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recording ep..where is a nice studio to start???
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01-01-2011 8:19pm#1hey guys hows things happy new years!:)....just wanted to ask around if any one would kno wear the best place..price resonable and vibe good! to record 7 track EP...location dont matter at all...just would like a decent studio for rock/exp band
so if you could let me kno cheers...peace
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Just out of curiosity OP, why 7 tracks for an EP?
Its just that 7 tracks is unusually large for an EP size, where the usual idea of an EP is to give people a decent taste of your band. Ie, something to promote your bands main product (the album!).
Its just that if you're willing to do 7, why not just add an extra 3 to make 10 tracks and your talking album territory, which IMO would make more sense.
well, that or trim your 7 down to 3 or 4 at most, which would make things easier to manage both time wise and money wise.
anyways, Im just curious as to your approach as its unusually refreshing!
***** ON TOPIC *****
As for studios, well, money will ultimately dictate what you can get, but heres some pointers that I learned the hard way from my experiences:
1. Shop around. Dont just jump on the first studio you see. Ratio in your budget to studio time required and potential quality achievable (see 3 below!) and perhaps make a list. Also, if not engineering it yourself, make sure you relay this info to the studio as although it will cost more to hire an engineer, its better than renting a studio of equipment for a day and not know how to work any of it!
2. Suss out the studios time schedule around your planned recording time. Usually I find that (Especially with 7 tracks!) things always take longer to record than planned, so an extra day free (timewise!) around the recording time can be just what you need when the creative juices are running.
3. ALWAYS...and I mean ALWAYS ask for a sample of previous recordings of similar genres to yours that the studio has done. Some studios will promise you the world to get you in with them, but unless they have actually gotten the same (or close to) the sound that you want and can prove it, then steer clear. Some studios / engineers are better or have more experience at recording certain types of genres, so an engineer who shows you a great jazz recording, might not be so great when it comes to recording hard rock (or whatever your genre is...). IMHO, this is the most important step as its ultimately what will dictate how your record is produced.
4. This can be a tricky one...but try and be fair to the studios too. It can be very hard when a client says "I want it to sound more punchy..." as that can mean many different things. Bring a reference song/CD with you so you can give the engineer an idea of the sound you are going for. This can vary from song to song so having reference material can be a real confusion breaker. Again be fair though....most professionally recorded CDs are done with top-of-the-line studios with very experienced engineers which can cost thousands to produce each song. Dont expect U2 quality from a studio thats charging you €200 for the session. That said, don't necessarily let studios use this as an excuse either for returning poor results. Again, this factor will vary from studio to studio and generally the better equipped the engineer is, the greater his/her potential is to match that "professional quality" you are after. Their experience / methods will determine the ultimate outcome.
5. This may be stating the obvious, but be aware of the difference between "mixing" and "mastering". Clients often complain about the final mix being "too quiet" and too "weak", not realizing that the "loudness" they are looking for occurs in the mastering stage. Some studios will also master your recordings for you (for a price) but whats usually industry standard is to have a different studio for mixing and mastering. I've even hears of some artists using 3 separate studios and engineers...1 for recording, 1 for mixing and 1 for mastering!!
There are some great home mastering tools if you have the dosh for it (Waves, Ozone etc...), but if your not into the DIY approach, then mastering your songs should also be a factor that informs your decision. First impressions (unfortunately!) are everything in music so the more "professional" your track sounds the more of a change you are giving it to succeed....and because of the "loudness wars" of the past decade or so, mastering is now essential to any bands product.
6. Pre-production. This can be a huge area for bands, but make sure that every aspect of your songs are covered. What this entails is many finer details but here are some things to consider:
- Drums: Practice with a click track before hand with an agreed tempo for each track. Make sure that the drummer knows every fill that he/she will play at each time. If you prefer your drummer to have more.... "improvisation" (maybe freedom is a better word) with their fills, then thats a band decision, but IMHO, at the very least the non-fills / beat element of their playing should be set in stone. IMO, I think that the fills should be set out at least for the recording session, with more freedom allowed for live playing. Recently knew (not brand new) skins should be used on a decent kit to attain maximum effect.
- Guitars (bass and electric): Fairly newish strings should be put on (Again NOT brand new as the tuning will slip quickly) at least a week before the recording session. Again, the guitar part should be set in stone. As the guitarist has access to over dubbing and multitracking in the studio, make sure that the guitarist knows exactly what they want to add to the track either in the ways of solos, backing ambient sounds, or general sonic additions to the track. I've seen guitarists waste hours in studios improvising backing parts to tracks that only end up costing the band more money.
- Vocals: Make sure that the singer knows what they are singing both melodically and lyrically. Backing vocal parts should be worked out and practiced to a "T" beforehand to ensure that the parts work. Make sure that the singer is well rested for at least a few days before the session. Don't go rehearsing the night before with the singer. Of course, illness can strike any singer, so hopefully this won't happen to you. Also, you want the singer to sing in tune (obviously!) but dont worry if the studio uses an auto-tune program. Every star from Greenday, U2, Paramore to Bruce Springsteen, Corey Taylor to Christina Aguilera uses an auto tuning program...NOT for the crappy Cher / Black Eyed Peas robotic vocal effect, but for that "perfect" tuning. People are people....you often dont hear it in live scenarios, but in a studio every slight word ending thats even a few cents out will shine through and often sound flat....not always melodically "flat" but energetically "flat". ITs hard to describe, but sa vocals are the most essential part of the song, this is one are you cant afford to get wrong.
Every one in the band: Essentially, every member of the band should know the song to such an extend as to be able to play the song from start to finish without any other part playing. With this, going into a studio you will save time, money and you will probably play better and with more confidence that will come through on the mix.
Also just be careful that too many cooks dont spoil the broth....and by this I mean that everyone in the band doesnt suddenly fancy themselves as Rick Ruben when in the studio. This can be a very hard part to overcome as rivalries can quickly surface but if you agree on all the extra parts before hand and the sound that you all want then you should be fine.
Happy hunting, my friend, and dont forget to show us the results when you get them. 0 -
wow thanks for the great post drum drum...will for sure take all of your advice on board
...well i guess i could make it 5 if it ment that it would be more afordable and better produced time wise and money
as for my band well its only 3 of us...me vocals/guitar/keyboards/samples friend on bass and bro on drums.... its hard to say what we sound like cause its very different than whats out there..but i could say something like dashboard confessional/incubus/muse
as for studios what do you think of the one suggested above?..will shop around as you suggested something similiar to whats in our sound range'..but above the bands i listed what studios would you rate for that range of sound?
ps we will have demo tracks of the songs wel record in the studio on cd for the eng to hear..ie what can improve ideas to make things better or change to a prefered version etc etc..so that would be organoised imo
cheers drum drum brother:) will put the ep online when finished and hope to hear from you soon...have a great weekend.. 0 -
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wow thanks for the great post drum drum...will for sure take all of your advice on board
...well i guess i could make it 5 if it ment that it would be more afordable and better produced time wise and money
as for my band well its only 3 of us...me vocals/guitar/keyboards/samples friend on bass and bro on drums.... its hard to say what we sound like cause its very different than whats out there..but i could say something like dashboard confessional/incubus/muse
as for studios what do you think of the one suggested above?..will shop around as you suggested something similiar to whats in our sound range'..but above the bands i listed what studios would you rate for that range of sound?
ps we will have demo tracks of the songs wel record in the studio on cd for the eng to hear..ie what can improve ideas to make things better or change to a prefered version etc etc..so that would be organoised imo
cheers drum drum brother:) will put the ep online when finished and hope to hear from you soon...have a great weekend..
Not to worry gre, hope it works out for you. This is just some tips from my eexperiences with studio work (from both sides of the control room!) so I hope this helps. Im sure others can offer you tons more, but you seem to have your wits about you so I'd say you'll be fine.
As for recommending studios, all I will say is to go with one that offer you a sound sample of what you are looking for. Any studio worth their salt will have a reference of work online for you to check out. Also, if you can, try to suss out the studio yourselves before you commit yourself to one. Meet the engineer you will be working with as you will need to get along with them for the recording session. Most studios are cool with this.
As for studios themselves, I've heard good things from Trackmix studios in Dublin, who have a decent reference of work on their myspace, so maybe you might like what you hear...I've personally never worked with the guys, but from reports from friends they seem very good.
If you are looking to save cash then getting on to the sound training colleges like Temple Bar Music Centre or Pulse might be worth looking into. You might get a decent student rate and although the engineers they supply are usually students with seemingly limited experience, I often find that they put a helluva lot of work into your songs when you've left the studio as they often get graded on their work so the better it sounds for you, the better grade they will get so everyone wins! They usually give you an engineer student who knows what they are doing anyways!
anyways, happy hunting! 0 -
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thanks alot fandago...will check out both studios...i do kno muse recorded in grouse lodge:cool:...so it would be a dream to hit there maybe could do 3 tracks there:):)....emailing now guys..many options..thanks for all the excellent help! 0
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done doin grouse lodge june summer time:cool: ...Colin Murphy or Fintan Moore will be engeneering/mixing ect it guys..so you will you keep you with updates on progress at this amazing studio and tell you all if it was worth it..wish us luck! ..cheers and thank you all for your advice and help
pieces i burn!
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Excellent, hope it goes well. Keep us updated alright and if all goes well, make sure they give you an advertising discount for the next one if they get an influx of bands from heredone doin grouse lodge june summer time:cool: ...Colin Murphy or Fintan Moore will be engeneering/mixing ect it guys..so you will you keep you with updates on progress at this amazing studio and tell you all if it was worth it..wish us luck! ..cheers and thank you all for your advice and help
pieces i burn! How many days you doing there btw? And what was the cost in the end? (if ya can say) 0 -
thank you fandango will keep you updated!..sure will look to record LP there if everything goes great! ...were doin 6 days which is great! ..and the price well i cant say to be fair...but it was a deal that i could not refuse as one poster said here its absolute steal for recording in house equipment and of course free accomadtion..which many studios didnt have and offered a far higher rate!!!...we really got a good deal from grouse lodge so were happy but the real work begins when we enter studio..will be alot fun tho..looking forward to getting very creative:cool:
cheers guys0 -
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