Rock, Folk and Country Band Studio Tips:

  1. The Song (things to consider)
  2. Vocals (Singing, Rapping or Screaming)
  3. Performance (Tone comes from your fingers!!!)
  4. Equipment

Rock Band Studio Check-list

  • Drums and Percussion
    • New heads!!! An absolute must for rock and heavy players.
    • Check the condition of the snares on your snare drum. Replace if strands are missing.
    • Check your cymbals for cracks. Cracked cymbals might be a problem. Have replacements available.
    • Tune the drums and play them a bit to break in the heads. Retuning at the studio will be necessary.
    • Oil your kick pedal and high hat stand to prevent squeeking.
    • Also check out "Drum Tuning."
    • Drummer check list
  • Bass and Bass Amps
    • New or somewhat used strings. Old strings will not sound as nice nor will they stay in tune as well as new strings.
    • Make sure you have short instrument cables. No longer than 15ft. They just sound better.
    • Have your intonation and action set by someone who knows how to do it.
    • Listen to the cabinets for undesirable sounds(not your playing) and fix if necessary.
    • Remove all gear from your signal path that is not in use.
    • Have your tubes biased.
    • Bassist check list
  • Electric Guitar and Guitar Amps
    • New or slightly used strings. Old strings will not sound as nice nor will they stay in tune as well as new strings..
    • Make sure you have short instrument cables. No longer than 15ft. They just sound better.
    • Have your intonation and action set by someone who knows how to do it.
    • Listen to the cabinets for undesirable sounds(not your playing) and fix if necessary.
    • Remove all gear from your signal path that is not in use.
    • Have your tubes biased.
    • Have new batteries for all your pedals if necessary.
    • Guitarist check list
  • Acoustic Guitars
    • New or somewhat used strings. Old strings will not sound as nice nor will they stay in tune as well as new strings.
    • Make sure you have short instrument cables if you are considering going direct. No longer than 15ft. They just sound better.
    • Have your intonation and action set by someone who knows how to do it.
    • Listen for loose parts on the guitar and fix the problems.
    • Have a new Battery ready for the Preamp.
  • Keyboards
    • Have the manual for the keyboard with you.
    • Know how to sync to MIDI Clock
    • Know if you are using mono or stereo sounds.
    • Have good cabling.