Working in our commercial studios are quite different to working at home. Some of the techniques (or should we call them bad habits?) that you’ve picked up over the years just won’t apply when you record in a place where you’re paying by the hour.
Effective and focused working is king in the pro recording studio – you need to make sure you’re properly prepared. Here are eight things you should do before you arrive.
1. Set a goal for your session
How many tracks are you recording? What are they for? How will this session move your career forward?
2. Finish your writing before you get there
There’s nothing worse than turning up for a studio session with a half-written song. Writing in the studio is an expensive way of achieving very little, so finish everything before you arrive.
3. Make sure your gear works
Hiring in a replacement amp is very expensive – you could avoid the problem by having your gear serviced, or at least checked over, before you arrive.
4. Have a working backup of your files
In fact, you should have three backups of your work: one with you on CD, should your computer fail; one at home, in case you’re mugged on the way to the studio; and one stored on the internet, in case of disaster. This might seem a little paranoid, but how much longer will it take to recreate the work than it will to back-up?
5. Bounce down
Bounce to audio all tracks that depend on software instruments or effects. This will guarantee compatibility between your working setup and the setup at our studios.
6.Get some food to take with you
You need fuel when you’re working hard. If you are recording late at night, there will not be any restaurants open near by.
7. Rehearse
You’ve written your songs, but have you rehearsed them? More importantly, have you rehearsed your songs to the point where everyone is playing to the best of their abilities?
8. Research Our Gear
Know how to get there. Find out which DAW you’ll be using and who will be engineering. Make sure when you call us that you explain the genre of music you preform and make sure our reception assigns the correct engineer to your session.
