The 'STUDIO DO'S AND DON'TS' thread.

[greyskull]

No hot food in the control room.
No drinks on the desk/gear EVER.
No drinking alcohol in the control room
No eating or drinking in the live room other than BOTTLED water.
If you're playing /singing Don't get drunk/High. It's a waste of my time and your money.
Wash up your own cups.
Throw away rubbish.
No offence but your girlfriend is annoying, and Lurkers just slow down the process. If you must see them, keep them in the lounge and out of the control room/Live room. It breaks the flow of the session... again Time is money.
New strings
New heads + Moongel
Setup guitars

you think This is anal? you should see my mix guidelines for projects other people send me...

 

[Jordon]

That's not strictly true. Dairy doesn't encourage phlegm production unless you're allergic/lactose intolerant - but the fat in it thicken the phlegm already present in your larynx. Thick phlegm is usually a sign of being ill, so your body's natural response is to try and expel it.

Secondary to that, the fat in dairy products coats your mouth/throat so it feels like there's more phlegm too - and that coating makes your vocal folds sticky, so you start getting glottal stops and crackles in places you wouldn't normally.

For screaming/grunting/etc., dairy doens't make that much of a difference, as screaming is fairly glottal anyway, and if anything it makes it sound 'wetter' - but for melodic singing it makes a real difference.

For rehearsal and live stuff, it's not really going to be noticeable in a rock/metal band, so don't worry about it - just avoid it on days when you're recording.

Steve

I stand corrected. I know that my old singer, even though he wasn't lactose intolerant, had a HELL of a time with phlegm after ingesting anything dairy. Even at rehearsals when he wasn't going balls-out all the time.

 

[Harry Hughes]

Practice through an amp.


You'd think that would be obvious, but I've had a few guys come in over the years who practiced their material unplugged, then expected miracles when they came into the studio & plugged into an amp.

It's bad enough when it's a guitar player, because the sound is in the hands. But bass players! JEEEZ. If you don't practice through an amp, you won't know how to mute your open strings & they'll flap in the breeze at the most inopportune times.

+1
To add to that, guitarists who practice their distorted guitar parts through the clean channel, and/or the high gain stuff through the rhythm channel......total fail.
If the part calls for high gain, practice that part with high gain.
If it calls for clean, practice in clean.

 

[[UEAK]Clowd]

Please see the attached article that I emailed you guys entitled “What To Do When The Signer Can’t Sing” and bring me a copy.

I want that article haha

 

[brianhood]

for guitar players: no pussy picking

 

[amarshism]

Dick picking only!!!

 

[crillemannen]

tell us the story

It happened this summer. A brother to the band i was recording atm came to party with the band (he's a rockstar) and it ended up with allot of girls at the acommodations in the studio. They drank, ran around making all kind of noise (my studio is located in a house district) so the neighbors where not happy to say the least haha So now it is: Drinking is allowed but not to get Drunk

 

[Emdprodukt]

for guitar players: no pussy picking

Uuuuuaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh. Weak pickers make great guitar tones impossible.