Posted on: Aug 28, 2015
As a new band, one of the most exciting yet, at the same time, daunting experiences is heading into the studio to record your first EP. The same goes for vocalists recording their first demo, DJ's putting together their first professional mix tape and even video producers laying down the voice over to their latest masterpiece. The bottom line is that, whilst studio time can be immensely fun, one thing which can make or break a session is the studio chosen. It may sound bizarre to those who've yet to experience the joys of the recording studio, however the location where you choose to record is one of the most importance decisions you'll make at the early stage of your music career and, as such, understanding how to choose the right studio for you at this stage is one of the most important things which you can get to grips with.
Whilst it may sound a little too obvious, it's important that you take the time to work out how much you can afford to spend on studio time. If you're a new band, it may be a lower figure than you'd ideally like, however by having an understanding on what budget you have available, you'll be able to start shopping around for studios which fit within that price bracket. Whilst there's no denying the fact that the top studios are expensive, you'll always find somewhere that works for you and trust us when we say that the end result will be far better than you'll manage to do yourself at home using a DIY set up.
The best studios get booked up months in advance and, if anything, this should be a sign that they're great at what they do (although you've hopefully already researched your options and understand that). It does mean, however, that you need to, wherever possible, aim to be flexible to ensure you're able to fit in around your chosen studio and not be limited by having to find a studio who can accommodate you on your set dates.
Perhaps one of the biggest mistakes any new band or recording artist makes is that they spend far too much time researching studios as opposed to people! A studio, at the end of the day, is just a room full of gear and it's the engineer and / or producer who will turn your music into a masterpiece. Once you start to think about trying to identify engineers who you know have a previous record working with artists of a similar genre to yourself, you'll find you're able to connect with those people directly. Yes, there may be some studios which sway you, however as a general rule, you need to find an engineer who gets excited about your music and the way to do that is to focus your research on people, not rooms!
On this front, it's also important to understand who specialises in what in terms of both studios and engineers. As an example, Tim G of Big Tone Recordings in Manchester is known for his work with ska and rock acts, Matinée Multilingual in Reading are known for their fantastic voice over work and Romesh Dodangoda of Longwave Studios in Cardiff is known for his work with metal and heavier rock acts. Once you take the time to research which studios have worked with others whose music you love, you'll quickly start to develop a shortlist of the perfect studios for you.
If you're recording your first demo, you'll often find that the studio which you choose will handle both the mixing and mastering as well, however if you're putting together and recording a commercial release, you'll usually need to source mixing and mastering elsewhere from a specialist. This, of course, means you'll need to find additional budet for this. Always ask the question if you're unsure as to what's included and what you'll end up with after the session.
As with many things, choosing the right studio largely comes down to understanding what and who you want and carrying out the research to find someone suitable. Yes, recording can be a daunting experience but it's so much fun at the same time and something which, over time, most artists grow to love!
Category: general
