- Do you have any tips for preparing before committing to studio time?

 Boy do I.  Here’s a list of key ideas all clients should consider before scheduling studio time. 

 1. Maintain a Good Work Ethic and Discipline.  Get prepared. Rehearse and know the songs cold before coming into the studio.  If you or your band cannot perform the songs without messing up, then you are not ready to record.  Even if you are well-rehearsed and know the songs cold, there will still be problems, but they’d be manageable and not waste a lot of valuable recording time.  If you can't perform the songs all the way through at rehearsal without screwing up, it definitely won't work here either.

2. Make Sure Your Equipment is Professional and in Good Working Order.  For guitars make sure you change your strings before the recording session, but recommend not within 24 hours of the scheduled time to give your strings a chance to stretch out so you won’t have tuning problems.  Also bring spare parts, especially for those drummers who bring their own drum kits.  We don’t know how many times the drummer forgot the cow bell. For the vocalists, especially those who bring their own microphones, be sure they are quality microphones and in good working order.  If any equipment is battery operated, please ensure you bring extra batteries.  Yes, guitarists have been know to show up without guitar picks and drummers without sticks.

3.  Have a Game Plan.  Be ready to tell the recording engineer exactly what you want done, what your goals and expectations are, which instruments will be used for each song, and in what order you’d like to record the songs.  This also helps you to determine what questions you may have ahead of time before getting started in the studio.  It’ll help the session flow much better.

4.  Time is of the Essence.  Also, my grandma always used to say, “Time flies when you're having fun.” You’ll be surprised how fast the time flies during the recording process.  It is recommended that you not request to hear the full playback of each song.  The time adds up and you may find yourself not recording that last song because you ran out of time. Playing back each song also opens up the possibility of the band wasting time discussing their performance and whether they should do another take, especially the lead guitarist who always seems to want to do a dozen takes of his spectacular solo!

5.  Don’t Bring Your Entourage.  This includes your mom, sister, ex-boyfriend, your neighbor’s cat, etc.  Only bring those people who have direct involvement in the recording session.  They also can take away valuable time from the recording process, and as a result, you won’t get your money’s worth.

6.  Turn Off Your Cell Phone.  They only cause distraction before, during, and after the recording session.

7. Know the Kabuki Choreography.  What we mean here is that the recording engineer has a job to do and the performers have a job to do.  It’s important to stay out of each other’s way.  This will help the session to go smoothly and not waste any valuable time.  Know when the recording engineer needs to get things done, such as setting up microphones, running cables, checking instruments, etc.  Try to stay out of the engineer’s way.  Conversely, once everything is set up for the song to be tracked, the engineer will get out of the way of the performers as they do their stuff.