PREPARING FOR RECORDING
Read this page carefully before your recording date!
Alki Recording can capture the sound you create and help you render the best possible tones. However, no studio can work miracles, eh? This means that if the material you present is full of errors you can count on your final CD being full of errors. The studio can 'replace' most errors using punching in/out for vocals and many instruments - however - if the original material has multiple timing errors (take heed, drummers) then there's little the studio can do to help unless you're prepared to spend money for tedious, time consuming editing. If an error goes unnoticed during recording it will be present on your CD.
You must be prepared to listen critically to your material and decide what your capability level is. If you want an absolutely perfect recording, then you need to come into the studio ready to produce perfect sounds or ready to spend days to get it right in the studio. For this reason I recommend that you be able to play the full arrangement of your songs in excellent time with minimal errors before setting your recording date. This will allow you to focus on the quality of your performance while maximizing your recording time and budget.
Tips:
- Get plenty of sleep the night before to keep your energy level consistent.
- Practice. Seriously. I cannot stress this enough.
- Arrive in good mood; it will set the tone for your recording.
- Be on time - map directions the day before recording.
- Use an 8 beat count-off with the last two beats silent to begin a song
- Make no sound after you finish a take. Wait for the last notes to fade.
- If you've written a part too difficult to play be prepared to simplify it.
Vocalists:
- Bring lyrics printed out clearly in large type
- Treat your vocals carefully before recording, drink warm water with lemon
- If you're having trouble with your throat buy Hall's Mentholyptus cough drops
- Do not record dehydrated - drink a lot of water and avoid caffiene and alcohol beforehand unless you intend to sound like Graveyard John
Guitar/bassists:
- Put new strings on your guitar about a week before. This is very important for electric bass in particular.
- Make sure your guitar and amp are not creating any noise on their own. If so expect it to be on the final recording.
- Bring chord charts for each song - even if you're sure you won't use them
- Bring extra strings, cables, and batteries for your instruments / equipment
- If your instrument tends to go out of tune do not record with it. Borrow a reliable instrument from a friend or use studio instruments
- I refuse to record digital amps, period. If you bring one in I will insist you to use one of the studio amps instead. DI's from PODs are borderline depending on the material. A good solid state or tube amp will always sound better.
Drummers:
- Bring all your drum accessories.
- Tune your drum heads before coming in.
- You are welcome to use the studio kit but at least bring your snare: the studio kit is entry level-ish.
- If you tend to come in late on fills don't play them.
- If keeping steady time is an audible problem when you practice with the group then write easier parts.
Drums are by far the most complex and exciting instrument to record. The nature of the instrument requires tremendous technical ability as well as vibe. There are two common things that become apparent in many recording sessions; please review these and consider them carefully before setting your recording date:
Timing: decide with the group if you'd prefer to play to a click track (the four song demo deal does not allow time for a click track). If so, you must practice and be able to play to a click before coming into the studio and you need to inform me beforehand to make arrangements. This means you are expected to play with near machine accuracy and will be held to it. There are great advantages to be had in playing with a click when it comes to digital editing. Give this consideration unless you're a drum wiz.
Playing to the song: this is a problem for many drummers. Assume this means you. I know how tempting it is to sit at a kit and play like you might live in a club: hitting hard on everything to beat out the volume of the guitarist's amp blaring right next to you in your ears. In this case however you will have a set of headphones that take 30dB out of your kit so you'll only hear the headphone mix of you and the rest of the band.
Playing drums live and recording drums are different animals. Ask yourself, "Is what I'm playing what the song needs at this moment? Does the song ask that I hit the high-hat and cymbals with the same velocity as the snare right now? Do I want my drums to blast through at the same velocity from beginning to end like a death metal song or do I want dynamics where some parts are quiet and then build to a more intense crescendo?"
I can't stress enough that you approach recording drums as a good jazz drummer would: playing to the instruments in your headphone mix to ensure that your drums are accenting the music rather than overpowering it.