Pro Tips from Professor Tom Gordon
HELPFUL RECORDING TIPS!
BEFORE YOU GO IN…
Record your songs at your rehearsals or live shows before going into the studio. Hearing yourself back on tape, even a poor recording, will point out potential problems with your performance of the tune or song structure.
Have a pre-production session with, or at least send demo recordings of the songs to be recorded to the producer you’ll be working with. Do this at least two weeks before the scheduled session. This will allow your producer time to review the material, make necessary suggestions for changes and allow enough time to rehearse the revisions.
When selecting a studio or engineer/producer to record with, GO TO THE STUDIO AND MEET THE ENGINEER/PRODUCER. The studio should be a comfortable place for you to work in and the engineer/producer should be someone you can communicate with and enjoy being in the same room with for hours on end. Have them play some of their work for you. Some engineers/producers specialize in certain styles of music and may not be suitable for your music. Also discuss formats and materials needed.
Have all of your parts worked out in the studio. The Number One killer of studio time is cutting background vocals because 95% of the time they were never correctly worked out in advance. Know your solos. Solos can also be a huge waste of time.
Take care of yourself and your body before and during the recording. Eat well, get good sleep and keep your ears rested and clear.
If you are using a live drummer, PLEASE practice to a click. Again, for at least two weeks before the recording session, have the whole band play with the drummer on a click. I also recommend that you use a drum machine pattern versus just a straight “click click.” That’s much easier for a drummer to relate to. Preferably, use a drum machine you can program songs with to accommodate tempo changes. To help make the songs even tighter, try practicing the songs at a very slow tempo with the click. That really makes you subdivide.
Make sure your gear is in top shape! Put new heads on the drums finger tight the night before the session. Ask in advance if your producer/engineer wants you to tune the drums or if they’ll do it for you the day of the session. Also consult about what heads that engineer/producer likes for recording.
HERE’S WHAT I LIKE:
LIVE DRUMS
Brand new heads on drums; snare drum triple mandatory.
Toms – Top: Remo, clear or coated Ambassadors, Emperors, or Pinstripes. Evans Genera 1, 2, or 3.
Toms – Bottom: Remo clear diplomats or ambassadors. Evans Resonator.
Kick: Remo Powerstroke 3 or Pinstripe. Evans EQ 2.
Snare: Remo, Coated Ambassador, CS or Emperor. Evans Genera 1, 2.No muffling on drums, especially no “dead ringers” (we’ll do that in the studio, if necessary).
Oil all pedals.
Have all proper felt and plastic insulators for cymbals.
Bring several tuning keys.
Tape down any hardware that makes noise.
Expect at least 3 hours to set up and get a reasonable drum sound.
Bring several sticks.
If you are recording with a sequencer, have all of your sequences done before setting foot in the studio.
SEQUENCED DRUMS
Be able to have each drum sound generated out of a separate output.
Know how to assign to the outputs.
(If your drum machine or keyboard only has two outputs, L u0026amp; R, know how to receive external SMPTE, MTC or FSK synchronization and how to turn off the different voices internally. This will allow us to lay the drums down separately locked to tape.)
ALWAYS BRING YOUR MANUALS!!!!!!!
Get guitars and basses INTONATED before the recording so everyone can actually tune their instruments!!!!! Especially for drop tuning! Two sets of strings for everyone so if you break a string you’re not stuck. Also, consult the engineer/producer about preferences. Get all amps fixed if broken. If you’re going to use rental gear because it’s superior to yours, rehearse with it at least once so you can get used to it or discover any bugs.
ELECTRIC BASS
Bring your own amplifier (if you want to use one).
New strings, stretched and broken in. I swear by D’Addario Slow Wounds! The recording bass strings of Love!
Be prepared to go through a direct out in addition to any amplification you bring.
Fresh batteries (and spares) in any battery-powered equipment or accessories.
All jacks and cables repaired or replaced.
ELECTRIC GUITAR
New strings, stretched and broken in. Strings made of Nickel seem to stay in tune the best.
Bring your own amplifier and effects rack (if you want to use them).
Know how to back off your reverbs and related effects; not including distortion and tremolo, wah-wah. The cleaner the print, the better.
Fresh batteries (and spares) in any battery-powered equipment or accessories.
All jacks and cables repaired or replaced.
ACOUSTIC GUITAR
New strings, stretched and broken in. Strings made of Nickel seem to stay in tune the best. Fresh batteries (and spares), if necessary.
KEYBOARDS
Multi-timbral for sequences.
Know how to turn off voices internally, and how to assign to outputs.
Don’t forget your pedals, stand, manuals and power cable.
VOCALS
Take it easy on your voice in the 2-3 days prior to recording.
Avoid consuming any dairy products on the day of your session. (Allegedly, dairy products create mucous.) Water is good, but no ice. Tea with some lemon is good, or even a sip of Brandy.
Don’t kill yourself on scratch vocals.
WRITE LYRICS OUT (preferably typed) for the engineer to follow with. Also write out each chorus; don’t just put “Chorus” for repeated choruses.
MONEY
Asking how much it costs to make a record is like asking how much it costs to build a house. There are so many variables! So when budgeting for your recording, always add 30% to your end total. Also expect everything to take at least 2 times longer than you anticipated. Murphy loves studios!
Always have a 50% deposit in the hands of the studio well in advance. That makes you look MUCH more serious. Also have the funds available to settle at the end of each session. Most facilities won’t release any tapes until the balance is paid. The only exception is usually cassettes of rough mixes. And for God’s sake, don’t be a baby about not getting to take CD’s or DATS out if you haven’t paid!!!!
If you don’t have the money together for the recording, cancel the session at least 72 hours ahead of the session so the studio has time to re-book the time. Otherwise you may lose some if not all of your deposit.
Find out what methods of payment the studio and/or engineer/producer will take. Make sure you are absolutely clear about what the rate is before setting foot in the studio. Also, ask about the media costs and any additional rental items that you may not know you’d be charged for.
Call to confirm your session the day before.
SETTING UP
Show up early. The clock starts running if you’re there or not.
Bring your patience and things to pass the time away. You’ll be waiting on the drums the longest. They are just the hardest things to mic. So bring books, movies, games and stuff that will keep you occupied and in the studio so when it’s your turn, you can jump right in.
Have an understanding of where the local music stores are in case there is an emergency.
Bring survival food and drinks so you don’t have to leave to eat unless you REALLY want to leave.
Let the engineer/producer do their thing. Don’t pester them on how long it’s taking. Getting tones is a part of their craft that IS billable. The clock doesn’t start when the band starts recording. There are hours of work involved before you are ready for that.
THE RECORDING PROCESS
Tracking: Having the full group lay the song down. Usually, the focus is on the rhythm section here, especially the drums.
Overdubs: With solid drums down, then the other instruments and vocals are fixed or added to the original tracking performances.
Mixing: The blending of all of the individually recorded tracks into a master stereo, or 5.1, track ready for mastering.
Mastering: The assembly of all of the final mixes into the correct order. Here they also match volumes, stereo compress and EQ as well as normalize the full project for continuity, presence and impact.
In general, while you’re recording, if you make a small slip up, don’t stop. Finish the full take and let the engineer/producer punch in the boo boo. Doing the part over and over again can easily wear you out.
If you’re not happy with a take or sound, tell someone. Chances are you can get the engineer/producer to let you try it again unless they have an extremely good reason for holding on to it. But if it’s going to ruin the enjoyment of listening to this recording for years to come for you, do it again. Never assume it can be “fixed in the mix.”
Always record the tracks as clean as possible and add effects later.
Know when to say when. If you’re toast, you won’t be playing your best. Schedule to come back when you have your wits about you.
Don’t be afraid of space. Sometimes the silence is just as important as the sound in a song. Don’t stuff it too full of stuff. It will make the song sound cluttered and much harder to mix.
Use one tuner for everyone. Tuners can lose their calibration. So one tuner can be a few cents off from another. Tune a lot. You can’t tune too often.
It’s your session so if you would like to bring guests, that’s your decision. However, guests can distract you and may sway your opinion about the way the music should sound. Typically, leaving them in the lobby if they have to be there is a safe move.
The studio is one place you can’t afford to have “too many Chiefs and not enough Indians.” This is why we have Producers. If you’re using one, trust him. Limit the number of people in the studio at a single time who have a say in how things are being recorded.
PRODUCER: Quality control. The producer is the one who is critical of the performances and construction of the material. They are the ones who say “late, early, sharp, flat, not purple enough, too much Eddie Vedder – not enough Sinatra – DO IT AGAIN.” Their contribution is intellectual. Some producers never touch a button.
ENGINEER: The tech. The Head Engineer is the one selecting the mics, twiddling the knobs and pressing “Play” and “Record.” Second or Assistant Engineers are the ones setting up the selected microphones, filling out track sheets, labeling tapes and taking the blame for everything that goes wrong. A Runner is the burger-chaser and trash emptier.
In smaller studios in smaller markets, one person may do all of these jobs.
Bring food and drinks to your engineer/producer and he will love you for life – and will probably work harder for you.
If your music tracking time has gone long, don’t cut the vocals and mixing short to stay in budget. Take a break, earn more money and come back when you can afford to do it right. You’re not there to do it wrong.
When cutting tracks, especially overdubs, monitor at softer levels. It may not have the impact of 10,000 watts of unadulterated power, but you’ll be able to hear detail much better and improve your tightness tenfold.
MIXING
Give a listen to CD’s that you know in the studio beforehand so you know what it sounds like in that room. If there’s a boom box or car stereo you’ll be referencing on, listen there as well. But be careful not to overly compare your mix to CD’s. They’ve been mastered and have been recorded at different studios with entirely different gear with totally different players. If you want to sound exactly like Metallica, go audition for Metallica. Your music will have it’s own distinct sound. Don’t strangle that by trying to make it sound like something else.
Again, bring many time killers for the mix. The engineer will spend the most time getting the first mix together without the band. Hearing things out of context as a mix is being assembled could be alarming and tedious to some musicians. Trust your mixer. When the first song is mostly mixed, then go in and listen to it.
Think about the songs as a whole and not just the individual instruments. Otherwise everyone will want to hear his instrument louder.
Listen to your mix on a few different speakers at different volumes before you call it done. If it sounds great on a terrible speaker, you have a great mix on your hands.
When printing your mixes, do a full mix, a mix with lead vocal up 2 dB, a “TV” or “Performance” mix with no lead vocals and an instrumental mix with no lead or background vocals. This gives many options of post mixing editing in case you change your mind on something down the road without having to remix the tracks. Instrumental tracks can also be sold for soundtrack work.
I recommend printing your mixes to DAT, reel to reel, Masterlink or PMCD for mastering. CD-r’s have many dropout errors. Also, print at a conservative volume so that there’s some headroom for the Mastering Engineer to work with. Don’t use extreme stereo compression on your final mix because the mastering engineer won’t have any dynamics left to work with.
Always make safeties of your mixes. CD-R’s are OK for that.
As you go thru the process, take note of everyone one who helped with the making of the record. That way you won’t forget them when you’re writing your credits. The biggest insult to an engineer/producer and assistant is to not give them credit for their hard work.
Now, go rock!
Tom Gordon, esq.
Director of Covert Operations
Inspired Amateur Productions
RECOMMENDED READING
“Practical Recording Techniques,” Bruce Bartlett and Jenny Bartlett
Probably the least daunting recording book out there.
RECOMMENDED VIEWING
“Metallica: A Year and a Half in the Life of (tape one).” If you like the music or not, no other video has captured the essence of what’s involved in making a large budget album.
Many elements of this list were borrowed from and greatly augmented from Discmakers: 37 Recording Tips. A common-sense guide to making the most of your time in the studio.