Suggestions for going into the studio

[Zigs]

I am going into the studio on Monday to record about 5 songs with the band I am with. This is the first time for any of us to go into a studio to record. I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions from their own studio experience. I figured I would separate as many of my drums, as far as the outputs go; for example send the snare out of Output 1 left; my bass out of Output 1 right etc. I also planned to remove any effects, figuring they would want a clear signal that they could then process. Thats all I could think of. Any Suggestions
Also it seems when you want to separate the outputs as I described above you are limited to six. This is because when I use the Main left and right, everything starts bleeding over . So I just use left and right of Outputs 1,2 and 3.

Thanks, Rob

[UMCP_matt]

I went to do a demo with some band.. I ignored all that.. I did my effects.. sent them out to the board..

and THEN.. I replayed my drum track I palyed and upped the tempo by about 15 points because I had trouble playing the part perfect at normal speed

[puttenvr]

Turn off all effects. First, there are some posts around here about effect bleeding. Second: most studios have better effects than the ones who are inside the module. Most sound engineers also want to record 'dry' drums and add their own effects later. Once recorded, you can't go back. When recorded dry you always can decide whether to use fx or not.

[gingerbaker]

Zigs!

Best of luck in the studio! I've down it a couple of times, once with the V's, so here is my two cents for you:

1)Be sure you have each kit for each song as customized as you want them. In retrospect, I wish I had put more time into having every possible voice for each song. You know, a triangle here, a gong there?

2) Reduce the natural inclination to spice things up or fill up the space. When you record, you probobly will only hear yourself and one or two instruments and it will sound thin. But when all the voices and twelve thousand guitars get layered on, you will wonder why you clogged things up! Groove more, fill less. Make each fill exquisite and very lonely! Do one take and nail the time and groove. Then do another and fearlessly just make music!

3) Make sure that your trigger sensitivities are set so that you really have to bash, say, the cymbal to peak it. It is too easy to hit harder during recording - a stressful time for the drummer, trust me - and you would be maxing out the volume all the time, hence, no dynamics

4) If you have an effect on your kit that you really love and want on the record, keep it on your kit and send it to the engineer! It costs money to add it in later, and usually, the vocals and the guitars eat up your budget, so your sound may not make it in.

5) Listen to your kit on the sound check after it goes through tape--does it sound the way you want? if not, insist on the 10 minutes it will take to make it right! I found that I wanted to add more high end to the toms for definition.

6) Be positive and encouraging to everyone involved in the process. Be your best when others lose it. Make it fun, but...

7) Insist on professionalism and your as well as everyones satisfaction. If you really thought something needs to be done better, politely insist that it gets done now. IOW, don't have regrets later.

[jrcel]

It really depends on what kind of session it is, how much time you have, how much post production you're going to do, what the client wants. You should think about having a pre-production meeting with all involved parties, doing this will save alot of, but I thought you wanted this. You can also get a feel for what exactly is expected of you, and take notes you can refer to later, in case someone says, but I said.....Do your homework, sessions aren't made or broken on the day you track, unless there's something wrong with your playing, sorting out all the variables before you record generally leaves the way open for what you're there for in the first place, to play your ass off.

[This message has been edited by jrcel (edited February 11, 2001).]

[xaltvman]

My suggestion is to practice playing the songs to a click if you are not already used to playing w/ one. Chances are you will probably use a click in the studio. Get used to playing with it so when you record you can devote more of your focus to your playing and not to nailing the click. Be sure to have fun.
Darren

[Zigs]

Thanks everyone for the good advice.
I just wanted to let you all know that the Vdrums sounded excellent on the recording; as a matter of fact I, along with the other band members, thought the drums sounded the best of all the instruments. Additionally the engineer had to do only minimal processing work to get the final sound for the drums; needless to say he was impressed with the sound of the V's.

One lesson learned was that the cymbals (i use regular accoustic cymbals)sounded a little loud and had too long of a decay; overall not a good sound. I think Gingerbaker had a good thought in his post above to set your cymbal levels based on you hitting them your hardest.

Thanks, Rob

[BINARY]

Hey, pop up an MP3 so we can hear how the drums sound.

BINARY