Down below follows a few tips that can be clever to think about before entering a recording studio. Be prepared! Decide which song to record, exactly how they should be arranged and rehearse them well. If you do this your finished Master will show up both sooner and cheaper. A little warning! Don't rehearse the songs so much that it's no fun to play them anymore! Do all the songs have proper endings? When it comes to arranging, less is often more and an ' airy ' production is usually more dynamic and gripping when all the changes can be clearly heard. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to not play at all!
Choose a producer for your recordings. May be someone in the band or someone else who knows what sound you should have. In our view a producer should drop in from time to time and not sit through endless hours of production. This way s/he can examine the recordings with 'fresh ears' and make sure you are on the right Track.
We think it´s better to scrap a track than to sit around thinking about if "it will do". If that insecurity shows, the track is probably not good enough and your subconscious is trying to tell your brain just that.
Take good care of your gear.. and your gear will take good care of you. New strings on guitars and basses. 'Fret less' or other means to minimize fret sounds when recording guitars. New drum skins, oil drum pedals, sometimes thinner cymbals are used when recording drums. Damping material. In other words take good care of your instruments! Is everything packed? Spare sticks, Plectrums, Spare cables, Power supplies, Batteries, etc, etc. Last but not least, Tune them! (or not?) The great sounds should linger in the room before the microphones are set up.
Feel free to bring a couple of well known references to the studio. When rigging, you can listen to these and get a feel for the sound of our monitors. All monitors sound different and are placed within different rooms. It's wise to really know the monitoring as ´ all ´choices about your recording are made with this reference.
The day and night before the recording you should avoid drugs and alcohol (As always), make sure you get enough sleep.
RECORDING PRACIS It's wise to do a 'silent' count-in. 1, 2, 3, where the third count is silent. This way you get a 'clean cut' when you do your editing later on. When you have finished your overdub sit silent and count to 10, do not move, change seat or breath. All the above are done to avoid having to spend a lot of time cleaning up the tracks from crap. Time is money, yours.
READY? ' STANDBY! ' TAPE ROLLING! When doing overdubs our sound engineer will ask if you are 'Ready'. If you are not, let us know. It could be things like monitor mixes, lights, tuning, the chair, what have you! Let us know.
After 'Ready' comes 'Standby' Be silent, all this is done to avoid extensive editing on all tracks you record. Be silent, relax, this is fun!
'Tape rolling' Show time.
Be organized between takes, do not goof around and play or talk. Tune up sit quietly or leave the room. Time is money. Yours. Relax, to make recordings can be stressful. Make sure you have fun. Most mistakes can be fixed and if you enjoy yourself it will be heard on your recordings.
To work in a studio can be tiresome. May be because of the long periods you need to be highly concentrated. Make sure you take a break once in a while, bring some fresh air into the room, go for a walk. This is probably the best studio tip there is. It helps out when you get stuck, have problems with a take etc. Make sure to encourage each other, no one plays wrong with intent and will for sure not play better by feeling the pressure.
Recording Vocals in the studio.
To sing in the studio is a whole lot different from singing on stage. What's missing is the audience, the rush and excitement from a live performance. Singing in the studio can be quite clinical so try to be like a good actor and visualize your ´audience´ in front of you eyes. Make everyone ´believe´ in what you sing even if it's not your own lyrics you are singing. Tell the story.
It's normal not to like the sound of your dry voice coming back from tape. It can also take time to learn to sing with headphones. Remember that in a lot of today's music the vocals are overdubbed many times and and are heavily processed. So do not compare your first take with with what you hear on the radio.
Avoid drugs and alcohol and make sure you get enough sleep on the night before your session. Remember to drink plenty of water on the day of recording. Our bodies priorities things like digestion and your vocal chords need all the moisture they can get. Do not eat too much right before your session. Avoid cold or carbonated soft drinks or milk, plain hot water is a classic! Make sure you warm up your voice. This is the real thing, you may have to live with this recording for the rest of your life and it might be the last recording you will do. Some singers perform best in stage clothing other´s alone in the dark.
Always ask for what you need before you start recording. Things like, tea, better monitor mix, different light or what ever. Don't be afraid to make mistakes, we can always re-record.
Contact us if you have any questions about anything, your recording is important to us.