When you book time at Flatland Recording Studio you can do whatever you want with that time. This section is designed to help you get the most out of your recording session. These are merely suggestions.

General

1. Expect to work hard. If you have recorded before, you already know how much hard work is involved. Recording is very rewarding and fun, but is also an incredible amount of work.
2. Know which songs you want to record (and preferably the order you want to record them in as well).
3. Bring a list of the names of the songs you intend to record.
4. Have the arrangement of each song figured out. Know what instruments will play & what they will play. (Keep in mind, too that many instruments at once will quickly clutter a mix. The cliché of "less is more" and "more is less" is very true in music. Listen carefully to your favorite recordings and take note of how uncluttered their arrangements are.)
5. Rehearse for the session. Know your parts cold. Studio time is expensive, but rehearsal time is not.
6. Do not forget that it takes time to set up for a recording session. Recording your songs will take a lot longer than it takes you to play them in your jam pad. Prepare yourself to wait while microphones are set up and levels are optimized. Call us for a time estimate.
7. Dress in comfortable and quiet clothes. Clothes that make noise every time you move can lead to a very frustrating experience when in front of a sensitive microphone.
8. Show up on time - make sure you get every minute you pay for.
9. Show up well rested. Celebrate after your album is done.
10. Practice with a click track (metronome). Sometimes you will have to use a click track in recording and if you have never practiced with one, there could be difficulties. Click tracks can help keep a steady beat, but can also be essential in recording some songs.
11. You might want to bring your friends to watch you record; it's a bad idea. You're paying for this time and it should be considered work. In our experience, friends tend to be distracting to the band as well as the engineer.
12. We suggest you bring a camera or a camcorder to document your recording session. It’s a great way document the process and you can watch it with your friends later. Video diaries are also a great and easy addition to your finished cd.

Drummers

1. Get hold of a quality kit and make sure it has new heads and snares on it! If you have a bad kit or worn heads the best we can do is achieve a great recording of a bad sound. In mix-down we can improve a poor drum sound, but the end result will never be as good as a good drum sound to start with.
2. We prefer to mic the kick fairly close to the beater. If your kick has both front and back heads we will need to have access through the back drum head. If this is impossible we can work around the problem, but microphone technique may suffer.
3. Know how to tune your drums or hire a professional to tune them.
4. Make sure there are no squeaks or rattles coming from your set.
5. If bringing your own drums sounds like too much trouble, just use ours.
6. Bring extra sticks.

Guitarists

1. Put on new strings and break them in.
2. Make sure your guitar is set up perfectly for you (action, etc.) and all the electronics and pots are in good shape. If needed, bring your guitar to a service shop to have it professionally set up.
3. Know your amp settings for each song you are recording.
4. If you are planning on using effect boxes, save all presets so they can easily be recalled.
5. Make sure all effect boxes you will be using are high quality and in good shape. A noisy effect box will result in a noisy recording.
6. Bring extra strings and picks.

Keyboard Players

1. Save all settings you will be using so you can recall them easily.
2. Consider recording directly into the console.

Basses

1. Make sure your strings are in good shape.
2. Make sure your bass is set up perfectly for you (action etc.) and all the electronics and pots are in good shape. If needed, bring your bass into a service shop to have it professionally set up. Make sure the action is not causing excessive fret buzz.
3. If you are planning on using effect boxes, save all presets so they can easily be recalled.
4. Make sure all effect boxes you will be using are high quality and in good shape. A noisy effect box will result in a noisy recording.
5. Consider recording directly into the console.

Vocalists

1. Have lyric sheets unless you know the music extremely well.
2. If you play an instrument while you sing, try to become able to play or sing independently. We will be able to get a better recording tracking the instrument and voice separately.

Horns / Other Instrumentalists

1. If you are reading music, photocopy any sheets that may be tough page turns. Your microphone will pick up loud page turns.
2. Bring accessories. Undoubtedly the producer will decide he wants the sound from the very mute or mouthpiece you didn't bring. If you have it, bring it.

5 Tips To Help Insure Your Success:

Recording studio time is expensive, and even if you're recording in a home studio, whoever's doing the work behind the computer is putting in valuable time. Making the most of the time you've got in the studio is really, really important.

Here's 5 tips to really keep in mind as you get ready to enter the studio, especially if you're a first-timer. Keep in mind, these all come from experience -- I've been there as a musician, and as an engineer, and everything I'm telling you comes from seeing it happen!