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How much to prepare before jumping in the studio?
- Thread starter Absumone
- Start date
If you simply hate the sound of a click track, as I do.
Track a high hat, shaker, what ever you need as a groove reference and quantize it as needed to make sure you're in the pocket.
The toughest thing to learn and sometimes it comes with playing live is that no matter how hot
of a player you might be, you gotta know when to hold and when to strategically show some artful flash.
If you are working with a vocalist, your number one priority is to support that vocalist
as a unit.
Watch Joe Walsh as see how he holds sustain notes or finger picks during the lead vocal and only adds grace notes, lead & riffs between those vocal phrases.
You may not be a blues band, but this is basic blues arrangement technique.
Vocalist sings a line
Guitar answers.
Another verse line
Guitar answers.
You can't hear what people are saying if they're both rambling at the same time.
Track a high hat, shaker, what ever you need as a groove reference and quantize it as needed to make sure you're in the pocket.
The toughest thing to learn and sometimes it comes with playing live is that no matter how hot
of a player you might be, you gotta know when to hold and when to strategically show some artful flash.
If you are working with a vocalist, your number one priority is to support that vocalist
as a unit.
Watch Joe Walsh as see how he holds sustain notes or finger picks during the lead vocal and only adds grace notes, lead & riffs between those vocal phrases.
You may not be a blues band, but this is basic blues arrangement technique.
Vocalist sings a line
Guitar answers.
Another verse line
Guitar answers.
You can't hear what people are saying if they're both rambling at the same time.
Last edited:
Remember we are talking about in the Studio...not live...If you are recording the full band performing together in one take and adding vocals later i can see not using a click track...but if you want a polished professional sounding recording, you are going to individually track the instruments at seperate times, and I'm sorry no matter how good your drummer is, there is always some fluctuation. It just makes it easier later on to fix punch issues...and frankly, as we all know deal with the guitar player who needs multiple takes to get his parts/solos correct.
If anything...make sure your drummer is on a click track so that his parts are in time, then the other members can line up with him also when you quote in the future, make sure you quote the whole context, My quote above is out of context and does sound like an uneducated statement...but there is more in my original post that supports use of a click track for various reasons in conjuction with the initial statement.
Set aside a rehearsal and record each song on the EP. If you have a Zoom or one of those fancy recorders, that's nice. If not, chances are someone in your band has a smart phone, and you can get a workable recording from that. Make sure you set everyone's volume and place the recorder in a place where you can hear everything that's going on instead of having it sitting on top of the guitar cabinet and you can't hear anything else. It doesn't have to be perfect, you're going to work on that in the next few steps.
Evaluate the songs. Is it all really solid material? Do they showcase your band in their best light? Are the lyrics to the 4th verse of the 5th track on the EP any good? Do you really need 4 verses? This is the time to start thinking "this bridge is pretty weak" or "this intro could be more catchy" or "this song is too high/low for the vocals (and/or harmonies) we are trying to do, we should maybe change key". Those things tend to be where a lot of that on the spot studio stuff tends to happen, because when that microscope of the studio is looking at your stuff, you realize things you should have changed ages ago. You want to be bringing the best material you are capable of bringing, especially to an EP. There are no excuses for album filler when it's 6 tracks or less.
Evaluate what each member of the band is doing. This is what breaks up bands, but also what makes solid recordings. Big things need to be addressed. Is your lead guitar player stepping all over everything or does your horn player have really horrible tuning? If you have multiple guitarists/harmony instruments, do their parts compliment each other instead of fight each other? Once you deal with those things, if you still have a band at the end of that conversation, you need to address "smaller" changes. If you're doing a soft/slow song, would brushes or different percussion other than drum kit be more appropriate? Have you thought about a 12 string instead of a 6 string acoustic? Is that one super awesome bass fill you have actually adding something, or is it just making you feel more important? If you can give each other constructive feedback about what you are making together, you will end up with a better product. Sometimes it is really difficult for us to individually evaluate what we are doing and if you trust your band mates, this can be a great learning process.
Fix everything. Did you end up rewriting/rearranging some stuff? Did you change the feel of a tune? Did your drummer quit the band because he was the reason you were speeding up on every track and couldn't handle it when you pointed that out? Make the changes that need to be made, and go back through the first two steps until you are confident that the material you are bringing to the studio is something you will be proud of decades from now.
Write everything out. If you really want to go the notation or tab route then do so, but at least have everything completely figured out before you get into the studio. This could mean that you jot down a couple of "do that high up thing" or "syncopate the second verse" if you tend to remember things instead of writing them out. Do not expect solos to "organically" materialize in the studio, it can be one of the least "organic" environments out there. Bang out your written out solos, and if you have another idea that presents itself that is infinitely better, you can go back later and edit it in.
Nail it down. You want to have it to the point where everyone knows their parts and can consistently make it happen in the first 1-3 takes. If you can't do that you're going to be wasting a lot of time, and everyone including yourself isn't going to be very happy. That rehearsal where you recorded everything on your Zoom or phone? You should be able to bang out the whole EP in under an hour at your rehearsals leading up to it and be happy with the results. This gives you the freedom to make artistic choices in the studio if they need to happen, not spend hours trying to get a bass track down that is serviceable. This is where the click track debate comes in. Regardless to whether or not you decide to use it in studio, rehearse with it so you can. It does depend on genre, but listen to recent recordings of people playing the genre of music you are recording. There is a good chance that even so called non-click styles like jazz and jam bands still have really solid time, and they could be performing with a click. There are a lot of professional bands that are playing live shows with clicks in their IEM's now. If you're doing some big pop band production where everyone's dancing and there are fireworks and stuff, you best believe they want it to go exactly as planned and not twice as fast because someone got nervous.
If you are tracking individually, get used to playing everything that way. Typically bass is first or second to go in. If you are first, get used to playing everything all the way through with a click, and making sure you don't get lost halfway through because there isn't anyone else to help you figure out where you are. If you are second, then rehearse with whoever (likely drums) is first with just the two of you. It isn't a bad idea anyway, as it really helps the two of you lock in.
Talk to the studio guys. They might want all of you there at the same time, they may want to work with just who's tracking, they may or may not have space for everyone especially if you are a large band. Give them a copy of your rough recordings from a few steps ago, see if they have any suggestions/input, and hammer out if you want to make any changes based on that.
Make sure your gear is in absolutely perfect shape. This means properly setup, no buzzes, hums, dead spots, new strings, that jack that occasionally cuts out is fixed/replaced etc. It sounds simple, but it wastes a ton of everyone's time if you are dealing with that kind of nonsense in the studio. If you feel comfortable doing it yourself then do it, if not, get it done professionally.
Get your body ready for the studio. A good night of sleep and good food shouldn't need to be said. Things like callouses might need to be addressed if you're planning on marathon studio sessions and you typically don't play that long otherwise. You don't want to have a cold and be trying to sing vocals. You don't want to have food poisoning from that new Tex-Mex place in town that looks a little sketchy. If you have any vices, know what they are, and how they need to be handled in order for you to be preforming at your best. If that means someone needs a beer or two to loosen up, someone really can't do their best work without a bag of gummy worms, or like myself you need about 4 cups of coffee before anything magical is going to happen at 9 am, know what that is and stick to it. The studio is not the right time to start beach-body-bootcamp or go on a juice cleanse or quit smoking or whatever, it is the time to make your body happy and not do anything too shocking to it.
Does that seem like a lot? To some of you it might. To others, it might just be scratching the surface. Be prepared. Until you have insane amounts of cash to blow on recording projects and can't think of any better way to spend it, go in on your A game.
Evaluate the songs. Is it all really solid material? Do they showcase your band in their best light? Are the lyrics to the 4th verse of the 5th track on the EP any good? Do you really need 4 verses? This is the time to start thinking "this bridge is pretty weak" or "this intro could be more catchy" or "this song is too high/low for the vocals (and/or harmonies) we are trying to do, we should maybe change key". Those things tend to be where a lot of that on the spot studio stuff tends to happen, because when that microscope of the studio is looking at your stuff, you realize things you should have changed ages ago. You want to be bringing the best material you are capable of bringing, especially to an EP. There are no excuses for album filler when it's 6 tracks or less.
Evaluate what each member of the band is doing. This is what breaks up bands, but also what makes solid recordings. Big things need to be addressed. Is your lead guitar player stepping all over everything or does your horn player have really horrible tuning? If you have multiple guitarists/harmony instruments, do their parts compliment each other instead of fight each other? Once you deal with those things, if you still have a band at the end of that conversation, you need to address "smaller" changes. If you're doing a soft/slow song, would brushes or different percussion other than drum kit be more appropriate? Have you thought about a 12 string instead of a 6 string acoustic? Is that one super awesome bass fill you have actually adding something, or is it just making you feel more important? If you can give each other constructive feedback about what you are making together, you will end up with a better product. Sometimes it is really difficult for us to individually evaluate what we are doing and if you trust your band mates, this can be a great learning process.
Fix everything. Did you end up rewriting/rearranging some stuff? Did you change the feel of a tune? Did your drummer quit the band because he was the reason you were speeding up on every track and couldn't handle it when you pointed that out? Make the changes that need to be made, and go back through the first two steps until you are confident that the material you are bringing to the studio is something you will be proud of decades from now.
Write everything out. If you really want to go the notation or tab route then do so, but at least have everything completely figured out before you get into the studio. This could mean that you jot down a couple of "do that high up thing" or "syncopate the second verse" if you tend to remember things instead of writing them out. Do not expect solos to "organically" materialize in the studio, it can be one of the least "organic" environments out there. Bang out your written out solos, and if you have another idea that presents itself that is infinitely better, you can go back later and edit it in.
Nail it down. You want to have it to the point where everyone knows their parts and can consistently make it happen in the first 1-3 takes. If you can't do that you're going to be wasting a lot of time, and everyone including yourself isn't going to be very happy. That rehearsal where you recorded everything on your Zoom or phone? You should be able to bang out the whole EP in under an hour at your rehearsals leading up to it and be happy with the results. This gives you the freedom to make artistic choices in the studio if they need to happen, not spend hours trying to get a bass track down that is serviceable. This is where the click track debate comes in. Regardless to whether or not you decide to use it in studio, rehearse with it so you can. It does depend on genre, but listen to recent recordings of people playing the genre of music you are recording. There is a good chance that even so called non-click styles like jazz and jam bands still have really solid time, and they could be performing with a click. There are a lot of professional bands that are playing live shows with clicks in their IEM's now. If you're doing some big pop band production where everyone's dancing and there are fireworks and stuff, you best believe they want it to go exactly as planned and not twice as fast because someone got nervous.
If you are tracking individually, get used to playing everything that way. Typically bass is first or second to go in. If you are first, get used to playing everything all the way through with a click, and making sure you don't get lost halfway through because there isn't anyone else to help you figure out where you are. If you are second, then rehearse with whoever (likely drums) is first with just the two of you. It isn't a bad idea anyway, as it really helps the two of you lock in.
Talk to the studio guys. They might want all of you there at the same time, they may want to work with just who's tracking, they may or may not have space for everyone especially if you are a large band. Give them a copy of your rough recordings from a few steps ago, see if they have any suggestions/input, and hammer out if you want to make any changes based on that.
Make sure your gear is in absolutely perfect shape. This means properly setup, no buzzes, hums, dead spots, new strings, that jack that occasionally cuts out is fixed/replaced etc. It sounds simple, but it wastes a ton of everyone's time if you are dealing with that kind of nonsense in the studio. If you feel comfortable doing it yourself then do it, if not, get it done professionally.
Get your body ready for the studio. A good night of sleep and good food shouldn't need to be said. Things like callouses might need to be addressed if you're planning on marathon studio sessions and you typically don't play that long otherwise. You don't want to have a cold and be trying to sing vocals. You don't want to have food poisoning from that new Tex-Mex place in town that looks a little sketchy. If you have any vices, know what they are, and how they need to be handled in order for you to be preforming at your best. If that means someone needs a beer or two to loosen up, someone really can't do their best work without a bag of gummy worms, or like myself you need about 4 cups of coffee before anything magical is going to happen at 9 am, know what that is and stick to it. The studio is not the right time to start beach-body-bootcamp or go on a juice cleanse or quit smoking or whatever, it is the time to make your body happy and not do anything too shocking to it.
Does that seem like a lot? To some of you it might. To others, it might just be scratching the surface. Be prepared. Until you have insane amounts of cash to blow on recording projects and can't think of any better way to spend it, go in on your A game.
The hardest part of recording in a studio is convincing the drummer to play to a click track lol. My drummer flat-out refused to play to a click track. He could keep time pretty well, I'll give him that, but the occasional song would skip a beat or different takes would vary in tempo because of his freelance playing. I'll echo what's been said in here about click tracks...learn to get comfortable playing along to one and make sure the rest of the band is willing to do so too. It makes the recording process flow a lot easier for both the band and your engineer.
As for preparation, bear in mind that the majority of bands you see in those docos have decent budgets to play with as well as all the free time in the world since its like a job for them. Your situation may be the complete opposite to theirs especially if they're pro musicians. If your situation is the opposite of theirs, I'd recommend nailing your material first in rehearsals and then step into the studio. As someone mentioned, time is money and studio time can really shrink your wallets. Be efficient with your time and money.
As for preparation, bear in mind that the majority of bands you see in those docos have decent budgets to play with as well as all the free time in the world since its like a job for them. Your situation may be the complete opposite to theirs especially if they're pro musicians. If your situation is the opposite of theirs, I'd recommend nailing your material first in rehearsals and then step into the studio. As someone mentioned, time is money and studio time can really shrink your wallets. Be efficient with your time and money.
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