BE
PREPARED!
Studio Preparedness Manual
by the folks at Evil Genius
Contents
- Getting the Band Ready
- Budgeting: Time is Money
- The Importance of Snacks
- Working in the Studio
- Mixing
- Digital Editing and Sequencing
"Change your strings. Have your vision, but be open to
letting
things turn out the way they turn out. Be open to other people's
comments. And wash your hands if you eat greasy food."
-- Barbara Manning, S.F. Seals
So you want to get good
recordings of your rock n roll band. All the band members have
agreed to throw in some money for the project and you've chosen a
studio
with a reasonable hourly rate.
But are you really ready to
go?
Here are some things to consider before you commit your time and
money, as well as helpful hints from some musicians who have been
there
before.
GETTING THE BAND READY
"Practice, practice, practice..."
-- Mark Robinson, Teenbeat Records mogul
If you are not rehearsed and organized before you enter the
recording studio, you will run into trouble. And you will run out
of
money before you can fix it!
"You want to be mentally prepared
and physically prepared," says Mark Robinson, Unrest and Air
Miami guitarist.
"On the mentally prepared part, you want to
practice your songs as well as you can, so you can play them in
as few
takes as possible," says Mark.
"And physically, obviously, don't forget
to bring your amps and guitars. A lot of people actually assume
that a studio's just going to have everything, but it won't. So
everything you want to use, you have to bring."
The band usually lays down the basic tracks -- guitar,
bass, drums -- first thing in the studio. Often the singer will
add her
part later.
Bass player Phil Satlof says his band Tuscadero had
problems playing their songs without the singer when they first
started recording. "The band should practice the song without
vocals so
you can play it without the vocal cues," he advises.
He adds that you should spend a lot of time with your
instrument and amp before the clock starts ticking in the studio.
"Make sure you can get the sounds you want out of it and set
it
up. You should try to play with your band and change the
settings, too.
You get different sounds when everyone is there than when it's
just you
in the room."
Tuning problems can be some of the biggest frustrations
in the studio, according to Rob Christiansen, renowned indie rock
engineer, trombonist of Eggs and the brain behind Viva Satellite.
"If you don't know what an intonation job is, learn and then
get
one. Buy a tuner and make sure everyone who plays an instrument
in the
band knows how to use it," Rob says.
This saves a lot of grief when
the guitarist goes to do overdubs the next day and his guitar is
out of tune.
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BUDGETING: TIME IS MONEY
"Damn the money! Money is no object!"
-- Phil Satlof, Tuscadero
Phil's attitude is noble, and working in the studio should be
fun and creative.
But on the most basic level, finances must rule the entire
occasion. In the studio, time literally is money. Remember you
are renting equipment and hiring an engineer to get a job done.
Before you enter the studio, calculate your recording budget.
Since you
will be charged by the hour, planning how much time you need is
the most
important part of budgeting.
When you book the time, talk to
the engineer about exactly what you want to do. He does this
recording thing for a living, so he can also help you predict how
long it
should take.
Phil warns: "Always schedule extra time -- more than
you think you'll need, 'cause you'll need it. Each song is going
to
take at least 3 hours. Even if it doesn't, that is probably a
good bet."
You should plan to give yourself enough time to do the job
right. As a rule of thumb, less is best. If you're going for high
quality
recording, you should attempt fewer songs than you think you can
finish in
your allotted time.
If you just want to bash out your 16 song live
set, that doesn't leave much time in your budget for more careful
and complicated overdubs, so you'll get a more raw product at the
end.
"It could take a whole day to get a song really nice, or you
could do 18 songs in one day. So think about that. Doing a lot of
songs
isn't necessarily bad if it's what you are prepared to do," Rob
says.
Again, you need to be rehearsed before you enter the studio.
You need to prioritize your songs and perform them in
descending order of
importance.
Says Mark: "If you have 3 songs and one of them you
think is the best song you've ever done and two of them you think
are...not as good, so you should definitely work on the one you
want to finish first. Because you might run out of money and then
your
favorite song wouldn't be done. That's a problem."
Many bands lay down the basic tracks live, with drums, bass
and guitar playing
together. This creates a good energetic recording and also saves
time!
Make sure to allow an equal amount of time to mix your songs
as you
allow to record them. Even the best performance will sound
terrible if you
don't take the time to mix it properly.
You have to account not only for the hourly rate, but
for tape stock--reels of recording tape, DAT mastering tapes and
test cassette duplication. Find out if the studio can sell you
these
items when you arrive for your session. If not, you need to get
hold of
them before you go.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF SNACKS
"You might be spending 10 hours in the studio and you're
going to
mix it and whatever that day. You want a tape by the time you
leave
there, so you're not going to want to go out to Burger King every
5
minutes."
-- Mark Robinson
It's important to bring supplies
to the studio: instruments, cables, strings, guitar picks, lyric
sheets, drum sticks, duct tape, cigarettes and the rest of your
band
paraphernalia.
But don't overlook the snack factor. You should be prepared
for long hours of hard work in the studio, and that means you
will
probably get hungry. You have to budget for snacks as well.
Munchies--like goldfish, pretzels, combos, peanuts--are always
popular. You can
also bring something more substantial to make in the studio, like
bagels and cream cheese.
"It depends where you are also. We were in Miami
[recording the Air Miami album], so we were buying plantain
chips, black beans and rice, fried yucca, Cuban food, stuff like
that," Mark
said.
You should plan to buy drinks too. Beer is a perennial
favorite.
(Give some to the engineer!) Coffee is also popular during long
hours of recording.
If you are going to sing, it's best to drink something that is not too cold and not too sugary--both will tighten up your vocal chords. Mark likes o.j. or the rare Snapple
Vitamin Supreme. "For a long time I drank Classic Coke, as it was known back
then. It's not really very good--I wouldn't recommend it," Mark
says.
"People like [Simple Machine's] Jenny Toomey drink whiskey,
which is actually pretty good. When we did the Air Miami record, we drank
Jagermeister. Soothes your throat. I'd recommend Jagermeister,
cuz its more like candy, as opposed to whiskey, which is like something you
want to gag on," he says.
"If you have the extra cash, you can always get a pizza delivered to the studio; that's always a fun thing," Mark says. But remember Barbara Manning's caveat: it's hard to finger that kick ass guitar solo if you have pizza grease all over the
fretboard.
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WORKING IN THE STUDIO
"Don't assume the engineer is going to make you sound the way you want.
Take an active role in talking about what kinds of things excite
you when you hear them. Otherwise you'll get the generic."
-- Rob Christiansen, indie rock engineer
So you're rehearsed, you've got your money,
snacks, gear and you're ready to go. You've talked to the
engineer about
what you want to do. But recording is an environment like no
other, so
make sure you are prepared.
First and foremost, the studio
is
about getting a good sound on tape. This is very different than a
live
performance, where acts of extremism, such as jumping around or
smashing
your guitar, communicate an emotional reaction to the audience.
In the
studio, those things may not result in the best sounding tape. So
concentrate on playing well.
As Rob puts it: "Power comes from subtlety and finesse
rather
than from more loud guitars. Power is in quality tone rather than
quantity of guitar tracks. Power is from careful planning, not
just loud
things." In other words, thumping that bass note extra loud
doesn't help
you in the studio -- you're just going to have to re-record it.
You
can go into the studio with a general idea of how you want your
recording to sound, but it is important to be open to
experimentation.
Don't let your abilities as a live band limit your chance to add
interesting parts in the studio.
Rob adds: " Don't get
reactionary. What worked well in the demo may not now. Listen as
you go.
Don't expect it to go as planned -- change your plan as you go.
Respond
to what you're hearing rather than what you think you want to
hear."
At different times during the recording, some members of the
band,
especially singers, will spend a lot of time sitting around while
other
members record their parts. It can be a bit tedious.
You'll
probably be sitting in the control room, so it will be a
temptation to
chat with the engineer. Remember you are paying him your
hard-earned
cash to work, not to gab with you. So bring a book, magazine or
some
other silent activity to do while you're waiting for your turn to
record.
"You have to really come together and become a team in
the studio -- you can't be working against each other," advises
Phil.
"People who are not usually put on the spot are going to be,
and
you'll be hearing them. Try to go easy on them. For some people,
it's
embarrassing to hear themselves -- especially in a recording that
picks
everything up. Don't be freaked out by that."
You should ask your fellow band members if they want you to
leave the room while
they are performing solo, such as during a vocal overdub. Some
people
get very self-conscious and it is better to leave them with the
engineer to do their thing.
"Some people really won't want you there when
they're belting out their soul, as I know from personal
experience," Phil says.
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MIXING
The final stage of
the
basic recording is mixing the songs down to master tape. Make
sure you
allow enough time in your budget to do a good job -- at least one
hour
per song just for mixing.
Ask the engineer questions about what he's doing so you can
communicate what you want.
"Don't be afraid to assert yourself.
If you want something done, you have to make it happen. Don't
step on toes, but at the same time, it is your record, not the
engineer's
record," Phil says.
"You or the producer really have to assert
your ideas, but the engineer is the person who is actually going
to make it happen," says Phil.
"He or she has good ideas. I find
it
works better if everyone gets to try it their way if you have
time."
A good cooperative way to mix your songs is to let the
engineer
set up a rough mix that he thinks sounds good, and then let
everyone
comment on that.
Mark suggests taking it one step farther: "If you have liked
the work the engineer has done before, don't even say anything
when you're listening to the playback. In fact, you might not
even
want to be there during the mixing. Just tell the guy what you
want and
maybe he can do three different mixes," he says.
His reasoning for leaving the mixing entirely up to an
engineer you like contains
some real wisdom: "A lot of times you'll be in the studio with a
band
doesn't know anything about it, and they'll be putting their
hands all
over the board, and saying 'I think this sounds really good.'
Then
afterwards they are really unhappy with the tape."
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DIGITAL EDITING AND SEQUENCING
"Editing and sequencing are hard to explain, because if the
job's done right, you won't notice it's there."
-- Robert Salsbury, indie rock non-linear editor guy
After your hard day's work of recording and mixing is all
done, what
are you going to do with your music?
You may want to edit sections of the songs together using a
digital editing system or sequence on a master DAT to send to a
pressing plant for your self-released compact disc.
Needless to say, this is another cost you must factor into
your budget: the
digital engineer's rate plus more tape stock.
There are a million tricks to be done during the editing and
sequencing
process. Some require forethought during the original mixdown.
For instance, if
you want to have songs crossfade into one another, it is best not
to
fade them down during the mix.
Robert suggests having someone explain the possibilities of
this
digital technology before you enter
the studio. In fact, he suggests calling him to discuss it.
So there are a few hints about the recording studio. It
seems
like a lot of very business-oriented things, but spend the time
to sort them
out now. It will reduce your worries when you walk into the
control room --
one of the most fun playgrounds in the world!
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Ian Jones is the proprietor and chief analog engineer of Arlington Va.'s Evil
Genius Audio Labs. He's recorded most of the indie rock crowd and a ton of
local D.C. bands, including Teenbeat Records' infamous Tuscadero "Pink Album."
Visit the Evil Genius website at http://www.nicom.com/~ianx
