Instructions on what to do to prepare for recording
PLEASE READ!!!
For: The Band
First thing is first. We know what we’re doing here; otherwise we wouldn’t still be in business. Please feel free to ask questions at any time, but being bossy about things can make everyone’s experience incredibly unpleasant. Think before you decide to blurt out “You completely forgot to turn on the lead vocals in the final mix!” Stop and ponder. “Hmm… these people record bands nearly every single day, they will definitely notice things that I notice after a little while. In fact, they might even be a few steps ahead of me.” Now more about what you can do to prepare for recording.
I cannot make any band sound great. I have helped many bands sound great, but I cannot make you sound great if you’re not. Knowing your parts is the most important thing. Make sure you each listen to what everyone else in your band is playing, not just your own. You never notice the little imperfections in songs you normally play live until each person is singled out and required to play each song through on their own. Practicing both together and individually will improve your recording as well. Tightness among a band while playing live can do nothing but help you in your recordings. Keep in mind also that when you play live, you can only have as many instrumental parts as there are musicians, but in a recording you can add things in the background that you wouldn’t normally be able to. Some people consider this cheating. It’s not cheating at all; it’s called producing a good album. There’s nothing that says you can’t be a great studio band and add a few background tracks but still be a great live band without any studio cushioning. Think tambourines, claps, egg shakers, extra rhythm guitar tracks, and vocal harmonies.
- Love, Brian
This is a three day preparation process I would STRONGLY recommend before coming into the studio:
Day 1
Get together as a full band, with every member there. Practice at full volume, but only do instrumentals of songs for the first half of practice, no vocals at all. Listen to each other’s parts and make sure you are completely in sync with each other. For the second half bring in the vocals, but turn down the guitars so the vocals are the main focus. Listen closely to vocals and make any suggestions you find necessary. Come up with some vocal harmonies, but don’t worry about them too much just yet.
Day 2
Do an acoustic practice with just the guitars and bass. The drummer can bring in a tambourine or shakers to keep rhythm or try out other things. Make sure the guitarists have all their parts down. Make the main focus the singing and trying to come up with harmonies to as many parts as possible. Everyone should have input and try out as many different things as you can for each song.
Day 3
Get together one last time and do a short acoustic practice and just put all the new things you added together, and decide which ones you want to stay and which you don’t like as much. After you finish the practice, GET SOME REST. There is nothing worse for your musical talent than fatigue or a hangover. Get to sleep at a decent hour and don’t be nervous, you’ll do fine if you have prepared enough. The next day is going to be one of the longest days of your life, but hopefully one of the most fun and rewarding in the end.
Studio Day
Step into the studio and lay down some killer tracks. Oh yeah… bring enough food and drinks to last you all day, or be prepared to drive and get something, and maybe bring something to read while you’re not the one recording your part. Most of each individual’s time spent in the studio consists of listening to the other members of the band mess up numerous times, you definitely will be happier if you bring a book or magazine… I’m not going to have time to be amusing you. Also, remember that I’m the person that has the final say in what your music will sound like. Be nice to me.
**Special Individual Notes**
For: The Vocalists
Don’t sing too much the day before you come in to record. Hum through all your songs just to make sure you can hit all the notes. Drink some tea and honey and do some mild singing. Don’t smoke unless you really want to go for that grunge raspy sound. Trust me, smoking almost never helps in situations other than that. The day of the recording make sure you have your lyrics on paper. You don’t know how many people have been singing their songs for years and all of a sudden come up blank. Recording in a studio is much different from playing live, things just kind of flow live, and there is a lot of energy. You’re going to be in a closed booth completely alone with headphones on; it’s just not the same. Harmonies and backing vocals generally can make or break a recording, so if you don’t have any when you play live, come up with as many as you possibly can for your recording, it will make worlds of difference. BRING SOME MAPLE SYRUP THE DAY OF RECORDING. You will eventually grow fatigued and your voice will start to go. Maple syrup will coat your throat and you will be able to extend the amount of time you can sing for. I am dead serious, almost every band I have recorded has used this technique.
For: The Guitarists
Change your strings two to three days before you record. I personally recommend Elixir or Ernie Ball brand strings, and keep in mind that the thicker the gauge you play the fatter and more powerful the sound of your guitar will be. Make sure your guitar is in PERFECT working order before recording. A loose output jack can be devastating to a recording, ruining perfect takes and causing a great deal of unnecessary stress. Make sure your guitar sounds great coming out of your amp, because if it doesn’t I can guarantee I can’t make it sound great. If you know how, adjust your intonation (the consistency of the notes from an open string to the higher frets, the open string and the 12th fret octave should be in tune at the same time).
You can bring your amp, but it probably isn’t necessary. Every single person to step into Tallboy has decided that after an hour of recording with their own amp that our equipment sounds better.
“I always solo better on the spot; I do it all the time at shows.” Great, I’m happy for you. But this is not a show. At a show the crowd only hears it once, and it is blaringly loud. There is nothing more stressful than being put on the spot to come up with a solo after a 10 hour day of recording. It’s just not practical. Even if you don’t have your solo 100% set in stone when you walk into the studio, make sure you at least have a basic idea of where you want it to go. Your band can become rather upset with you if you are paying hourly studio time for something that should have been arranged beforehand.
For: The Bassists
Most of what goes for guitarists doubles for bassists. Change your strings two or three days beforehand, make sure everything is in working order, and if you have any parts you usually ad lib, get them in order beforehand.
For: The Drummer
You have the most important job out of anyone. If your drums don’t sound amazing, your demo is going to be terrible. That’s right, I said it. Your demo is going to be terrible if you don’t tune your drums. Make sure your drums sound the best they ever sounded. Generally I like to record with only the top heads on the toms and no front head on the bass drum. If you don’t have any strong objection to that, it would be time efficient to take off all the unnecessary heads in advance, and just tune up the ones that are still on there. Your drums lay the foundation for the song, and without a good foundation the song is going to be weak. Make sure your bass drum has exactly the sound you’re looking for, because I enhance the sound of the drum when I mix and master it, I can’t create a sound that doesn’t already exist. Another thing that is very important is that you either have a very, very, very good sense of rhythm or you can play to a metronome. Practice with one and it will improve your consistency. In short, there is nothing worse than a sloppy drum track, because everyone else bases their tracks off of yours, so make sure you have your parts down perfectly. No pressure or anything.
Bring plenty of sticks, a drum key, and maybe your favorite pair of headphones if you have one.