Advice for bands/artist heading to the studio....

[hle144]

Hi all,

Our studio is involved with a project that is showcasing unsigned bands. 2 bands a session, 5 songs per band, 2 sessions per week, no overdubs. Video crew filming and interviews after the set. Its now going on week 5 (this gig is indefinte, lotsa bands to try to feature.) In fact, I ran into one of the bands here at GS, small world.

As much as I love the feeling of people playing together, sometimes people mistake the experiences of home recording and live playing are enough to get by in a professional studio atmosphere (proffessional means paying for time.) Its like running Protools LE on an Mbox and then running it on an HD3, same program, but much more nuances and options on and HD3, options that affect the quality of sounds and mixes. Its the same idea in relation to pro studios.

I would like to share some insight from the engineer and production points of view to make your sessions what you anticipated. General pointers, every situation is different.

When possible, bring your own engineer. Leaves out alot of guess work especially when you or your mates might feel a little vunerable creating music in this enviorment. If you have your own guy, the following are things I hope you already know. If you must use a house engineer or someone you are'nt familar with, read on.

RECORDING
1. Follow the engineers instructions. This is not a 'live show' exactly. You want to created the feeling of one but some things do not translate well in a recording situation. Theres a difference between tone and volume. Sometimes their dependent on each other, but the eng knows this already, let him decide what optimum level is good.
2. Be prepare to hear what your instruments really sound like. That great Fender Squire that you had 'upgraded' sure sounds different in the studio without the amp cranked to 11. If it does not sound the same in the studio,...Now you know...Keep the Squire for 'cranked to 11' moments, but consider this lesson when buying a new axe. Same for efx pedals and modules.
4. Check tuning and pitch religiously. Pitch is pitch, no two ways about it. your either in tune or not in tune. With string instruments, intonation is a common problem too. If you can, have your axe (instrument) serviced before your big moment.
3. Be reasonable, it is about laying down the best performances, but its not all about you, if you can be considerate of other peoples feelings and still get the job done, oh yeah, your good. (I need to work on this point too.)

MIXING or EXTENDED TIME IN THE STUDIO
1. Keep it quiet. When the volume of the music goes up, that does not mean the volume of your voice too. Go outside. Or ask the engineer if the conversation bothers them.
2. Its courteous to make jokes and comments when tape is stopped.
3. If your hanging out for the mix and you have some comments, feel it out to see when the best time to make those comments. Or write down your comments and at a later point, see if you feel the same before speaking up. Sometimes the eng feels the same but was addreessing other issues at the moment it occurred to you.
4. Try to monitor your CompulsiveObsessiveDisorder. Its very easy to get caught up on issues that are minimal or do not affect the overall results. If you are new to this process, tak alot of breaks and do things unrelated to the mix to clear your mind.
5. You do not have to be 'in the mix' the whole time. Sometimes its nice to leave for a few hours and come back with really fresh ears. I really appreciate this.

This applies to all those as well that own a few pieces of nice gear and know Protools.
Running a big board and sessions are much different than overdubbing at home. Sit back, let the engineer do what you are paying him for and maybe you can learn something new.

Please feel free to add or correct on these points. I am trying to be positive and constructive. I see mistakes being repeated over and over again either because of ignorance or ego, hopefully this will bring these points about studio edicate to your attention.

Thanks for the time,

-H ...and no,,...thats not tabacco...

[RichT]

When does the 'fun' happen at your sessions?

[hle144]

Originally Posted by RichT

When does the 'fun' happen at your sessions?

Thats a good question. Thanks.

Fun can happen when you have a hard drive of quality recordings which you can take home to your studio and invite as many people as you want to, byob, whatever. you can overdub all the guitar parts in your bathrobe if you want.

If you have a budget, even better. You can bill some of that time to your own place, or spend less out of pocket.

Yeah, I know its not very Rock and Roll, but its a different day. You can do all the vibin
at a place that does'nt charge per hour.

I'm on your side.

[ddageek]

Practice Practice Don't write the song in the studio!
Don't boook time the day after the singer has trashed his voice for 3 night straight live!

[davedarling]

Bring a sweater...studios can be very cold.

best - dd

[Goliath|Audio]

Argh... Learn to tune your drums and buy new heads.