Recording Tips for Bands
When you finally do pick the perfect studio, one that you’re feeling confident at, there’s a certain routine that has got to be followed in order to get the best performance and the best recording for your financial position.
Tune Your Instruments. This also includes your drums and any tunable percussion instruments you could have. There is nothing worse in the world than to have a superbly written song with a perfect performance be ruined because somelazy one didn’t take an extra 2 minutes to test their tuning. Tuning takes 1 or 2 minutes ; a recording lasts fora lifetime.
Be well practiced. You’ll be surprised how many bands suffer when they get the final bill. The real 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 get to the studio, you must know your tunes inside-out and be ready for the recording light.
Practice with a metronome. A lot of drummers unable to play with a click track. Ensure yours can. A click track is essential in getting a good solid rhythm track that the rest of the band can groove to, and to sync-up loops and delay speed.
Arrive on time. Many studios start charging their clients at the precise moment that the the agreement states. Just because you choose to show up late, doesn’t mean that the studio should give up that time freely. Be early and be prepared to go. Not only that it’s disrespectful for your band buddies.
Get the sounds right. Never, ever try to fix it in the mix. It doesn’t work like that. Take an additional few minutes to modify the sound before laying it down. Turn that knob, tighten that drumhead, have another drink of water. Remember again, tweaking may take an extra minute, but the recording will last for all time.
Know when to throw in the towel. Recording frequently leads to reducing returns. Spending hours} in a row at the recording studio isn’t making your song twice as good as spending ten hours. This rule also is applicable to mixing. If you are tired, call the session and return the following day fresh and prepared.
Record by yourselves. Don’t bring your friends, family , parents or any one else into the studio. 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 every means, have a do at the studio, but don’t count on getting anything done.
Do comparisons. After letting the engineer do the 1st coarse mix alone (which he should ) do an A / B comparison of your mix to some of your fave CDs. Remember that the successful CDs you are listening to have just been mastered. But it’s a good way to compare levels and panning.
Bring backups. Always bring spare strings, drum heads, bass strings, water bottles, throat lozenges, etc to a recording session. You can always need the one thing you didn’t remember to bring, so carry it all and leave them at the studio till your recordings are finished.
Have a good time! This is the most significant reason of all. Creating and recording music isn’t advanced science. Although there’s a science concerned, you need to let the engineer worry about that. If you are not having fun, then you’re in the wrong business! http://www.micsandmoreonline.com