Recording Tips for Bands
When you eventually do pick the a great studio, one that you feel comfy at, there is a certain routine that has got to be followed in order to get the best performance and the best recording for your dollar.
Tune Your Instruments. This also includes your drums and any tunable percussion instruments you could have. There is nothing at all worse in the world than to have a wonderfully written tune with a perfect performance be ruined because somebody didn’t take an extra 2 minutes to check their tuning. Tuning takes a few minutes ; a recording lasts forever .
Be thoroughly rehearsed. You will be stunned how many bands suffer when they get the recording bill. The real reason for that 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 arrive at the session, you must know your pieces thoroughly and be prepared for the red signal.
Practice with a metronome. A large amount of drummers aren’t able to play with a metronome. Ensure yours can. A click track is essential in getting a good basic rhythm track that the rest of the band can groove to, and to time loops and delay speed.
Be Early. Many studios start charging the clients at the precise time that the the agreement states. Simply because you choose to show up late, doesn’t mean the studio should give up that time for nothing. Be early and be ready to go. Not only that it’s disrespectful for your band mates.
Get the sounds right. Never, ever attempt to correct it in the mix. It doesn’t work like that. Take an extra few mins to change the sound before laying it down. Turn that knob, tighten that string, have another drink of water. Remember again, tweaking may take an additional minute, but the recording will last for all time.
Know when to give up. Recording often leads to diminishing returns. Spending twenty hours} straight at the recording session isn’t about to make your song twice as good as spending 10 hours. This rule also applies to mixing. If you’re exhausted, call the session and return the next day fresh and prepared.
Record by yourselves. Don’t bring your friends, family mothers and fathers or anybody else into your sessions. As fun as it could be, you are there to perform a job and record the best music possible. If you are a millionaire, then by all possible means, have a celebration at the studio, but do not count on getting something done.
Do comparisons. After letting the engineer do the 1st rough cut (which he should ) do an A / B comparison of your mix to a few of your favorite CDs. Recall that the successful CDs you are listening to have just been mastered. But it is a good way to compare levels and panning.
Bring spares. Always bring spare strings, drum heads, bass strings, water bottles, throat lozenges, etc to a recording session. You may always need the most important thing you forgot to bring, so bring it all and leave them at the studio till your recordings are finished.
Have a good time! This is the most vital point of all. Making and recording music isn’t complicated. Although there’s a science concerned, you need to let the studio professional worry about that. If you’re not having fun, then you are in the line of work! http://www.micsandmoreonline.com