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You know your songs are great (and so does your
girl/boyfriend, family, pets etc), and you finally decided to record an
album in a real studio. That's great! But what actually happens when
you get there?
When you finally do pick the perfect
studio, one that you feel comfortable at, there is a certain routine
that must be followed in order to get the best performance and the best
recording for your budget.
1. Tune Your Instruments.
This also includes your drums and any tunable percussion instruments
you may have. There is absolutely nothing worse in the world than to
have a perfectly written song with a perfect performance be ruined
because someone didn't take an extra 2 minutes to check their tuning.
Tuning takes a few minutes a recording lasts forever.
2. Be Well Rehearsed.
You'll be surprised how many bands suffer shock when they get the final
recording bill. The main reason for this is because they confuse rehearsal time with recording
time. Rehearse at home, in the garage, at your uncle's house anywhere
but at the recording session. When you arrive at the studio, you should
know your songs inside-out and be ready for the red light.
3. Practice with a Click Track.
A lot of drummers aren't able to play with a click track. Make sure
yours can. A click track is essential in getting a good basic rhythm
track that the rest of the band can lock in to, and to sync-up loops
and delay times.
4. Be Early. Many studios start
charging their clients from the exact time agreed to in the contract.
Just because you decide to show up late, doesn't mean that the studio
should give up that time for free. Be early and be ready to go.
5. Get the Sound Right. Never,
ever try to "fix it in the mix". It doesn't work like that. Take an
extra few minutes to tweak the sound before recording it. Turn that
knob, tighten that string, have another sip of water. Remember again,
tweaking may take an extra minute, but the recording will last forever.
6. Know When To Quit. Recording
often leads to diminishing returns. Spending 20 hours in a row at the
recording session isn't going to make your song twice as good as
spending 10 hours. This rule also applies to mixing. If you're tired,
call the session and come back the next day fresh and ready.
7. Record Alone.
Don't bring your friends, family, parents or anyone else into your
sessions. As fun as it may be, you are there to do a job and record the
best music possible. If you are a millionaire, then by all means, have
a party at the studio, but don't count on getting anything done.
8. Mix and Match.
After letting the engineer do the first rough mix alone (which he
should) do an A/B comparison of your mix to some of your favorite CDs.
Remember that the production CDs you are listening to have already been
mastered. But it's a good way to compare levels and panning.
9. Bring Spares.
Always bring spare strings, drum heads, bass strings, water bottles,
throat lozenges, etc to a session. You'll always need the one thing you
forgot to bring, so bring it all and leave them at the studio until
your recordings are finished.
10. Have Fun!
This is THE most important point of all. Creating and recording music
isn't rocket science. Although there is a science involved, you should
let the engineer worry about that. If you're not having fun, then
you're in the wrong business!
©2004 Richard Dolmat (Digital Sound Magic)
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About The Author
Richard Dolmat is owner, engineer and producer for the Vancouver based recording studio Digital Sound Magic. Visit his site at: http://www.digitalsoundmagic.com
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