HINTS & TIPS

Before coming to record a session there are a few essential things that you can do to help get the best out of your time. Some of them may seem obvious but...

1. Make sure all guitars (inc the bass) have new strings but are played in a little and have the intonation checked. (Go and see The Rock Shack on Cardigan Road, they are extremely helpful and reasonably priced)

2. Make sure that the drums are freshly skinned and well tuned. If you need help with this we can provide a drum technician to help you.

3. Get a good stock of spare strings, batteries, sticks, plectrums, etc.. AND A GUITAR TUNER

4. Write out your lyrics

5. Make sure that you are all agreed on exactly what you are recording, i.e. the songs structure and things like BVs, guitar solos, etc... and write it down. We've made a chart for bands to fill in before they arrive, to download a PDF please click here.

6. Be realistic about what you can achieve in the time available, you need to take account of time to set-up, get the headphone mixes right, burn the CDs , etc. AND how long it will take you to play the songs right!

7. REHEARSE, REHEARSE, REHEARSE. Are you sick of the songs? NO? Rehearse more.

8. Stop rehearsing a couple of days before so that you are fresh for the session.

9. Singers should avoid dairy products on the days of their recording, to preserve their voice.

If you can think of any other classic mistakes or good advice please get in touch.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the PDFs, if you do not have it download free from the following link.