Choosing A Studio And Engineer:   

A professional recording studio “worth it’s weight” will offer a comprehensive list of equipment and services, such as a quiet, well tuned recording environment capable of recording several instruments at once with some degree of isolation. It should have at least 24 track capability, a decent selection of  high quality studio-grade microphones, mic. pre amps, compressor/ limiters and other effects processors. If the studio is using a disk based recording platform, ie Protools, then find out what plug-in effects are offered in their system. A good studio control room will have a neutral playback system that reproduces an honest representation of the mix. It’s a good idea to take home a copy of something that was mixed in the prospective studio to determine if the mixes done in their control room translate well on equipment that you’re familiar with(your car stereo, home stereo, boombox, etc.) .

The next consideration that affects both the project cost and ultimately the overall quality of the recording, is the person who will engineer the project. You’ll need to establish who the engineer  will be and whether or not he/she  is included in the studio rate. This decision is much more then just a monetary one, as the engineer will have a great impact on what  the project will ultimately sound like. Make sure you have the opportunity to hear several different examples of the engineer’s previous work to determine if he/she is well suited to mixing your type of music project. If what you hear doesn’t instill confidence in his/her abilities then look for someone who does. This is probably the single most important decision you’ll make in planning your session.

Costs:

Costs vary greatly depending on the caliber of the recording studio . If your planning on recording the project at a home project studio, then naturally, the cost will be considerably less than if you rent a commercial facility.  However, the services offered and often the caliber of equipment used will also be reflected in the costs. So. make sure that you consider carefully what it is your getting for your money. The old adage “you get what you pay for” definitely applies to recording studios in general. Keep in mind that there’s more to recording a quality CD  than merely having multi track capabilities. Also, don’t forget to ask about the hard costs, such as multitrack tapes, Dat tapes, CD media, etc. .  Studio rates are usually based  on an hourly rate and vary greatly depending on  the services and equipment offered. It’s not unusual to get a flat daily rate for use of a studio which can be an advantage, especially if they allow you to “lockout” the room. This means that all of your equipment can remain in place for an extended number of days, if the project requires it .

Advance Planning:

It is vitally important to do some advance planning prior to the recording session. It’s absolutely imperative that everyone involved in the project be intimately familiar with the songs to be recorded. This would seem obvious enough but I have seen many sessions where it was clear that the band never discussed some key issues before booking time and ended up wasting time, money, and energy trying to pull together their ideas in the studio. It’s also important to practice playing the material without the lead vocal to become accustomed to playing without it. Some studios offer a vocal booth to accommodate a singer for a guide vocal but if many takes are required to get a good performance it may wear out the vocalist in the process. So, learn to play the songs without a vocal so you’re prepared either way. Another thing that’s vitally important for recording the basic rhythm tracks (drums,bass, etc.) is being able to play to a click track. The click track is the electronic equivalent of a metronome and is fed to the musicians headphones to keep the everyone playing as  close to perfect time as possible. Most people struggle with this until they acclimate to hearing it, so, I suggest practicing with a click before going into the studio.

The Session:

Unless midi keyboard sequencing is being used, it is general practice to first record the drums, bass and possibly one other rhythm instrument “live” at the same time . If necessary, a singer can sing a “scratch track” to guide the rhythm section through the song by isolating the singer in a booth and sending the voice through the headphones to the band. As stated before, the singer must be prepared to do as many takes as necessary to get an acceptable performance from the band (perhaps many, many takes). This guide vocal will eventually be replaced, usually after everything else is recorded. After the rhythm tracks are finished we add all of the other instrumental overdubs, such as additional support parts, solo parts, etc. Finally, the track is ready for lead vocals and eventually background vocal parts. One of the best ways to capture a great lead vocal part is to do what is commonly called “comping”.  The idea is to have the lead vocalist sing several (sometimes many) complete vocal performances from start to finish, on different tracks. Then, all the lead vocal tracks are played back, one at a time, and the best parts of each take are assembled into one seamless performance. This can best be accomplished using a digital editing system such as Pro tools or some other Digital Audio Workstation (be sure to ask the studio manager if the studio has this capability). Background vocals can also benefit from this technique by singing one good chorus section and then simply copying and pasting to subsequent choruses (very handy indeed).  

The Final Mix:

Once all the parts are recorded to everyone’s satisfaction, it’s time to mix. This part of the process is probably the most challenging and requires that someone be in charge. If the project is a self-produced project then someone (whoever is deemed most qualified to represent the band)  should be present to help guide the engineer during the mixing process. If you’re confident in your engineer’s abilities, it’s a very good idea to allow him/her to build the beginning stages of the mix on his/her own. Then, when the engineer has a good mix going, the person acting as the band’s “producer” can suggest any ideas they might have for “adding to” or “spicing up” the mix. I personally feel that it’s not a good idea to have the individual band members present during the mix, as this “committee” style mixdown session  is usually chaotic and tends to become a breeding ground for disagreement. Perhaps one or two members at the most should work together with the engineer to finish the mixes. It’s also a good idea to take each mix home and listen on a familiar sound system before signing off on a final mix. If  possible, try to schedule a “lock-out” block of time to mixdown , and mix one song a day and take it home  and sleep on it. That way, if you leave the mix up on the console overnight it’s easy to come in the next day and change a few things before moving on to the next mix. Admittedly, this is a luxury… but a very worthwhile one, as it allows the engineer and producer to “get away” from the mix for a while and come back with fresh ears the next day.

A few recording tips:

*Buy a tuner and use it!!!!!

*Bring snacks and stuff to read while the overdubs are being recorded.

*Change guitar and/or bass strings the day before the session.

*Bring guitar picks, lyric sheets, gaffers tape, drum sticks, extra drum heads.

*Vocalists should bring some tea or some other warm non-sugar based drinks.

*Take regular head-clearing breaks.

*Pray before each session!