Band Tips – Preparing For A Recording Session

Hey there good people Milla here, I hope you’re doing well!

Something I get asked about all the time is how to get ready for the studio, how long will it take to record a song, EP or album, and what do we need to bring. So for this blog update, I thought I’d get into a few thoughts and notes to help bands along in preparing for a recording session to ensure they spend their time and money efficiently and effectively. I lay no claim to this being the be-all and end-all studio prep sheets, but these are some of the things I have come across through my time working in the studio. If you pay attention to them, whether your recording at home, with us or with someone else, it will definitely be of service to you. Plus for me having this little checklist all typed out means I can quickly send this link over to bands I’m working with, and if that’s you, PLEASE READ IT! Even if you’ve recorded before and have some experience in the studio please give this all a good going over. A great recording is a combination of a thousand small decisions and moves, 5% better here, 2% better there, another 2 or 3% here, well you get the picture, it all really does add up. Some of these notes may seem obvious but you’d be surprised how often and easily they can get overlooked and they really are important.

OK, here we go…

How long will it take to record my band?

So there are a few factors that lay within this question, what style of music is it, how long are the songs, how complex are the arrangements/ how many elements are there within the arrangements, and most importantly ARE YOU PROPERLY REHEARSED ??? It might seem simple but this is by far the most important thing when preparing for a recording session. You can have really great songs, all the best drums, guitars, microphones, gear, whatever, but if your unprepared when it comes to the crunch, it simply won’t sound nearly as great. It also sucks up studio time as people discuss and re-explain song sections amongst their bandmates. So make sure that everyone in the band knows the arrangements inside and out. This way when it comes time to record the musicians can be focused on nailing all their parts as opposed to second-guessing how many bars the breakdown goes for and things like this. It really is the best thing you can do. Practice, practice practice.

Also, everyone in the band grab a metronome and practice to it regularly!

I know it can be boring as hell but it will make a massive difference, even just half an hour here and there will help. Ok, so let’s say we’ll be recording live with no click track which is something I love to do. But believe me, practicing to one on the lead up will help make that performance so much tighter. There are tonnes of metronome apps you can download on your phone, so grab one and practice to it.

As for how long it’ll take? There is no one size fits all answer. I think the best thing to do when approaching to work with a studio or engineer is to give them as much information as possible on the project from the first contact. How many songs, how many band members and what they play, does your music require lots of vocal harmonies, layers of keys, horns, strings or is it straight-up punk rock without the extra trimmings. Include a link to any previous recordings you have done. If a member of the band is a little savvy with home recording then make some home demo’s or rehearsal room recordings. If you’ve been playing gigs and have live footage or audio from that then send it over as well, it all helps paint the picture. Also, reference some bands that are in the realm of what your out to achieve with the type of sounds you’re looking for. All these things will help a producer get their head around what your music is about and where you’re at with it. Every band and project is different so provide as much information as you can. On our website, we have some recording packages which are a good guideline on how long things may take. – “Recording Packages Link”

(Photo – The Desert Sea)

Pre Production

Whether you’ve booked 2 days, or 2 weeks of recording and you’re getting ready to release the next killer tune or album, a little pre-production when preparing for a recording session goes a long way. When possible (in a perfect world) I like to set a band up to track them live and capture the songs well before the actual recording sessions are booked in for. This way if we are tracking to a click track we can get a great feel for where the natural tempo changes might be, but also, more importantly, it gives the band a chance to sit back listen to the songs so everyone can get their head around them from a different perspective. Sometimes no changes are made or very minimal ones are, but much more often than not band members will see things they hadn’t noticed while rehearsing in the jam room. Maybe a guitar solo goes too long or maybe it should be longer, perhaps the bass drum pattern could be changed to give the song a better groove, more cymbals, fewer cymbals, different cymbals, MORE COW BELL…..well you get the idea. Of course, it’s true these are things we can adjust while tracking, but having the opportunity to listen back to all the songs well in advance to the big day really gives a band the chance to fine-tune all the little parts without the pressure of the clock ticking away. Remember, 2% better here, 5% better there all adds up, it’s the difference between good and great recordings.

Also for the recordings that will be done to a click track, once we have mapped out any tempo changes that might need to be made we can make specific click tracks for each song which I can send out as an mp3 for everyone to practice too!

What Do I Need To Bring – (The Check List)

Again, some of this may seem obvious but when recordings not what you do every day these are things that can get easily overlooked.

Drums

Make sure you have fresh skins on your whole drum kit, I can’t stress this enough do not turn up with crappy old heads!

Check your bass peddles & hi-hat peddles are not squeaky and that there are no funny rattles coming off the kit anywhere.

For Remo heads I like Clear Ambassador or Diplomats for the bottom tom heads, Emperor Clear or Coated for the top tom heads, Clear Power Stroke 3 for the bass drum and Remo Emperor Coated for snares… Emperor Vintage and Emperor X on metal snares work well too.

For Evans’ heads, I like EQ4 on a kick, G14 on the snare, Black Chrome for tom tops (when going for a short, deep, wet tom sound,) and the EC Reso for tom bottoms.

Also, make sure you bring high-quality cymbals, cheap cymbals tend to sound just like that, cheap and harsh. If you don’t own some decent ones you can hire them and it’s definitely worth it, go for thin to medium, I quite like dark cymbals as they record well. When possible bring a few options of cymbals so if we are not liking the sound of one or 2 we can swap them out for the best combination, what you want in a live situation is not always what we want in the studio. Just make sure they are of a decent quality.

Bring a few pairs of sticks.

If you have a cheap set of drums that are less than optimal let us know and we can supply our Pearl Master’s studio kit.

Here’s a backline hire company in Artarmon that has a pretty decent range of quality drums and cymbals – MGB Backline

Guitar & Bass

Fresh strings on all guitars are a must and swap them over the night before you rock up. Also, make sure you bring a few spare pairs just in case they’re needed.

Service all guitars being used, make sure there are no loose connections and check there intonation. Have a professional guitar tech set your guitars up and tell them what tuning you will be playing it in, that way they can set the intonation to suit that tuning. Do not turn up with guitars that have loose connection’s, buzzes and with the intonation all wobbly, fix it first!

If you’re running a string of peddles in your effects chain and you don’t have already, try to get your hands on a high-quality power source, this will minimize noise and can make quite a difference.

Give all your amps and cables and everything a good check over to make sure nothing is out of order, there’s nothing worse than things shorting out in the heat of the moment. Grab some spare tubes and fuses for you amp too, it sucks when something blows out and we then need to spend an hour or so replacing that part. While that kind of thing is super rare it totally can happen and kill the vibe and flow.

Wind instruments

A fresh reed never goes astray 🙂

Strings

Yep, you guessed it, fresh strings and a service on those too.

Basically, whatever gear you are bringing to the studio you need to go over it and check it, then double-check that its all in order with no strange buzzes, rattles and so on. Prep is everything, invest your time into it and no doubt you’ll come out with the results your after. Remember, preparing for a recording session is just as important as the session itself.

So there we go, I hope this has helped answer any questions people may have when getting ready to record. If you have any other questions just shoot us an email at housefoxstudios@gmail.com and I’ll be more than happy to help answer them.

Well till the next blog, thanks for reading my rambles.

Milla