Tips for Recording in Commercial Studio:  Phase 1) Planning

Recording at a commercial studio should be a fun an exciting time for an artist or band.  After all, few things are more thrilling than getting the opportunity to lay down music in an environment specifically designed for the task. But studios are expensive and so are recording engineers—and if you’re like me, your budget is limited.

A limited budget means you will have to do a lot of work in a short number of clock hours, a process which can be frustrating and stressful. Fortunately, there are many things you can do, both before and during the recording session, to save as much time and money as possible, and therefore, get the most bang for the buck out of your recording session.

For organizational purposes, I’m going to break this discussion into four phases: 1) planning, 2) pre-production, 3) tracking, and 4) mixing. In today’s article, we’ll talk about the planning phase.

I have seen more problems come from a lack of planning than anything else.  It is most often the underlying cause of arguments, stress, frustration, and wasted studio time.  Bands walk into the studio, the clock starts running, and everyone gets worried about wasted money.  Tempers flare and problems arise. This is why you should try to make as many decisions as possible before the clock starts running. Make them in your practice area, basement, or garage where it’s free, not where you’re being charged by the hour. Here are a few things you need to consider before the session date.

Planning the Songs

How many tunes are you planning to record?—Are you allowing adequate time? Personally, I would rather record three songs really well than rush through ten. However, the decision is yours.

BPMs of the tunes—Decide on the click track speed of your songs before you walk into the studio. You don’t want to waste time deciding if it sounds better five BPMs faster or slower.

Structure of the songs—Work this out in your garage or basement where time is free, not when the clock is running.  Are you going to repeat the chorus one more time? Is there a guitar solo? All of this should be prepared in advance.

Instrumentation—Are you planning overdubs? Overlaying keyboards? Backing vocals? Plan out all of the arrangement, which instruments will be used, and who plays what parts. If you’re on a budget, the studio is not the place to write guitar solos, write new keyboard parts, or learn background vocal harmonies. Again, do this where it’s free.

Also work out your tones in advance. Spend some time with your guitar and amp and find the best sounding tones for the songs.  Keyboard players, find your sounds in advance as well.  This is not to say that you won’t do some tweaking in the studio, but have your basic tones ready to go.

Recording Process—How are you planning to record the project? Will you all play at the same time to a click track?  Will you work one at a time and do overdubs? There is no correct answer to this question, but what is important, is that everyone decides and agrees upon a process before entering the studio.

Sound of the Recording—Do you want a big sound with lots of reverb, a dry intimate feel, or something in between? Discuss and work this out and let your engineer know before recording begins. Trust me; this has been the cause of many studio arguments. Make sure you’re all on the same page before recording begins.

Practice, Practice, Practice—Know your tunes so well you can play them in your sleep. The better you know your songs, the quicker you can record them.

Choosing a Recording Studio

When looking for a studio, look at websites, make calls, and ask friends. Make sure the studio has the equipment to meet your needs.  If you need a certain number of isolation booths, make sure they have them. If you’re recording live, ask if they have a nice sounding live room.  Find out what equipment the studio has and make sure it’s high quality.  Ask if they allow outside engineers or if they provide their own. Ask for demos from the studio and from the engineer you will be using. If you plan to use a studio’s house engineer, find out all you can about them in advance. It’s a great idea to meet them in person before the recording date and make sure they are personable and interested in your kind of music.

When you listen to the demos the studio and engineer provide, focus on the quality of the recording, not the quality of the artist being recorded.

Equipment Prep

Before you enter the studio, make sure your equipment is at its best. Have your guitars set up and strung with new strings. Make sure there’s good heads on the drums and that they are well tuned. If your equipment isn’t up to par, consider renting or borrowing some gear. Also, many studios stock drum kits, amps, and even guitars. If you need any of this, ask the studio in advance.

You don’t have to have custom made boutique gear, but if you have a drum kit with beat to death heads and cracked cymbals, don’t expect your engineer to be able to get a pristine drum sound. If you have a cheap practice amp, don’t expect it to sound like a boutique stack.  Just remember that microphones tend to pick up the sound that’s put into them, so do everything you can to send them a great tone. Remember, all the fancy eq’s in the world aren’t going to turn a crap tone into a good one.

Also, bring extra cables, picks, and drumsticks. Make sure you bring a high quality instrument tuner and a drum machine/metronome. It also doesn’t hurt to bring an extra snare drum head, just in case. Never assume a studio has everything you need.
Conclusion

Although there’s no way to list every possible aspect of planning for a recording date, it is my hope that this article will turn your thinking in the right direction. Your situation, of course, will be unique, and there will be other things you’ll need to add to this list. However, if you follow the advice in this article, you will save time, money, and frustration in the studio.

Next time we’ll talk about the pre-production phase.  If you have comments or anything to add to this discussion, feel free to leave a comment.

• Eric S. Morgan is a multi-instrumentalist, teacher, producer/engineer, and the author of the Pedal Tone Publishing book Fundamental Concepts of Music Theory. You can learn more about Eric and his book at Pedal Tone Publishing.