Getting Started in a Recording Studio

Recording Studio Stuff

Your first studio session is the one where it’s easiest to waste time and money. The clock runs while you find a sound, and everything you play is under the microscope. The good news is that most of what goes wrong can be dealt with before you walk in.

This post is a pre-session plan built from three sources: Scott Masson’s Audio-Issues article on preparing a band, Neil Rogers’s May 2017 Sound On Sound feature on pre-production, and Tom Flint’s October 2016 Sound On Sound report on a first-time band at Kore Studios. They are opinions of working musicians and producers, not rules.

1. Record demos first

Masson, a session player and band member, argues that practising together in a rehearsal room is not enough. Recording puts every aspect of your playing under the microscope in a way playing live doesn’t, so a fluffed note that goes unnoticed in a loud rehearsal room will be exposed. His advice is a full pre-production demo of everything you plan to record. He says demos show which parts you can’t play solidly, let you check everything fits musically, get the band used to the pressure of being recorded, and give you a time frame for each song and instrument.

Producers interviewed by Rogers agree on the basics. In his summary, they all want familiarity with the song, its key and tempo, and some arrangement decisions before a session. Producer Steve Osborne said he prefers to work from a demo, and that it is more valuable to him than seeing an artist live.

A small booth with a wooden stand, a microphone and framed pictures on a slatted wall

Image: The vocal booth at RCA Studio B by Adinda Uneputty, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

2. Write a session agenda

Masson says time moves differently when you’re recording. His suggestion is a spreadsheet listing every song and part in priority order, so the essentials are recorded first. He says to allow ample time for finding tones and mic’ing up, which is often why sessions run over. He also suggests not leaving all the vocals until the last day, because the singer’s voice will deteriorate, so spread them over several days.

The Kore Studios feature has similar advice. Producer and studio manager George Apsion told the band to decide what they wanted from the day: either focus on one thing, or do something rough and ready, treating it as a well-recorded live session. He had seen bands get into trouble trying to get two or three songs really well recorded in one day, which he called “binge recording”.

3. Decide about the click

A click track is, in Wikipedia’s words, a series of audio cues used to synchronize recordings, and in the music industry it works like a metronome during recording sessions. Apsion told Flint he decides about a click depending on the style of music and how the band feels. A click helps if you want a polished, commercial sound, but he’d never make a band play to one if they weren’t used to it. Masson says that if you’re recording to a click, map out the BPMs beforehand and create tempo maps for any songs with tempo changes. So practise with a click before you book, if you plan to use one. (That last bit is my own conclusion from the two.)

4. Tell the producer what you are bringing

Masson says it’s most crucial to tell the producer exactly which gear you plan to bring and which studio gear you plan to use, because equipment in a busy studio breaks and you’ll have time to hire any essentials before the session. He also suggests sending tempo maps, click tracks and even stems from the demos, so the producer can have guide tracks ready.

Apsion adds two questions to ask a studio owner: whether setup time is included in the day rate, and how long it is expected to take.

5. Get your instruments in shape

Masson’s last point: service your equipment well in advance. Have guitars and basses set up and the drum kit tuned and re-skinned, and repair broken cymbals. He says a staggering number of bands skip this, and no amount of studio magic will make a bass with bad intonation sound good. Apsion tells guitarists to have their guitar set up recently and bring spare strings.

A large analog mixing console in a control room, with a window behind it looking into the lit recording room

Image: The analog console in the control room of Rock Factory Recording Studio by Mike Logan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

6. Research the studio and producer

Masson advises listening to the producer’s earlier work, checking the studio’s equipment and live room size, and meeting or calling the producer to see whether your personalities fit.

A checklist you can print

This is my own condensed version of the above.

  1. Demo every song and fix the tempo, key and arrangement.
  2. Write a prioritized agenda with time for setup and sounds.
  3. Decide on click or no click, and rehearse accordingly.
  4. Email the producer your gear list and the demos.
  5. Service your instruments, and bring spare strings, sticks and cables.
  6. Ask about setup time and what is included in the day rate.

If you want to see what the session day itself looks like, the series post Home Recording Studio Basics: The Big Picture shows the basic recording chain you’ll be working with.

Sources