BARNEY COLLINS NEWS.

By Matt D.

There’s a justifiable buzz around a recording session, it is, after all, the commitment to tape of your idea, bashed, remoulded, contributed to and perfected – in a word- your baby. 

In my late teens I was in a punk band that I assumed were destined for Queen supports at Wembley arena – “shoot for the moon” right?

Anyway, our bass player, Pete; having sustained life beyond the breast on a steady diet of hot chips and steak sandwiches; usually eating between songs at rehearsal, had stumbled on some advice about boiling his strings to rid them of the greasy-snack-fats in the crevices and thus rejuvenate them for peak performance in a studio. 

Seemed a little extravagant given the type of music we played, but I didn’t criticise or mock the string-soup boiling in our stove that night. 

I thought then, as now, that individual comfort is paramount. If recording is a group effort, then each member needs to feel confident and sure. 

Unlike almost every other aspect of playing together, recording should be without stress or anxiety. 

Yes, studios/engineers/producers cost money, so while tardiness and lethargy are always shitty traits, the pressures from specific set times and rehearsal slots shouldn’t factor. 

• Bring snacks, dress comfortably and support each other. 
• Stock up on spare necessities: strings, sticks etc. 
• Tune the kit before the day. (If you know the kit has squeaks or isn’t the sound you had in mind, then borrow or hire one.)
• ….That goes for noisy pedals and badly earthed guitars/keyboards. 

Studios are far less forgiving than gigs and rehearsals, not to mention the wasted expense of reduced recording time because of avoidable technical issues. 

If all of this sounds obvious (and it is), then you’re the most likely to forget something. I’m the most logical band-boss there is and still I once made a 3-hour round trip because, despite having taken all the gear and personnel, I forgot the master tapes. 

• Rehearse as near to the session as you can, but don’t blow a valve. If you have new strings and skins, a final rehearsal will help break them in. 
• Vocalists, regardless of genre, start your warm ups from the minute you’re up. 
• It’s natural to run-through a song a few times before tracking. TRACK THESE RUN-THROUGHS. It’s not uncommon to have laid a better version in earlier takes. Given that recording is almost entirely digital now there is no reason not to record everything just in case. 
• If the budget is tight, make efforts to be listening back on a various devices and speakers as you go. The best time to fix it is while you’re there. 

Finally, unless it’s just a demo session and you’re all recording live, don’t expect to get more than 1-2 songs recorded properly per day. 

If you expect to leave the studio with something finished, just concentrate on 1 song. 

For best practice it’s ideal to spend a day recording and a day for mixing because you’ll need fresh ears to mix with. 

Good luck and let us hear it when it’s done!