How to Be Prepared for a Studio Recording Session

By David F Samuel

The studio is not a place to hammer out your ideas so come to the table with a dish that is ready to be dressed seasoned and served. You should understand how to chart out your song before entering the recording studio and have charts to give to all the session players involved and notes to give the engineer for each tune.

Example for what kind of notes to give to engineer would be as follows: I want the snare to sound sonically like the one on "billie Jean" from the Thriller Album. I'm looking for that tight in your face sound. Be specific for the engineer/producer to know what you are looking for on the overall sound of the mix.

You should also grasp the importance of playing to a click track and have the bpm's (beats per minute) figured out for each track beforehand.

In order to be successful in the studio you must be able to perform to a click track. This allows you to utilize the day and age of cutting and pasting in the studio. Not to mention it can save you a lot of money & heartache.

For example, let's just say you killed the first chorus with the most magical guitar part but could not find it on the remainder of the songs chorus sections. No worries mate, we will take the magic and spread it over the whole song fitting it in perfectly because you played to a click track. Saving you time and money with countless takes trying to capture the same mojo you had on the first take.

After you have conquered the ability to play through your song by reading a chart and playing to a click track you are now ready to venture on to find yourself a studio to capture this masterpiece. Just remember these little practical tips and you should be just fine.

1. I don't care if you have Pro-Tools! I have heard demos that have come out of million dollar studios that did not sound as good as a home studio powered by a PC. Why is this? Most likely they could not afford the engineer that knew how to work the million dollar studio.

You are better off looking for a guy who has a reputation of making artist sound great instead of looking for a high end studio. A good engineer/producer is able to make a decent home studio recording sound closer to an L.A. recording than an L.A. studio with a bad engineer.

2. Make sure you listen to other recordings the studio engineer has released. It seems simple enough but how many bands forget to do this? They get all caught up with what equipment the studio has and what it looks like when they should be more concerned with how good is the guy running the show.

3. Is he personable? The engineer should be knowledgeable but he should also be very personable. You don't want to be spending 8 hours a day in a studio with a guy who is a tool to work with. Find a good balance of character. This is your baby you are investing in.

4. Bring your favorite albums to reference sounds with. This will help out tremendously in your communication efforts with your engineer. For example if you love the way the drum kit sounds in U2's Joshua tree album bring it so he can have an idea of how they are tracking the kit. He should be able to get a good idea on what kind of reverb they are using, did they use close miking techniques and how they mixed it all from taking a quick listen to your CD that you brought in. You can use this same idea to tell him about guitars, vocals production etc.

5. Be ready to be under the microscope. Prepare yourself to be humbled through the studio experience. If you have never done any recording before this can be a horrifying experience. The truth is you are never as good as you think you are. In the studio there is a saying, "The tape never lies." I have had clients swear they did not sound like that. There must be something wrong with the recording. It is quite embarrassing for me and them.

6. If you are entering the recording sessions with a band make a pack with them; a signed contract if you have to saying that you will not break up after the recording project. There is nothing more strenuous on a band than the recording process. You are totally naked before one another not to mention a stranger ( the engineer ) who is in the room with you at all times poking and prodding at you.

7. The last but most important thing to remember is this. Do not be married to your ideas when you go to record them in the studio. The recording process is where you will realize if the ideas are good or not.

You might realize the track needs to slow down for the chorus to really soar. Maybe a verse needs to be dropped in order to get to the listener to the hook more quickly? You never really know until the recording process truly begins so be prepared for a few changes. Come with an open heart and mind and surrender to the song. We are a slave to the music.

Enjoy the gift of creating music!

If you would like to hear a few of my studio recordings you can download them absolutely free click here for free tracks http://www.thedavidsamuelproject.com/davidsamuel