First time studio users (1 Viewer)

[Buzz Fledderjon]

hey folks,

my band has been offered free use of a studio with engineer for next week, and seeing as it's our first time going into a studio, i was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to take most advantage of this.

any advice welcome really

 

[Goodbye]

Re: First time stuio users

Bring beer

 

[Goodbye]

Re: First time stuio users

Buuuuut seriously.
Be prepared. Rehersed. Know exactly what you are going to do before you get there. A studio is not a place to start re-writing. Enjoy it, but time does fly.

 

[Buzz Fledderjon]

Re: First time stuio users

ha, cheers, though vodka is our biggest influence

it has kinda been sprung on us, but so far i was thinking of just concentrating on 3 songs or so, and having them as good as we can and just record those. all we have so far is an acoustic track we did on local college radio, so would be nice to have something recorded, even if they're not our best songs.

 

[RED(tape)MENACE]

Re: First time stuio users

Rehearse.
Rehearse.
Rehearse.
Know what songs you're going to do.
Rehearse.
Figure out if you're going to use a click track or not.
Rehearse.
Decide what overdubs you'll need on each song.
Rehearse.
Rehearse.
Borrow the best amps and drum kits etc. that you can get your hands on.
Rehearse.

 

[Umfufu]

Don't try to do too much.
The time will get eaten up very quickly.
It could be an 1-2 hours after you arrive, before you actually start recording (setting up the kit, mic-ing it up, getting levels, etc.)

Make sure everyone knows the layout of the songs.
Everyone should be able to play their part without needing to hear anyone else.
Have the song layouts written out on A4 pages before you go in.

Are you recording live or are you laying down 1 track at a time?

I'd recommend that the bass player & guitarist(s) meet up without the drummer in someone's sitting room & go over the rhythm's they play on each section of each song.
It's very easy to 'mis-hear' what someone else is playing when the amps are blasting in rehearsal.

Don't mix the songs on the same day you record them.
Pay to come back for a few hours the following week if you have to.
Everyone's ears will be mush by the end of the day.
You'll undo all your good work if you rush the final mix.

And yes, rehearse for Christsake.

 

[Pantone247]

new strings on everything!!! tune everything!!! clean all them switches!!! fresh batteries in pedals!!! all that crap you always mean to do, but don't...

Actually borrow as much Good Gear as you can, my piece of shit Dano was good fun for trashing around but the intonation was always an issue for recording, luckily I got a go of a shit hot Fender Strat for the tuneful stuff, then could overdub the noisey shit with the Dano if I wanted

I used to bring a mates SG too, just to have something with humbuckers for variety, it got used all over the place, just seemed to work on the day

Obviously don't waste time trying every guitar ever made, but I'd rather bring an acoustic (say) and not use it, then be wondering for ever more if an acoustic rythm part would've been "The Shit" on track number 3

 

[Pantone247]

It's very easy to 'mis-hear' what someone else is playing when the amps are blasting in rehearsal.

singer - oh I like that guitar part, when did you come up with that?!

guitarist - *hurt* thats what I always play

singer - oh...

guitarist - prick

 

[Goodbye]

singer - oh I like that guitar part, when did you come up with that?!

guitarist - *hurt* thats what I always play

singer - oh...

guitarist - prick

Classic...
Cept with me its:
Me: I like those backing vocals.
Bass Player: But thats what I always sing.
Me: Oh.

 

[Buzz Fledderjon]

Re: First time stuio users

cheers for all the advice lads, much appreciated. amazing how much obvious stuff ya wouldn't think of!

Rehearse.
Figure out if you're going to use a click track or not.

Decide what overdubs you'll need on each song.

eh...did i mention i'm not too up on the whole technological side of things music wise? but if i don't ask a stupid question, i'll always be giving stupid answers. what exactly would these things be?

 

[Gino Padula]

A click track is a basic rhythm track that you can use to make sure you're recording a consistent beat. For a 4/4 song, it might have a bell sound on the first beat and a ping type sound on the other three beats. The drummer might want to record to the click track, or if you have no drummer, then the other musicians might want to use it. If you want to record loose or if your songs go at varying tempos, it's probably not a good idea. On the other hand it probably makes overdubs easier as you know exactly where to come in.

Overdubs are recordings made over your first recordings. Usually they're done to fix mistakes or to layer more sound onto your recording. A good example of overdubbed vocals would be the album Blue Bell Knoll by the Cocteau Twins, where loads of different melodies on each track are done by the one person, Liz Frazer. It's rare nowadays to not use overdubs, although it can be time consuming, so it's probably best to try to get most stuff right first time, I would imagine.

 

[Buzz Fledderjon]

ah cheers, i get ya

it's the terminology what kills me

i'm after finding another good piece of advice of my very own to add to this:

try not to let your bass player quit the band few days beforehand. i've managed to convince him to stay till after, but more than likely gonna have to look for a new bass player afterwards....

2nd time he's done this to me, the fecker.