Drift Sound Studios

TIPS & ARTICLES

At Drift Sound Studios, we feel that bands should be as educated about the recording process as possible. Being prepared will help you get the most out out your recording investment. Your experience in the studio should not only leave you with a great-sounding record, but should help you become a stronger musician.

We have drafted some articles with our opinions on recording methods. Below, you will also find tips to make your recording experience the best it can be. We recommend that everyone planning on recording at Drift (or any studio, for that matter) read the tips and articles below to help plan for your session.

ARTICLES

PREPARING FOR YOUR STUDIO SESSION

1. Know your parts.

This is the most important of tips when entering the studio. Being familiar and comfortable with your parts will make your recording experience much more enjoyable. Being able to cut tracks in one or two takes will be a much better use of your time and recording dollars.

If your parts are too complicated to play perfectly, simplify them. A simple, clean-sounding part will always sound better than a messy, complicated part. Also, don't worry about trying to get each take 100% perfect. Doing this may lead to the takes sounding emotionless and rigid.

2. Get plenty of rest before entering the studio.

This should seem obvious to some, but it is best to be fully rested before entering the studio. A twelve hour recording session is not uncommon, so it can be mentally and physically draining. It is not suggested that you attempt to enter the studio with a hangover from a previous night of drinking. (Yes, I know you're in a band, and that's what you're supposed to do. It just won't be a pleasant experience.)

3. If possible, record a demo of all songs you wish to record and send it to us in advance.

This demo does not have to be spectacular. At the very least, set up a tape recorder during rehearsal and record the songs you'd like to work on.

Listening to a demo tape or CD will allow us to be familiar with your content before we begin the recording process. Keep in mind that we will not only act as your engineers, but also as your "producers," in a sense. This will allow us to help you make decisions before recording begins.

That being said, this is ultimately your recording. We can be as involved or uninvolved in the musical decision-making process as you wish. We will do our best to make your recording sound exactly as you wish. Which leads to #4...

4. Assign one band member to be the spokesperson of the group.

We don't have problems working with every member of the band one-on-one. However, when each member sits in the control room exclaiming, "Turn me up, I can't hear my parts," it wastes time and is ultimately not productive. It is the band's responsibility to meet and discuss what they want out of this recording. One member can then voice all the concerns about the recording.

5. Bring in reference CD's of a similar genre.

Listening to bands of a similar genre will allow us to gain a better sense of your intentions for the mix. Point out, for instance, the presence and sound of a guitar part, the way the drums sound, or an effect on a vocal. While it may not be possible for us to exactly emulate the recording, it will aid in the mixing process and help us to understand your expectations for the recording.

6. List your tempo changes for us, and if possible, send it in advance.

Playing to a "click track" (a metronome) is one of the best ways to ensure that a recording sounds tight. (See: The importance of playing to a click track.) It also greatly simplifies the editing process. If you are planning on playing to a click track, it is helpful to send a list of tempo and time signature changes, noted by measure, with your demo. We will use this information to set up the arrangement in our software before we begin recording.

If you would like to record to a click track, be sure each member of your group is comfortable doing so, both alone and with accompaniment. An electronic metronome can be purchased for near-to-nothing at a music store and is one of the more useful investments a musician can make.

7. Make sure you have everything you need.

It certainly throws a monkey-wrench in the works when a member of your group says, "Dang it, I forgot my super-blah-dee guitar pedal that I really need for this song." Take an inventory of your equipment while you are packing and make sure you have everything you need to play your songs. In a pinch, we have a small selection of pedals, guitars, amps, and drums. Here is a starter list:

8. Bring water, soda, snacks, whatever.

Just keep them a fair distance from equipment. I wouldn't suggest bringing beer or liquor, but we're not going to stop you. We never drink while recording or mixing, because it affects your ability to judge sound. Ever hear of "beer goggles?" Well, it does the same thing to your ears.

9. Try to have fun!

Recording a record is a huge undertaking, but also a great opportunity to learn and better yourself as a musician. Try not to get too stressed. Know what you're getting into, and enjoy the experience.

TIPS FOR DRUMMERS

1. Know your parts.

Drums are the driving force of the group and arguably the most important component when tracking a pro-sounding mix. If you can't play your parts without the rest of the band, you don't know your parts well enough. Drums are nearly impossible to "punch in," so most of the time, they must be recorded in a full take. If you make a mistake, the take must be redone from the top. Drum slip-ups are among the most obvious, because it affects the drive and tempo of the song.

If you plan on recording to a click track, pratice to a metronome. It may also be helpful to practice only with your bassist. Be sure that the bass parts gel with the kick parts. This will help increase the "punch" of your mix.

2. Use new drum heads. Tune your drums in advance. Tweak them in the studio.

Change all your drum heads before entering the studio, particularly the batter heads. (If your resonant heads are in fine shape, they should be OK.) Make sure the drums are all in tune and broken in. We can help you tune if you require, but if you're a serious drummer, now is the time to learn how to do it.

Your toms should be in tune with one another, and should usually not be dampened or muffled. This is a matter of taste, but using dampened tom heads will usually cause more "stick sound" and less "drum sound" in the recordings. This means that your toms will be less present in the mix. If you normally use a drum head with build-in dampening, such as an oil-filled head, it may be beneficial to switch to a lighter head with more resonance for the recording.

Your snare will record well with a little bit of ring, but some dampening using a ZeroRing or similar device will also sound good. This is also a matter of taste and can be left up to the drummer to decide. Some experimentation can be done in the studio to find the most pleasing snare sound.

For recording rock music, we prefer to remove the outer head from the kick. The batter head is then dampened using a small rug or pillow with the mic placed inside the drum. Be sure the head is tuned to the tone you prefer. For other types of music, it is not uncommon to leave the outer head and mic from the outside. Capturing the ideal kick sound can also take a bit of experimentation. If you own several types of kick mallets, bring them to try out.

3. Calm down, but play with conviction.

A good volume level for recording drums is "loud, but don't play like a maniac." Dynamics are great, but don't make your quiet notes too quiet. If there is a large distinction between your quiet notes and your loud notes, it will be nearly impossible to get the drums to sit in the mix without riding the faders or over-compressing. Play strongly and deliberately. Don't put dents in your drum heads.

For a "big drum sound," don't over-play your cymbals. Extremely loud cymbals will drown out the rest of the kit, making the toms and snare sound weak. Play deliberately, but don't kill the cymbals.

4. Understand the sound of your kit.

When properly set up, your drum set should sound great. However, don't come in expecting your drum recording to sound like Neil Peart or Tommy Lee. Your drums can only sound as good as they are capable of. National artists spend many thousands of dollars on their drum kits.

TIPS FOR GUITARISTS

1. Know your parts.

Guitarists will usually know their parts the best, simply because most bands build their songs off of a rhythm guitar line. Even so, a studio session can become very frustrating when the guitarist can not make it all the way through one take.

This has been stressed above, but we can't say it enough: practice to a metronome. It will help build up your "chops" and improve your sense of timing. It could mean the difference between a good sounding recording and an amazing recording.

2. Use new strings.

One of the misconceptions we often hear is, "Record with old strings, because they're broken in." This statement is somewhat strange. How long does it take to break strings in? Usually, it will only take 10 minutes of play time to allow your strings to stay in tune. Using new strings will bring out all the nice bright frequencies that you lose as the strings become dirty or rusty. Change your strings the night before entering the studio.

3. Tune between takes.

Buy a chromatic tuner and bring it with you. These days, tuners can be purchased for $20, so there is no argument to not have one. Make sure you keep your guitar in tune, between takes.

4. Bring your rig and understand what it sounds like.

We have a few amps and stacks at our disposal, but the best way to acquire "your sound" is to play on your own equipment. However, don't come in with a 40 watt solid state amp and expect to sound like Eddie Van Halen.

There are many variables that make up a guitar sound, and what you hear when you play live is not necessarily what you'll hear on a recording. Your guitar sound is actually a combination of many different components: your pedals, amp EQ, size of the cabinet, microphone placement, guitar tone, etc. Changing any one of these things will greatly affect the sound of a recording.

It is not a bad idea to bring in a recording of a band you're trying to emulate so we can get an idea of what guitar sound you're looking for. However, understand that we are only capable of capturing what your equipment is capable of. Be prepared to experiment, and understand your options and limitations.

We have a couple different amplifier modelers at our disposal: Logic's Guitar Amp Pro and Amp Designer, and IK Multimedia's Amplitube. These plug-ins take a direct feed from your guitar and emulate an amp in software. Amp modeling technology has come a long way over the years and is truly a viable option for getting the sound you're looking for without owning the original hardware. Typically, we don't recommend using these exclusively, but if you crave a sound your equipment just isn't capable of, this is the way to get it.

TIPS FOR BASSISTS

1. Know your parts.

Yep, you guessed it. Bass is an extremely important part of the rhythm section of a band, so you must be sure you can lock with the tempo. Practice with a metronome. It will help you work out any tempo issues you may have.

It is very beneficial to practice solely with the drummer. Hone in on the kick drum and make sure the parts you are playing gel with the kick. Try playing to a metronome with the drummer. Make sure you lock.

A recording will sound much more "pro" when the drums and bass are as tight as possible.

2. Use new strings.

Funny enough, this is actually a matter of taste. We have known bassists that prefer the sound of old, dead strings to the brightness of new strings. If you are one of those people, by all means, use old strings. We personally prefer the bright airiness you get from new strings.

3. Tune between takes.

Tuners are cheap. Buy one and bring it. Tune up your bass in between takes.

4. Bring your rig, but we may not need it.

Bass is one of those instruments that records well through an instrument direct-inject (DI) box. Most of the time, this is what we recommend. However, we have had good results mic'ing certain bass cabinets. Sometimes a mix of the DI signal and mic signal will yeild great results. As with all things in the studio, experimentation can lead to some surprising and tasteful sounds.

TIPS FOR VOCALISTS

1. Show up prepared

Vocalists should show up ready and prepared. If you need lyrics sheets, bring them. Otherwise, just stick to your normal vocal routine. Some studios suggest not drinking water with ice in it, as it constricts your vocal cords. Others suggest hot tea with honey. If you're a vocalist, you know what works for you. Just be aware that you'll likely be in a small 4 foot by 7 foot room in front of a mic.

TIPS FOR RECORDING LIVE

If you plan on recording live takes, rather than multi-tracking, there are some simple tips that will make this process much more enjoyable.

1. Stow cases and clutter in cars or outside studio rooms.

Keeping studio clutter to a minimum will allow for a more efficient recording session.

2. Drums set up and sound check first.

We prefer to set up and sound check the drums the night before recording, but at the very least, the drummer should show up two hours earlier than everyone else. Before any other equipment is set up, the drums will be configured, tuned, and mic'ed.

3. After drums, guitar and bass set up and sound check.

In a live setting, the bass will likely be direct-injected. This gives us the most flexibility without wasting channels. The bass takes can be "re-amped" (pump the recorded take back through a bass amp) later, if desired.

Guitars will likely be mic'ed in adjacent rooms to allow for freedom from microphone "leakage." Guitars may also be direct-injected for flexibility.

While your band mates are sound checking, try to refrain from talking, making a lot of noise, or playing.

4. Vocals sound check last.

We may choose to do vocals live or overdubbed, depending on their complexity and number of channels involved.

5. Monitoring is done on headphones.

We will set the headphone levels after everyone has sound checked.

6. Don't stop if you make an error.

This applies mainly to guitar, bass, and vocals. These types of tracks are easy to "punch in" and therefore easy to fix. If the drummer makes a very noticable blunder, it may be best to start over, due to the complexity of punching in a drum take. Recording in a live setting, we will likely record more than one take, so if the drummer makes a small error, it may not matter. In rare cases, these can be fixed.

TIPS FOR MULTI-TRACKING

Tracking may be done to a click track with scratch tracks (throw-away music tracks), or in a semi-live fashion. In the latter case, the drums record with the rhythm section and the guitar tracks are re-recorded afterwards.

1. Stow cases and clutter in cars or outside studio rooms.

Keeping studio clutter to a minimum will allow for a more efficient recording session.

2. Drums set up and sound check first.

We prefer to set up and sound check the drums the night before recording, but at the very least, the drummer should show up two hours earlier than everyone else.

3. Monitoring is done on headphones.

We will set the headphone levels after everyone has sound checked.

4. Don't stop if you make an error.

This obviously applies to the throw-away tracks.

If the drummer makes a very noticable blunder, it may be best to start over due to the complexity of punching in a drum take. We will likely record more than one take, so if the drummer makes a small error, it may not matter. In rare cases, these can be fixed.

Instruments such as guitar, bass, and vocals are very easy to punch in if an error is made. While tracking these instruments, do not stop if you make a mistake. We can sometimes fix these.

TIPS FOR MIXING

1. Listen to the mix as a song, not a solo.

Do not focus only on how your instrument sounds. Try to listen to the entire mix. You may wish to hear more of your own instrument, however, this may not be in the best interests of the song.

2. Feel free to give creative input on the mix, however, trust the engineers.

If you wish to voice and opinion or have an idea about a song, feel free to share your ideas. We would love to try these out, and we will also be happy to make suggestions for songs.

Notes on mastering

We are often asked if we can "master" recordings. The short answer to this question is "no." The long answer is a fairly complex, "sort of."

First, what is mastering? Mastering is the art and science of finalizing your recording to make it appropriate for a medium, such as CD or radio. This may include sweetening the mix using EQ, making the overall level hotter, organizing songs in an artistic manner, and adding fades.

Many studios advertise "mixing and mastering." Usually, this means they take your final mix and run it through a limiter to make it loud, and that's about it. Most of the time, if a local studio tells you they can master your recording, they're lying.

If you ask a professional in the mastering field, they'll tell you there is a lot more to mastering than just making the overall level louder. They are trained professionals with thousands of dollars worth of high-end equipment specifically made for mastering. They analyze the EQ of a recording to find areas where tweaks can improve the punch, depth, and tone.

Experts will tell you that mastering should never be done by the original producer or engineer. By the mastering phase, it is best to have a fresh set of ears on a mix. The mastering engineer will know exactly what the mix needs to make it shine.

So, no, Drift cannot master your recording. We lack the sophisticated hardware to do so, and since we are the original engineers of the recording, experts would agree that we shouldn't try.

We can, however, make EQ tweaks and level enhancements to make your recording sound good on any stereo and on the radio. This is what some people may call a "radio ready" mix. Others may call this a "pseudo-master." For truly professional results, we recommend having your mix professionally mastered.

We will be happy to provide your mixes to a mastering house on CD-R or DVD-R. Do some research for reputable mastering houses, and we can contact them to inquire about what they need from us.