…to get the most out of your time in the studio.
Plan ahead- Develop clear goals about what you want to accomplish during each session. Have your arrangements charted, lyrics written out, keyboard parts sequenced, leads figured out. Be practiced up and ready to go. Careful planning can help you avoid waste and maximize your productivity in the studio.
Get your gear in top condition- A big part of the art of recording is capturing your “sound”. The better the source of that sound, the better the recording. Record with the best instruments available. Re-string guitars and basses well in advance of the session; keep the strings tuned and play them enough to get them broken in.
A whole different animal- In many cases, drummers find that the sound they have for live performance (head selection, cymbals, damping, tuning etc.) might not necessarily be the optimal choice for recording.
Take advantage of the New Renaissance Productions™ house drum kit. We have a Fortune Drums 6-piece maple drum kit already set up, tweaked, mic’d, and optimized for studio recording. Utilizing the house kit could very well save you studio
See our Drums Percussion and Instruments page for details on the New Renaissance Productions™ House drum kit.
And while you’re at it, be sure to visit the Fortune Drums web site at www.fortunedrums.com.
Of course, you may prefer using your own kit. If so, new heads on your drums are essential. Select the heads and tuning that the song calls for. Have plenty of new sticks, moon gels or other dampening material of choice on hand.
If you aren’t well versed on how to tune and/or set up your kit for studio recording, seek out the services of an experienced studio drum tech to help you with your drum set up, head selection and tuning.
Obviously, we can help you with all this, at our normal hourly studio rates.
In advance of the sessions- Work out squeaks, rattles and buzzes BEFORE you bring your drum kit into the studio. Having multiple snare drums on hand is also a great idea. Expand your sonic palette and flexibility by choosing a snare sound that best serves each song.
Bring equipment manuals- Even if you’re certain that you know your audio gear inside and out, bring the manuals! It’s possible that you’ll be interfacing with unfamiliar equipment in unfamiliar ways. Why bring a session to a grinding halt when a few brief minutes referencing the manual could save the day.
Bring spares- Extra strings, picks, drum sticks, batteries, instrument cables, reeds, drum heads, etc… You certainly don’t want to shut down or delay a session while someone is out chasing down a broken string or a dead battery. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Know your limitations- Have reasonable expectations about what is mentally, physically and emotionally possible to accomplish during each session.
Remember the famous Quincy Jones quote:
“Leave space for God to walk through the room”
Music is about feeling, emotion and capturing a great performance. Allow yourself the space for good things to happen and to capture stellar performances. Almost without fail, if the artist pushes “past the point of diminishing returns” or puts perfection above performance, the parts lack spontaneity, sparkle and energy and end up being re-recorded anyway.
Take care of yourself- Get plenty of rest in the days leading up to your sessions. Eat right- drink plenty of water and have fruits and other nutritious snacks readily available during the sessions.
Pace yourself, take breaks, relax and enjoy the recording process!
By the way, there’s great tasting ultra-pure (by Reverse Osmosis) drinking water and ice on tap in the New Renaissance Productions™ commissary. We also keep a variety of soft drinks, herb teas etc. available for a minimal charge.
Appoint a representative- If you don’t have a producer, it’s a good idea to designate someone as the official contact between your group, the studio and the engineer. That person should know what the group consensus is and have the latitude to make “executive decisions” for the group. They don’t even necessarily need to be a band member or producer, just one who knows what the band is after and has the authority to make critical choices.
Keep your entourage to a minimum- The studio is a professional working environment and it’s important to maintain focus on the project at hand. Only the essential players should be there. Anything more only serves as a distraction for everyone. Do all you can to maximize your productivity.
Practice- It goes without saying that you should know your parts “forward and backward”. Practice doing each part individually… by yourself… solo… from beginning to end… with a metronome. The recording and overdub process can be quite a different animal from live performance and can seem rather disjointed at times.
Your level of preparedness will determine how well the recording process progresses. If you are well prepared when it comes time to do overdubs, punch in a part, record a section without a vocal to follow etc, it’ll be no big deal.
Here’s a link to an excellent article by Rob Gravelle:
http://www.guitarnoise.com/lesson/how-the-pros-practice/
It’s intended for guitar players, but the principles are applicable to all musicians.
Remember the basics- Keep practiced up on the basics… do finger exercises, run scales, play long notes, arpeggios – whatever is applicable to your instrument. This will help you stay in top form without getting burned out on the material you’ll be recording (keep in mind that you are likely be hearing this material umpty-nine times before the recording process is completed). It doesn’t hurt to practice a piece that’s totally unrelated to the material you are recording. It might be just the diversion you need to loosen up, relax and get on top of your game.
Archive- The goal for your finished project is most likely a 16 bit 44.1khz two-track master for CD or digital distribution. But what about Dolby surround, ATMOS, DVD audio, SACD, immersive sound, all the other myriad of formats and all of the ‘yet to be adopted’ future formats?
It’s wise for you to archive your multi-track masters. It’s a relatively small investment that will enable to go back to your original 24 bit recordings in the future and re-release them in whatever new format you desire.