Studio Tips
Studio Tips
Aside from obvious things you should know to prepare to record a professional product in a studio (such as know your songs extremely well, intonate and restring your individual instruments, put new heads on your drums, practice to a click, etc), I've come up with a few more that are helpful:
- Make a tempo map if you happen to have a home version of Protools, Digital Performer, Nuendo, Cakewalk, etc. If you don't know what that is, ask me. This will speed the process along for the session and save me time and you money! If you can't play to a click track (metronome), you might want to practice to one before entering any recording situation if you choose to employ cut-and-paste recording.
- Remember that just because you are using pro equipment that does not mean I can work "magic" on you. My goal as an engineer is to capture your sound as transparently and clearly as possible during the tracking process. There is no "fix in the mix" for grossly out of tune vocals, poorly played guitar solos, clashing notes in chords, etc. I can make a good performance sound great, but I can't make a bad performance sound good.
- If you are doing part of your album at a home studio, or planning to take your project to another studio, make sure we have compatible systems and file formats. I can handle .WAV, SDII, AIFF, etc. but my preferred format is 24 bit/44.1 or 48Khz .WAV due to its large universal compatibility. I can accommodate anything up to 24 bit/96kHz (DVD Audio quality). Please don't bring me an MP3 for tracking unless it's just for demo purposes!
- Great albums are great for reasons. Great gear, great players, great takes, great engineering.
- Quick, Cheap, Good. You get to pick two.
- Relax. Don't hesitate to ask me for whatever makes you feel comfortable during your session!
Aside from obvious things you should know to prepare to record a professional product in a studio (such as know your songs extremely well, intonate and restring your individual instruments, put new heads on your drums, practice to a click, etc), I've come up with a few more that are helpful:
- Make a tempo map if you happen to have a home version of Protools, Digital Performer, Nuendo, Cakewalk, etc. If you don't know what that is, ask me. This will speed the process along for the session and save me time and you money! If you can't play to a click track (metronome), you might want to practice to one before entering any recording situation if you choose to employ cut-and-paste recording.
- Remember that just because you are using pro equipment that does not mean I can work "magic" on you. My goal as an engineer is to capture your sound as transparently and clearly as possible during the tracking process. There is no "fix in the mix" for grossly out of tune vocals, poorly played guitar solos, clashing notes in chords, etc. I can make a good performance sound great, but I can't make a bad performance sound good.
- If you are doing part of your album at a home studio, or planning to take your project to another studio, make sure we have compatible systems and file formats. I can handle .WAV, SDII, AIFF, etc. but my preferred format is 24 bit/44.1 or 48Khz .WAV due to its large universal compatibility. I can accommodate anything up to 24 bit/96kHz (DVD Audio quality). Please don't bring me an MP3 for tracking unless it's just for demo purposes!
- Great albums are great for reasons. Great gear, great players, great takes, great engineering.
- Quick, Cheap, Good. You get to pick two.
- Relax. Don't hesitate to ask me for whatever makes you feel comfortable during your session!
