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Studio 101
Whether you want to get a gig, a record deal or play your music to dear old aunty Maureen you will need a decent sounding demo. So where do you start?
Firstly you need to work out what your requirements are and balance that against your budget. Do you really need to go to a top of the range expensive studio with 36 channels of flashing lights and automated knobs when you are a three-piece trashy punk band? On the other had would you want to record on your mate's 8-track when you are in an eleven-piece funk band? The White Stripes recorded an album on an 8-track and the Beatles recorded on a 4-track, go figure.
Ten years ago there was an enormous gap between home recording and broadcast quality studio recording but now you can record 24 tracks of high quality audio on your laptop! So why bother to go to a studio at all? The answer is simply that you are paying for expertise. Studio engineers record high quality sound all the time, they are the type of people who can sit tweaking a snare track for five hours and will happily twiddle the zillions of knobs and faders to make your band sound amazing. They are able to get great results whatever equipment they use simply down to experience and a developed ear. Shop around a little and ask studios if they can accommodate your needs and ask for examples of who and what they have recorded. Also, what kind of payment system do they offer? Do they charge by the hour, day or song?
So it's decided then, you're going to pay someone to record your demo. It would be great if your record company had just given you six months in a top of the range studio to record your tracks but more likely at this stage you have just about scraped together enough money out of your collective giros and piggy banks for a day in a local studio. In this situation their time is your money and wasting as little time as possible is a great thing. Plan ahead, make sure you know the song(s) really well before you get there, you don't want to spend the afternoon writing the lyrics for the third verse or to sit there staring at the clock while your guitarist writes the solo. Should an amazing idea suddenly strike it would be great to have that extra time to experiment.
Ok, you've arrived at the studio. You're a bit nervous but don't worry, most engineers are harmless. Discuss with the engineer what your requirements are and he will then guide you through the process. Listen to the engineer's advice about what you should be doing and in what order, listen to what he has to say about overdubs and additional parts but don't let him bully you into adding or cutting bits out. It's your song and if you want a tuba solo then you should get a tuba solo no matter how much the engineer whines.
While you settle in, try not to touch things in the studio that look expensive and don't stick your can of Coke on anything that has knobs or flashing lights on. Most studios prefer for you not to smoke in the control room so it's best to ask before lighting that pipe. If you have cookies then offer the engineer one.
Okey dokey, there are two main ways that you can go about this recording.
How to Record a Demo
by bagua
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