Studio Tips

Pre-Production: Planning is a very important part of a successful recording project. Be able to tell the engineer what type of sound you’re looking for. Bring CD’s of projects you like. Know what you want to get done on each session and be realistic about the time frame to achieve it. Talk with the engineer about what is a realistic time frame. Remember it always takes longer than you expect! Prepare a session schedule (transportation, song order, session goals, etc.)

Practice: Practice, practice and then more practice.

	Practice every aspect of your project:Individual parts (musically and vocally)Arrangements (who does what, when)
	Practice background tracks and overdubs. (use whatever means possible to do this. Cassette decks, portastudios, etc.)
	Practice playing and listening from headphones (this can seem difficult if you have never done it before)
	Practice counting every song off and if possible play to a click track.
	Practice the songs exactly like you’ll be doing them. Don’t decide after you get to the studio you want to try a crazy new part that you never rehearsed.
	Remember it’s cheaper to practice at the band room than at the studio!

Music: Make multiple copies of the lyric sheets for every member and the engineer. Even though you know the song perfect from practicing, you may forget when you’re standing in front of a big expensive microphone. The engineers copy serves as a road map to songs. (verse 1, verse 2, chorus, etc.) This helps when locating specific spots on the tape. (Contrary to popular belief engineers are not Psychic) Also make notes on your individual copies stating special things that you might need to know. (start lead here, background vocals here, etc.) Have special things on the engineers copy as well, putting the engineer on the same page as you. For example if the song requires hard loud vocals. (this saves you from having to re-sing a song because of improper settings. Or anything else (using brushes instead of drum sticks, using acoustic instead of electric, etc.

Tune It: Have instruments in perfect tune make for great recordings. Be sure that the intonation on all guitars are good. (if your not sure, most good music stores can recommend a good guitar tech. USE HIM!) Check tuning regularly during the session, (before and after each song is recommended) You must have new strings on your instrument for good tone, but don’t put them on at the studio put them on a day or two before so they will stretch and not go out during playing (bass players this is not always for you, some players like the sound of older strings) Also check your rig (pickups, amps, cords, and stomp boxes etc.) for hums and buzzes, if you find any, correct the problem. Remember a good sound starts from the source! The same goes for drums. Talk to the engineer about using the studios guitars, amps and drums.

The Big Day: Your session starts at the time booked! If you scheduled for 10:00 am, be there at 10:00 am, not 10:15 or later, if anything be a little early. Leave friends and fans at home, you have a job to do. Extra people will just distract you and in the long run cost you more money. Be prepared. Bring extra everything (strings, sticks, batteries, amps etc.) anything that can break down. Headphone mixes are an important part of recording. Please understand it takes time to get that "perfect headphone mix" So please be patient and be prepared to make compromises.When we track your first song and we play it back, remember, it is as rough as it gets. (NO EQ, Effects, etc.) Just listen to make sure there are no mistakes musically. Remember also that it is multitrack, so if an instrument does not seem loud enough, don’t freak out, it more than likely can be brought up. After recording, you may want a quick mix to give you a basic idea of what’s on tape and how to handle the mix down. Please remember this is not the final mix!!!

Mix down: The mix down is the most important part of the project, and most often is the longest part. So please plan on putting your time and money on the mix down. This is where we take the raw tracks and blend them to be able to create your master piece. On most projects we don’t like to track and mix on the same day. Reason being, if you get away and start with a fresh mind and ears, your mix will turn out much better. So when you come back for the mix, the engineer will have already set up his equipment and have established a basic mix to work from, then suggestions are welcome. Remember unless you have set up for the engineer to produce, you will be producing your project. So know what you want and how you like it to sound. (Please be realistic, *Garbage in is Garbage out). The engineer will make suggestions as you go. Listen carefully and consider what he has to say. Please don’t feel obligated to use them, after all, they’re only suggestions.The next step is Mastering. It is highly recommended that you have your project mastered. All recordings that you buy in the store and you hear on the radio have been mastered. We do mastering here, or you can have it done else where, but have it done! You will need to let the engineer know what you want to do before he starts mix down.

After saying all of that, the most important thing besides being thoroughly prepared and practiced is, You Need to Have Fun and Enjoy the Project. That’s really what it’s all about anyway!