Saturday, October 25, 2008

Demo in a Day

Many artists and bands think they need to spend months recording a quality demo. This thought comes from hearing about how such and such band spent 6 months recording their latest masterpiece. Well, contrary to popular belief, this can be done in a single day. One day! No working on getting a good guitar sound for 3 days, no trying out hundreds of guitars and picks, finding just the right one. The idea is to get your music out to the public. No one will care what pick you used on what song. They will however be more likely to enjoy your music if it's available to them. Here are three simple steps to ensure a great demo, and have it done in a day.

  1. Book an entire day at the studio:

By recording an entire day, time is not wasted with multiple setups and take downs. This also helps keep the flow of the project without having to backtrack.

  1. Record one song at a time:

Instead of recording one instrument on multiple songs, record all the parts for one song, then move on to the next. This keeps the unity of the song alive and is especially important for vocalists who need to rest their voices.

  1. Prepare and know your songs:

Choose your 3 best songs and have them perfected, so when you arrive at the studio, you are not paying to practice. When everyone is prepared, it makes the most efficient use of studio time.

Follow these steps and you will have your music out and ready for people to hear in no time.....or at least in a day.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

AES San Francisco

This week I'm blogging from the windy city, no wait, the cold, no, errr. Nevermind. I'm in San Francisco for the Audio Engineering Society conference. It will be a fun-filled week, so I'll let you know how it goes in a few more days. 
Adios.