| Budgeting and Preparation Guide |
| Budget Everyone wants to know how much money to budget for their project. A good rule of thumb for time spent is to figure between 40 to 80 times the final recorded length of the product. That works out to about 10-20 hours of studio time for a 15 minute demo CD. (See next section on preparation). This figures in time to record the tracks, edit the tracks, mix the tracks, and master the project. If money is an issue, it is much better to have two or three really polished tunes than a lot of lousy-sounding ones. The magic begins when the tracking stops! Do not short change on the time for polishing the final product. Preparation The better prepared you are, the better your recording will sound, and better yet, the less it will cost you! Here are some ideas to help get this done. Tape your performances on whatever you have and analyze the results carefully. Work out the kinks before you reach the studio. Vocal based groups should take their cues from the lead vocalists. Watch for clean beginnings and ending phrases together. As best you can, work out the vocals with just guitar or keyboard accompanyment. Inconsistencies will be more apparent and your vocals will be much smoother and refined. Who's the Producer? Decide who will make the final decisions regarding performances, mixes and production. If you like, I can help in all these areas, but agreeing who is in charge up front makes for a better studio experience. Equipment Before your session, make sure all of your equipment is in good working order and buzz free. All guitars have should have fresh strings. There is no way to make a dead guitar sound good. To Click or Not to Click Playing to a click track is the absolute way to keep a constant tempo thoughout the tune and makes editing much easier. Some drummers are not comfortable with this and that is fine. It is your decision. |