JamieKuse

Blog Post: 4 Tips For Saving Money In The Studio

// March 10th, 2010 // Blog Post, Learning Curve

For any musician or record label, having projects completed on time and within a set budget is crucial. Proper planning and due diligence are the only ways to ensure this happens. Here are a couple of universal tips based on my experiences in the studio.

1. Come prepared

Excuse me for being so obvious. Coming prepared to the studio is the number one way to save money, because you are saving time. Having your parts worked out and songs properly arranged before coming into the studio is crucial. Not only does it save time, but it lets you focus your efforts into finessing the finer points that make good songs sound great. It is also recommended that you have charts written out for any other musicians playing on your record. This is not only common courtesy, but keeps communication simple and the creative momentum up.

2. Use Proper Session Musicians

This is a point I run into the ground at any recording seminars I speak at, or whenever talking to clients who are new to the recording process. It’s so important! Recording is a whole separate art, beyond just having the chops to play a song well. To get the best results for your record, use a professional with a lot of recording experience under their belt. A professional truly grasps how certain tones sound on record, and have a greater understanding of how the subtle nuances of their performance can affect a recording. Initially it may seem counter-intuitive that spending money to hire a professional can save you money, but it’s almost always true. Professional session musicians require far less editing, mixing, processing, etc, and therefore save you money in the long run, plus give you a superior final product.

3. Time Management & Expectations

Many people who are new to the recording process make the mistake of thinking that the recording process only takes as long as you spend actually putting down your takes. Be aware that the editing and mixing process comprises the largest portion of time spent on a professional recording. Though every situation is different, a safe assumption is that for every hour you spend tracking your record, you can expect three more on the back end for editing & mixing. By budgeting your time properly and maintaining your expectations of the outcome, you can come out of the recording process with everything you needed done without going over budget.

4. Live Drums vs Programmed

Recording and mixing a professional drum sound is one of the biggest challenges for an engineer. It is what separates a professional studio from the weekend warriors. You need a good room, a good kit, a good drummer, and the proper equipment. No matter who you are, it’s a time-consuming process. The setup, tracking and mixing of drums is very labour intensive. Though a real drummer playing a real kit is sometimes irreplaceable, in many cases you have other options. A lot of modern pop/rock drum sounds are not recorded live anymore, and if they were, chances are they are so sample replaced and quantized that they bear no resemblance to the original recordings.

Drum samples & VST instruments have come very far in the past few years. We now have the freedom to hire a drummer to trigger samples using a good MIDI drum kit. Because of the quality of the drum samples, not only can you get a professional drum sound almost instantly, but you have the freedom to swap sounds around and quantize takes at a whim. Though it’s a a bit hard for some people to wrap their head around, I highly recommend considering this option for certain genres, especially where budget is an issue. At the very least, keep an open mind, because this technology is already an industry standard, and is improving greatly every year .

I hope these points help you in the planning of your next recording project. If you have any thoughts or tips to add, please do so in the comment section below.