10 Things A band Needs To Know Before Recording

1) There is no magic!
Over the years, I've heard people refer to "studio magic"as if there is some sort of magic knobs the engineer / producer can do to make everything sound great. While there are tools like Anteras Autotune that let us save an otherwise tremendous vocal take from slight pitch issues, in the end, the sound is totally up to you.
Some studios will have tools that you can use to improve you recordings. Usually, these are snare drums or guitar amps...not magic audio manipulators.
In the end, PEOPLE make recordings...NOT machines...NOT gadgets. So much of the tone of the drums, bass, guitar, and vocals is within the musician themselves. Don't believe me? Hit the drums and try to make them sound bad! Intentionally make your guitar sound bad just by the way you are playing. It's not difficult to make an instrument sound bad. Obviously, the better players, the better tone they can get out of it.
If you understand that there is no magic and a recording consists of great players recording great songs in a great acoustic space when an engineering that knowns how to accurately capture this, your recording wills improve. You will push yourself, as a musician, to get better.
2) You Get What You Pay For!
While there are a few exceptions, you get what you pay for. Bands that can afford to hire Bob Rock to producer their record, will work with a Bob Rock caliber producer / engineer. So with that said, an engineer or producer who really knows what he/she is doing is not going to be cheap. On top of that, if a producer / engineer can work with Metallica and make a zillion bucks, why would they work with a bunch of junior high school kids in their garage for $250?
There are many capable engineers out there that have inadequate facilities to work in. Room acoustics is the name of the game. Unfortunately, this is one area that computers not helped with. So while recording at home is a lot more reasonable than it was 15 years ago and there are many more people spending more time in these home recording studios, the quality of the recording is dictated largely by the acoustics of the room.
This is why I do not record drums in my house anymore. As an engineer / producer, I do not want to put my name on drums recorded in a substandard room. This means the source is inadequate and I do not have much control at all over that. So, by default, I've had to charge much less for my services in the past or now I take the bands to a studio with a great drum room. If you want great sounds, you've got to spend the money to get them.
This has always baffled me. Bands usually have 4 members, give or take. So to scrape up $2,000 for a recording would only be $500 a piece (assuming the band doesn't make ANY money playing live). If a band member doesn't think it's worth scraping up $500 for their band, that band member should quit and find a band he's actually dedicated to.
I've ran sound for bands that have made $3,000 in single night (in a town where 99% of local bands claim “no one in this town cares about music'), so I know it's completely possible to come up with cash for a recording.
I've noticed how the band will be totally broke saying “Brandon, we really need to half ass this record because we don't have enough money”. Of course, this is the same band that makes a run to Burger King where the average order is $7 per person. Then, they'll bring back $50 in beer and liquor. There is nothing wrong with Burger King, liquor, or especially beer! However, if you want to make a great record, don't give that up for BK.
Pack a bologna sandwich and use the extra hour or two to get the right vocal take. Pack a bologna sandwiches for a year and record your drums in a great room
3) Choose Quality Over Quantity!
People don't get excited about “local” music. If you sound “local”, the second the average listener puts your cd in, they will say “Oh. It's local” and the best you can possibly get out of them is “It's pretty good FOR BEING A LOCAL BAND”.
So if you can choose between recording 3 songs at a studio that will sound great and 10 songs at a studio that will sound “local”, I would go with the 3 songs every single time. I'd rather have 3 songs that have a chance of being liked by fans without saying “it's good FOR A LOCAL BAND”. I just want to hear “It's good”.
Some bands are in a mad dash to record an album in a weekend. While I have finished some of my favorite projects in a single day, most records aren't recorded in this fashion. If your situation comes down to compromising, I recommend that you always reduce quantity before you reduce quality!
If you don't have time to get what you want out of 10 songs, record 5 songs. If you can't afford 5 songs, do 2 songs.
From the beginning, you are choosing your path that will dictate the direction of your band. If you decide that you are willing to compromise, you will do it from now on. There will probably never be a day where you say “You know, let's do better on this one!”. It won't happen.
If you allow yourself to slap 10 songs on a recording as fast as you can, you are setting a precedent that you will probably never depart from. If you decide that it's okay to use the $400 in your band money to make a recording, you will probably always stick with this path. If you make everyone pitch in $400 and then also use $4,000 of live show money, you will always record on this path. Ironically, it's really tough to make any serious money live without having a serious recording first.
I do want to make it clear that some music lends itself to live recording (in the studio). I'm not saying that recording quickly is necessarily a bad thing. As I said above, some of my favorite songs I've done have been recorded in this fashion. However, if your music is suffering in any way from recording quickly, don't record quickly.
4) Should You Record Yourself or Pay A Professional
This one was always interesting to me. I realize that there are a lot of terrible engineers out there. There are kids who bought a $300 sound card and a $150 program who say they have a “studio”. Recording in these situations could be really good or really bad.
So, based on this, a lot of guys say “I could do better!”. I once said "I could do better". Of course, I didn't get into recording because I wanted to record my own band. (I had just quit my band, actually). I got into recording because I wanted to record many bands. Here I am,. It's 6 years later. I'm still learning about recording. I could be a doctor by now. (I'd rather record, actually).
Why would any band think it's worth their time and money to record themselves if they have no experience with engineering? I know sometimes they read about X band who recorded themselves. Of course, what they don't know is I'd bet big bucks on the fact that the band still paid one of their drinking buddies (who has been engineering for 10 years) $600 a day to engineer the project. VERY FEW bands engineer their own records and for good reason.
Engineering your own record without any previous experience is about like playing drums on a record with no previous experience.
Every band goofs around and does the jam where everyone switches instruments. It's funny, but it usually sounds like a train wreck. You wouldn't ever do this to be serious (unless everyone in the band is proficient at different instruments). Well, engineering your own record with no previous engineering experience is EXACTLY the same thing. You may as well have your girlfriend or mom engineer the record if you have no experience at it.
With that said, there are a few advantages to recording yourself. You can record anytime you want to. You don't have to pay per hour to use your own machine. You now have the tools to learn audio engineering, if that's your bag. Anything else? I guess that's it.
Of course, there are some disadvantages. If you purchased your recording gear because you wanted to record an album, you are taking a big risk. You are buying gear for a single event. Once that event is over and finished, then what? Will the recording gear collect dust for 5 years? If you don't plan on using your recording rig on a regular basis for the next couple of years, it's a total waste to buy any serious recording equipment. If you just want to put ideas down, use your cell phone.
Recording gear is not cheap. If you think it's cheaper to buy the gear than to record at a real studio, you have lost your mind. It's going to set you back, $2,000 just to have the ability to record drums (in the modern way with 8 mics). This is not factoring in anything but buying the bare necessities of recording equipment. This does not factor what it costs to actually get your recording space sounding anywhere near decent. This does not factor in getting quality gear or getting an assortment of microphones. This is just the bare minimum which a real studio will easily surpass in every way.
Once you get the equipment, you've got to learn how to use it. This takes a lot of time too. Good luck. I spent 2 weekends in a row placing my studio monitors. That's right. I spent 4 days taking acoustical analysis readings of my control room and finding the best place for my monitors. Most guys recording themselves don't take 4 days recording their record. So how are you going to compete with a guy who has spent more time placing his monitors than you have on your entire record. Do you even have studio monitors?
So, if you don't plan on sticking with this recording engineering thing, go with a person who has. If you don't want to be a recording guy, don't bother learning Cubase or Pro Tools. Write more songs!
5) The Importance of Communication
This is probably a “life lesson” as much as anything as it applies to recording, relationships, and even pizza delivery. For this section, I'll focus on recording.
When I work with a band, I ask a handful of questions to figure out what that band is going for. This will effect how I approach their recording. So for instance, with one band I recorded the drums with a single microphone. Crazy? I don't think so. It turned out pretty damn well. They were going for kind of a 60s drum sound. Another band I recorded was going for a big modern rock drum sound. We ended using like 18 mics or something. It was crazy. I was content with each drum sound. I knew what the band wanted because I communicated with the engineer. (normally, I probably use an average of 10 mics on the drums).
So, make the engineer understands what you are going for. This is one example of communications, but there are many others. Just making sure that the band understands what is expected of them is a big deal. If the band is not sure about anything, they should always ask. I've found the recording sessions that have gone the smoothest stem from great communication. Knowing when the band should show up is a huge thing that most bands never seam to get right.
I've had band that showed up when we were supposed to mix just to tell me they wanted to record some drums. WHAT? Uh....Okay. So there I am rushing to get my tube mics ****ed up so I can record a drumset. Normally, I'd have all the mics on stands, hooked up, and ready to go. Well, it took me about 30 extra minutes to get the drums setup. They were paying by the hour. So it cost them more money, but it also ate into their time before everyone gets tired and throws in the towel for the night.
6) Hook Up The Engineer
The best way to get an engineer to work extra hard on your record is to take care of him/her. Buy the engineer food if the band is buying food. If you are cheap ass band with bologna sandwiches, ask the engineer if he wants one. (He may decline!).
The secret weapon for me is buying me a coffee. This keeps me jacked up on caffeine, excited, energetic, etc. All of this for, $0.99 cup of coffee at some gas station. On top of that, I'm greatful that the band thought of me and got me something.
Try to make the engineer feel like part of the band. You've got to remember that there may be 5 or 6 band members and just one engineer. If the two are against each other, it creates a situation where there is one half naked chick and 6 guys s****ing her in a dark alley. DO NOT let your band let the engineer feel this way!
7) Should You Record With A Click?
I have a general rule of thumb on this one. If you have to ask whether you should use a click track, you should use a click track. It's as simple as that.
Some people say that records are too stiff with click tracks. This is a possibility, but a very very slight one. It probably happens about .01% of the time in a local situation. Many modern records are not only recorded with a click track, but afterwards, all the drums are snapped to a grid to be in perfect time (like a techno / dance song). While I listen to my share of electronic junk (especially before 1994), I do not want this sound on my rock records. So just remember that a click track doesn't have to feel stiff at all.
A band that doesn't record to a click can end up sounding too loose. This happens about 90% of the time. If you are doing a live recording where you plan on keeping all the tracks and not any serious overdubbing, I'd be slightly more inclined to not use the click. However, a great sounding live take with “vibe” and “energy” can turn into an all out NIGHTMARE when overdubbing.
So if you plan on doing lots of overdubs, and you are not sure about the click, use a click track.
There is a lot of debate with the click tracks. Some drummers hate them because they are being told what to do. (Of course, this means the drummer is probably rushing his fills or getting off time somewhere). Some drummers love them. The best drummer I've ever met (from Hydrogyn) LOVED playing to a click track. He said it freed him up to focus on playing with vibe and he didn't have to focus on his timing.
There is no rule that says that a song should remain the same tempo the entire time. This is one reason I like programming drums with midi. I can program the drums how I want them and then add tempo maps to gradually speed a song up without losing groove or excessively pushing or pulling.
8) The Importance Of Going For It
I know many, many musicians in my local area. There seams to be a clear cut, dividing line between the bands as they get older and older. There are bands that went for it, hired monster pro producer, went through the major label bootcamp (that's what I call it), and ended up learning how big boy records are made. They pushed themselves to be something more than they were when they started the recording. Many times it was expensive, but the
end results for the bands that did their homework and spent lots of time writing as many great songs as they could was very positive.
Then there are the bands that always made local recordings. These bands played their local shows and made records that did not sound too good. If you heard a recording, you'd immediately categorize these recordings as "local". Because they were always recording in local budget studios, they were never kicked in the ass to really do anything great. They never pushed themselves to be anything more. By taking the "easy" and inexpensive route
the first time, a precedent was formed which they continued to follow.
Eventually, these bands get older and older but their music and that musicianship never grew past that of many bands made up of 20 year olds.
While not every band plays music to be a rock star. Some people are weekend warriors (and I entirely respect that). However, if you are dead serious about even playing music for the rest of your life, you may as well get the musical lesson of the century when you are 20 (or NOW). You won't be getting any younger.
So go for it! If you want to do something, DO IT!
9) Don't Tell The Engineer You Want X Band's Guitar Sound
It's easy to have the exact same guitar sound as another band on another album...in theory. You just need to set the guitars and amps up exactly like they were set up on X band's recording and put the same mics in the same spots in the same room. Of course, the guitar player has to play the exact same chords because different songs are recorded with different tones. The player must also play the exact same way as the original player.
Of course, no band has every successfully replicated a tone on more than one of their own records! Every band sounds different from record to record. I'm speaking in terms of recording tones. A lot of people were huge on the guitar tone on the first Van Halen record. A tone THAT massive was never captured on any other Van Halen record even with the same guitar player, amps, and improved recording budgets.
Walking into a studio and saying "I want X band's drum sound" is a huge omen that the recording is going to suck balls for me. If drummer wants X drum sound, that means he probably doesn't know what he's doing.
Dont' get me wrong. It's completely cool to tell the engineer that you LIKE this sound and don't like that sound. In fact, it's encouraged. Obviously, you have to give the engineer an idea of what you want as a band. It's possible to get Beatles drum sounds or Mr. Mister drum sounds in the same
room.
So, make sure the engineer knows what you want, but don't expect him to match a specific tone. (By the way, if a drummer wanted to exactly clone the sound of X drummer, the first thing I would do, if possible, would be to hire that exact drummer to play the drum parts).
To expect the engineer to "make" the sound is a clear indication that the band doesn't understand the process. The engineer doesn't "make" sounds. He simply captures them.
10 Your Chain Is Only As Strong As Its Weakest Link
When making a recording, there a million links in the chain. The old saying is correct. Your chains is only as strong as the weakest link. Here are a few of the big links that summarize the entire process:
songwriting
recording
packaging
marketing
If you screw up or ignore any link on this list, the whole thing dies. If the songs aren't there, it's not going to happen. If the recording isn't great, you wasted your time writing great songs. If you don't package the cd in a pro way, good luck selling them (I had a band that bought white cd-rs and spray painted them...seriously). If no one knows about your cd, good luck selling them.
If you decide to make a recording that you actually want to sell, you must have all these areas covered very well. Of course, each of these 4 topics has a thousand topics within it, so this is a gross oversimplification.
Don't record vocals for 21 hours (in 2 days) you don't plan on doing any marketing for your music. Don't spend hours and hours on cd graphics if your songs are just “okay”.

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