HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR YOUR SESSIONS
WHAT WELLS OF SALVATION STUDIO DOES NOT PROVIDE:
- Wells of Salvation Studio does not (yet) have arrangements with a stable of studio musicians to play on your project so it will be up to you to arrange for players on your project. I myself can provide limited bass, guitar, midi and orchestration services. Please feel free to seek other assistance for these services as well as other players if you desire. That being said, I will help you as best I can in this area.
- I can help you in a ‘Producer’ role if you desire but that is not my forte. I encourage you to consider finding a reputable Producer to help you with your project. A good Producer can make the difference between a good project and a great project. Again, I will assist you to whatever degree I can.
- While Wells of Salvation Studio has a selection of instruments and equipment at your disposal, specialty instrumentation such as special guitars, keyboards, percussion, etc. will need to be provided by you for the project. In many cases, this means renting or borrowing gear or equipment. I will do my best to schedule sessions to minimize your expense for renting or borrowing.
- Wells of Salvation Studio does not get involved in licensing or leasing of music or tracks. This is the sole responsibility of the client. If you are using or planning on using leased tracks or performing songs that belong to other artists, you MUST provide proof of licensing or lease before the song will be recorded. You can look up mechanical licensing and track leasing on the internet. I will assist you to the best of my ability but my experience in this area is limited – meaning that the ultimate responsibility in this area is yours. Please take this seriously. We do not want to do anything illegal or unethical.
GETTING STARTED
So you are ready to get started. NOW WHAT??? Obviously, the first step is to contact me (937-356-3020 or bob@wellsofsalvationstudio.com). When calling, please remember that I may be in a session or I may be at a location where cell service is poor so if I do not answer, please leave a message and I will return your call at my absolute earliest convenience.
Once contact has been made, I recommend a visit to the studio so that you can see the facility and we can chat about the details of your project. At this meeting, we will talk about schedule and cost. Based on our discussions, I will provide you a written cost estimate. Please note that this estimate is just that – an estimate. It is not a firm fixed price for your project. I will do my best to keep costs to within the scope this estimate but recording is an art, not a science. Many things can happen when recording a project. Musical and production decisions can dramatically affect the number of hours that it takes to complete a project that can cause extra time to be needed. Your familiarity with your music and your pre-recording preparation are two of the biggest factors that impact whether or not we can keep to the estimated cost. However, technical issues (from Wells of Salvation Studio recording technology, i.e. computers and electronics) will never cause a cost over-run. If we have technical issues on our side, that’s on us, not you.
Once a cost has been agreed upon and a schedule is set, I will make this schedule the highest priority on my calendar. I request you do the same. If you must cancel or reschedule a session, please give plenty of notice so that time can be given to someone else. No-shows will incur a three-hour charge against the project. Also, please be on time for all your sessions. Habitual lateness will result in session charges starting at the scheduled start time, even if you are not there.
SESSION PREPARATION
As ‘glorious’ as recording in a studio might seem initially, recording a good project is A LOT OF WORK and takes a lot of focused, dedicated effort, preparation and talent from everyone involved. While you may invite whomever you wish to observe your sessions, I highly recommend you keep the number of people at each session limited to the folks who are actually and materially participating in the session at that time. Too many ‘friends’ can drastically reduce the efficiency of the recording process and can be a serious distraction to the whole process. The goal of the session is to get a great recording at minimal cost – it’s not a time to party. That being said, it is your project and your money so you control the project.
As the recording proceeds, there will be many decisions that must be made in real-time. If you are part of a group, the group needs to decide who makes the final decisions. Too many folks trying to call the shots only confuses and frustrates the situation (and the engineer). Here is where having a paid Producer is worth the price.
Preparation is critical. Knowing your music, and knowing how your music will be performed in-studio is absolutely critical to the recording process. Know how your songs will be structured – who plays what parts, how the song will be produced, and what instrumentation is needed. Know the tempo and the song key. Know how each song starts and ends. Know who is playing what solos and make sure you have the song WELL REHEARSED. $35 an hour is pretty expensive practice time. Your project will be best and lowest cost if you take time in advance to thoroughly prepare.
In advance of the actual recording session, some instrument setup might be required. This will be decided as a part of the schedule. As a part of the project cost, you may be required to pay a one hour setup fee at the agreed upon session rate. This covers drum set up and other specialty instrument setup. Again, this will all be decided in the planning and scheduling phase and will be included in the estimate provided.
YOUR FIRST SESSION
Especially at your first session, all players involved (including producers) should be on site 30 minutes prior to the scheduled session start time. This way everyone can get set up and acclimated and prepared. You will not be charged for this extra time. Charging starts at the agreed upon session time.
While it is good to plan a session, sometimes sessions can go long or short. Be prepared.
I also recommend that 24 to 48 hours in advance of the session, especially your first session, that you re-string all your stringed instruments. This is critical for acoustic guitars, important for stringed electrical instruments like electric guitars and optional for stringed electric basses. BRING SPARE strings, drum sticks, pics, cables, batteries, etc. to the session.
If you are bringing your own drums or percussion, make sure the heads are new or in good condition. Bring extra drum sticks. One time I had a group show up for recording and the drummer had forgotten his cymbals!
If you are bringing your own amplifiers, effects pedals, etc., make sure these are in top shape and free from hum and static. It is a good idea to put fresh batteries in your devices that require them.
GENERAL RECORDING TIPS AND RECOMMENDATIONS – BEFORE YOUR GO INTO THE STUDIO
- It is very helpful for me to know what type of sound you are looking for in your project. It is also helpful to understand how your team works. If you can provide me with examples of songs where you really like the sound and the mix, that helps me set a target for the sound you desire during the mixdowns. If you can provide me with live recordings of your songs or even recordings made in rehearsal (these can be just a hand-held recorder), it helps me greatly to understand how you work and how you want your project to sound.
- Make sure you know your songs inside and out. Know all the instrument and vocal parts. Know the harmony structure and have all your intros, endings, harmonies and solos worked out and rehearsed before coming to the session. Know your overall song structure and tempo. You’d be amazed at how much time and money is wasted in-session if these elements are not decided and rehearsed in advance.
- If you are bringing a midi device or music sequencer, it is a good idea make arrangements with me in advance to integrate these into the studio gear and recording process.
- CLICK TRACK – most musicians hate them. BUT, they can make the difference between a good project and a great one. Using a click track keeps tempos even and consistent and is hugely helpful when editing is required. A click track is also vital if we will be doing ‘drum replacement’ on the project. I recommend rehearsing with click tracks (there are phone apps that can do this for you). When you rehearse to the click track, REHEARSE AT A VERY SLOW TEMPO. Yes, that’s right, rehearse at a SLOW tempo. This will help make your sound tight when you play at normal tempo. It will also help you stay at the normal tempo during a recording because during a recording, often the adrenaline and excitement of the session can cause tempos to ‘run away’. If your song requires varying tempos, don’t worry. We’ll make sure that happens.
- Rehearse more songs than you plan to include on the project. Sometimes, once in the studio, you may change your mind in the moment and decide a particular song just doesn’t fit well in the project or just is not sounding like you had hoped. For example if you are recording a 4-song EP, I recommend preparing 6 songs.
- Take Care Of Yourself! Eat well and healthily and get plenty of sleep prior to each and every session. Recording is very hard work and you will need all your strength and mental focus to get it done. I recommend taking it easy on your ears the night before the studio session so you can hit the session with ‘fresh ears’. Vocalists should avoid drinking or eating dairy products for 24 hours in advance of the session. You can bring water, coffee or tea to the session. These will help you maintain vocal clarity and quality. Ice water is not recommended because the cold can constrict your vocal chords. Hot tea with lemon and honey works very well to relax your vocal chords.
THE RECORDING PROCESS
- A good recording comes as much from a good emotional performance as it does from a good technical or musical performance. The best ‘take’ may be the one with feeling – not necessarily the best technical performance.
- Speaking of takes, be prepared to record multiple takes of some or all tracks. We may even decide to record multiple versions of the whole song. So be prepared.
- Make sure you get things right DURING THE RECORDING PROCESS. Don’t fall into the ‘ we’ll fix it in the mix’ trap. There is no substitute for getting it right during the session. ‘Fix it in the mix’ is for things that got past us in the recording process. It is usually more cost effective to fix something during the actual recording process than to wait and try to fix it later. This is especially true of vocals. While vocals can be ‘pitch fixed’ in the mix to be near-perfect, that often makes the vocals sound less human. A great vocal is not necessarily totally pitch-perfect!
- Know when to take a break. The studio session clock stops for long breaks and lunch breaks.
- Know when it is time to quit. Going from morning into the wee hours of the night may not be the best, most efficient or effective approach for your project. As mentioned before, recording is hard work and it is best to approach it fresh and rested. Getting too tired during a session can literally destroy your session effectiveness. If your session is in the ‘after work’ hours and you’ve already had a full day, consider limiting your session to 3 hours or less to keep things fresh.
- You will listen to playbacks of takes almost constantly. When listening to playbacks of what you recorded, be SUPER CRITICAL. If you utter the words ‘that’s good enough’, then it wasn’t. Often times artists will gloss over what they hear as a minor imperfection only to later realize it is a glaring problem that needs to be fixed. You will hear things after the session that you did not hear during the session so be absolutely relentlessly critical in these initial playbacks. SERIOUSLY!
- Tune your instruments OFTEN during the session. Make sure that each instrument is in tune and that all instruments together are in tune with each other.
THE RECORDING IS DONE – NOW THE MIXDOWN STARTS
- I like to do a pre-mix of the songs on my own before having the artist come back in the studio and participate in the mix. During this pre-mix there are standard ‘cookie cutter’ things I will do that are more geared to making the upcoming mix sessions efficient and effective. Trust me, you don’t really want to see the sausage being made – it’s fun for me but probably not for you. However, if you would like to participate in this pre-mix, you are more than welcome.
- MIXDOWN – while this is my favorite part, I absolutely invite that artist(s) and/or producer(s) to participate in this mix process to whatever extent you desire. Let me know in advance how much you want to participate. Very often I will grab moments of time here and there to work on your project in order to be efficient and get the project done on time. However, if you really want to be a part of all the mix sessions, that is great – I welcome that. We will just need to incorporate that into the project schedule.
MASTERING, MP3s AND THE MASTER CD
- I am assuming that most final masters will be on CD. I usually do the mastering myself BUT if you would like to send your project out to a mastering engineer or facility, that is fine with me. I will not be offended. Just let me know who will do the mastering and I will contact them and make sure I provide everything that they need.
- If I will be doing the mastering, I prefer to work alone during this process until the draft and final reviews. I usually establish a place in ‘the cloud’ where I can upload draft masters for your review. I will provide you with the necessary access to that cloud location. I will call you in to review the ‘finished’ master in the studio and I will provide you with a draft master CD and MP3s of your songs which you can review at home. I recommend that you review the CD and MP3s on a variety of sound systems and make notes for changes to the mastering. When you have listened to the project once or twice, I recommend putting it aside for a couple days and then coming back to it with fresh ears to make sure your notes are accurate and that you have found everything that needs fixed or adjusted. Here’s a little trick – once you have listened to the project, listen again AT A VERY VERY LOW VOLUME. This will reveal imbalances in the mix. Sounds crazy, but it works.
- Once we have both done had our final listens, I will produce the master CD (or whatever you decide is the final product). You will need to provide a song order to me along with artist, writer and other information. If a CD is your final product, I recommend that you obtain ISRC codes for your songs. Consult the crack research team at Google on how to do this. I will need these codes prior to creating the final duplication master. You will get two copies of the final duplication master CD (additional copies can be provided – within limits – upon request). I will also provide you with final MP3s of your songs.
DUPICATION AND ARTWORK
I do not do CD duplication in-house. However I can recommend CD duplication facilities for your consideration. I am an affiliate studio with DISCMAKERS so I can help you work with them to do CD duplication. As an affiliate, I can directly upload the final project files to them so you don’t have to send in a CD master. Again, Discmakers can also assist you with artwork.
I do not do artwork for CDs or audio books. But once again, I can help put you in touch with folks who do this kind of thing. Dis
I hope this document has helped you understand the processes involved in recording, mixing and mastering a project. If you have any questions always feel free to call me – even if you have not decided to record yet or record here. I am here to help YOU.
Bob Morris