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
perfect studio, one that you feel comfortable at, there is a certain routine that must be followed in order to get best performance and 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 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 final recording bill. The main reason for this is because they confuse rehearsal time with recording time. Rehearse at home, in garage, at your uncle’s house; anywhere but at recording session. When you arrive at studio, you should know your songs inside-out and be ready for 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 rest of band can lock in to, and to sync-up loops and delay times.
4.Be Early. Many studios start charging their clients from exact time agreed to in contract. Just because you decide to show up late, doesn’t mean that studio should give up that time for free. Be early and be ready to go.
5.Get Sound Right. Never, ever try to “fix it in mix”. It doesn’t work like that. Take an extra few minutes to tweak sound before recording it. Turn that knob, tighten that string, have another sip of water. Remember again, tweaking may take an extra minute, but recording will last forever.
