Your Recording Session:

When scheduling your session give us plenty of details (How Many Musicians, singing to a CD etc..) about what you are trying to accomplish.

Decide in advance how many and which songs you are going record and practice them before arriving. Work out your solos before you get to the studio. Be prepared to record your songs one part at a time for anything we will use a MIC on if you want the best results.

Check your equipment and fix any problems before arriving.

Do not restring your guitar the day before your session give them 2 or 3 days to settle in. You do not want to spend your session retuning every 5 minutes.

You will be wearing headphones during recording.

If you plan to use a click track, make sure your drummer is comfortable playing to it. (To get "tight", practice to a click track at a very slow tempo.)

What to Bring to the Studio

Guitarist: Bring your guitar, tuner, any effects pedals, batteries, cables, picks and extra strings.

Bassist: Bring your bass, any effects pedals, picks, cables and extra strings. Bass guitar is almost always recorded directly through the board, so a bass amp is usually not necessary.

Drummer: Bring your own drum kit stands and accessories.

Vocalist: If you have a favorite vocal mic, bring it to the session. Bring your lyrics even if you have them memorized for others reference.

MIDI: Prepare all sequenced material before the session.

Snacks: You may bring snacks or beverages to the session (within reason). We also have bottled water for sale, and there are also several restaurants in the area that have take out.

Consider leaving friends and fans at home. Extra people may distract you and in the long run cost you money in wasted time. Our studio is not set up for large groups - we have "standing room only" for anyone beyond a couple of guests.

In the Studio

Determine a band spokesperson ahead of time. An engineer getting five different opinions on how to mix will grow tired and try to rush through the job.

Introduce all band members to the engineer and discuss your plans for the session (songs, order, length, anything out of the ordinary). Know what kind of sound you're going for.

TUNE YOUR INSTRUMENTS! Guitarists and bassists should all tune with the same tuner, and drummers should tune their drumheads. If it's out of tune for the performance, it will be out of tune on your final mix.

When ending a song, WAIT until the engineer tells you it's OK to talk, which can seem like forever. Too often, someone yells out while the last note or cymbal is still ringing and ruins the take.

If you mess up a part while recording, don’t stop and start over. That can easily cause you to burn out. instead, check to see if the engineer can punch in the correction.

The best mix is achieved by an excellent recording. A "fixing it in the mix" attitude will make it harder to get the final product right. A common misconception is that a lot of reverb or delay will make a bad track sound good. Nothing could be further from the truth. An out-of-tune note with a huge amount of reverb on it gives you a lot of out-of-tune reverb! Remember: a bad track will always stick out. No amount of effects or anything else will make it sound better. The only way to fix it is to remove or replay it.

The Mixing Session

This is the time when we will "mix down" the 24 tracks to 2 tracks Left/Right. This is your final stereo master and will we will want to everything sounding right.

Mixing has three stages. First, you go through each recorded track and adjust the eq so track sounds as good as possible. Secondly, the effects are added. Effects are things like reverbs, delays, flangers, phasers, compression, gating, and all the other wonderful "toys" that modern technology has provided for us. The third part of mixdown is the actual balancing of all the tracks together to get the best blend. Levels will have to be adjusted, and some tracks will have to be turned off and on at particular times during the song.

Your most important asset in the mixing session is having "fresh ears." Get a good night's sleep and make sure your ears are rested before the mixing session.

Your worst enemy at the mixing session is a short attention span. The number one mistake bands make when mixing (especially younger bands) is losing interest halfway through mixing the first song, goofing off for the rest of the mixing session assuming the engineer will take over and make all of the mixing decisions for them, then complaining later that the mix isn't what they wanted. Remember that this is YOUR mix - be prepared to sit still for a long time and hear your songs over and over and over again. Stay involved.

Some Final Things to Remember:

Count on and budget in unforeseen delays.

Live sound and recorded sound are two completely different worlds. The sound you have when you play live will change when you play in a studio.

Be open to suggestion if you are new to the studio, and don't think you have to try a certain complex recording technique just because you read about it in a magazine. Each song is unique and must be recorded in a fitting way.

The quality of your recording is directly related to the quality of your instruments. In other words, a crappy drumset or guitar will still sound like a crappy drumset or guitar no matter how good the engineer or recording equipment. Use the best quality instruments you can!

The quality of your recording is directly related to the quality of your performance. In other words, don't expect the technology to make something sound fantastic if its badly played.

Above all, treat the engineer with respect. His job is to make you sound good - do what you can to make that job easier. Remember that he is the expert on his equipment, placement of people and mics, and how best to capture the sound. Follow his instructions on where to stand, what not to move or touch, when it is and isn't OK to play or talk, etc. Rough-housing, obnoxious yelling, drunkenness, and drug use are all unacceptable behavior in the studio.