIO TIME

We truly hope that this article will be helpful to you. Feel free to refer back to it or print it out in the PDF format to discuss with your band mates. Good luck and happy recording!

When your project is finally completed and ready to be Mastered or duplicated, keep ASi studios in mind for high quality Mastering services and CD duplication packages of all kinds.

Preparation • Set Up • Recording • Mixdown

Preparation

1. Rehearse your songs, till you're blue if necessary! Pay close attention for weak areas.
2. Record your songs during live gigs and pre-production rehearsals. A simple cassette is fine. The recording doesn't lie. You will hear the areas that need work.
3. Have all your musical and vocal parts worked out ahead of time. That includes the Lead guitarist! Know your solos!
4. Make sure the drummer is comfortable playing to a click track. This is extremely important if you desire a "tight" professional product.
5. It's always a good idea to rehearse more songs than you plan to record. You never know which songs may come together and surprise you. If you plan to record 4 songs, have 6 ready just in case.
6. If you are using a computer or sequencer, make sure you prepare all the material before the session.
7. Inspect your gear & instruments. Use new strings, have your instruments checked and adjusted as needed. Check for and remove all buzzing sounds, as for sure they will wind up on the recording. Drummers, install new heads and tune drums accordingly. Clean all cymbals! This will produce much clearer images when recorded. Bring spares of what ever you use!
8. Finally, prepare yourself mentally for the day. Take care of your body before and during the sessions. Eat well, get plenty of sleep and keep your ears rested.

return to top

The Set Up

1. Be Early! The clock starts whether you're there or not. I would recommend having the drummer arriving first to set up the kit and get it dialed in. This process is time consuming, and it's best when there are only a few involved.
2. Make sure you and the engineer have the same idea of what you are trying to achieve. Discuss and go over the songs with the engineer before the session. Take notes. It is also a good idea at this time to determine what 1 person from the band will is responsible for interacting with the engineer regarding your direction and what is to be achieved. This will alleviate a lot of problems down the road.
3. Depending upon the studio and the track capability, plan out how many tracks you will utilize and how you can leave room for all the essential parts. This will simplify the mix and cut down on the need for bouncing tracks later on.
4. Make the studio a comfortable and relaxed place. If your not relaxed, it will show through on the finished product.
5. Be comfortable with your gear. It is not recommended to use new or different gear that you are unfamiliar with. Simple surprises may arise and cause problems that eat up time.

Return to top

Recording

1. Remember, it's all about emotion and feelings that makes the best songs, not necessarily the best technical rendition.
2. Try to relax while recording. If you mess up a spot individually, keep going. The engineer can easily punch in a correction later on. If you keep stopping and starting over, you will quickly burn out and be useless to the rest of the group.
3. Check and tune your instruments often.
4. Always keep in mind the focus of your music. If it's in the vocals, plan on spending more time to produce them. Don't waste time on things that don't highlight the focal point.
5. Remember... you don't have to fill all the tracks on the tape!
6. Create and get the sound you want while recording. Don't assume you can fix it in the mix! You know what assume means don't you?
7. Record tracks individually with no effects! You'll have plenty of time later to add them. The idea here is that if you record with an effect you are stuck with it, no turning back. If you add effects later, you can change them as much as you want and it will not effect the original track. If necessary, the engineer can add effects through the returns of the head phones so you will hear the effect but it won't be recorded.
8. Be careful not to double track everything. This process is sometimes abused!
9. Singers: always bring plenty of water with you. Warm or room temp is best. Never use ice! Cold temps constrict your vocal chords. Warm Tea with honey works great!
10. Keep guests out! Period.
11. Always get a track listing and accurate time log from the studio.
12. Always make a back up tape at the end of each recording session. A must!
13. Know when to quit for the day. If you are tired, it shows in the recording. If a session is going to hell, quit! You can only work through a bad session for so long. I can't stress this enough... remember you are creating, if it's not happening today that's OK.

return to top

The Mixdown

1. In the studio, listen to a few favorite CD's that you're familiar with on your home system. This will give you an idea of how the studio's system sounds.
2. Determine ONE person ahead of time, a spokesperson if you will, who will interact with the engineer on opinions regarding the mix. An engineer getting five different opinions on how to mix and do his job will grow old & tired real fast. This only causes bad feelings and a rushed job. Avoid this at all costs.
3. Once you have selected an engineer or producer to mix your recording, trust them to do the first mix. Simply put, their ears are better trained than yours. Try to keep an open mind. If you have a certain style or sound your going for, bring the engineer copies of these bands on CD to listen to. This will give him direction and examples.
4. Think about the songs as a whole and not for the individual instruments or parts. Otherwise, everyone will want their instrument louder in the mix causing mayhem.
5. If for some reason you are mixing in a different location from where the recording took place, make sure you use the same speakers. If not the mix will sound completely different.
6. As you review each mix in the studio make sure you can comfortably hear all of the instruments. Try listening to the mix at a very low volume. You should be able to pick out each instrument. Also, listen to your mix at moderate volume levels. Avoid mixing at loud levels, your ears will fatigue quickly and you will loose sense of the true sound.
7. After each mix session, get a copy on cassette that you can listen to. Make copies on your own if necessary. Listen to your music on many other sources like your car, boom box, or other home stereo. Sit down with the band separate from the studio and go over it carefully. As a group decide what changes, if any are needed and have the selected person meet with the engineer to make the changes.
8. Count on and budget in unforeseen delays, especially in the mixdown process. Simply stated, the more time you spend on mixing each selection, the better your project will be. It is not uncommon for a major label project to spend a week just mixing 1 song. Most people don't have that kind of a budget, but you can get an idea of the different levels that can be obtained.
9. ALWAYS, always, always make a back up copy of your mixdown DAT after each selection is completed. This will preserve your investment should something ever happen to the original master.

Return to top