This section will give you an idea of how things are typically done in a recording studio if you haven't had much experience in one before. These guide lines aren't carved in stone, but will give you a rough idea of how we do things here.

Sound Check
Once everything is set up we begin the "Sound Check". The studio session clock for billing starts now. Sound check is to make sure everything is working and sounding good before actually record anything.
Drums are usually checked first since they are the most complicated. The engineer will start with the bass drum and get the preliminary sound on that and each of the other drums and cymbals.

If you have a special way you want the drums to sound, tell the engineer as he goes through each of the drums and cymbals. If the sound you describe can be found only with lots of special effects gear it will be better to just get the basic drum sound for the present because a lot of extra effects in the headphones can make it harder to hear yourself while laying down the basic tracks. You can always add the effects later when mixing down. After checking drums, we'll check the bass and guitars, keyboards, vocals and whatever else needs to be recorded during basic tracks.  top

Bed Tracks
When everything is up and running and sounding good we start doing the "Bed Tracks". This is where the basic framework of the song is recorded. You should know in advance the exact arrangement of the song and how fast it will go, and be able to start playing from places in the middle of the arrangement in case that becomes necessary

If you are comfortable working with metronomes, it can sometimes be beneficial (although not absolutely necessary) to work with a "click track" which is recorded onto the tape and then played along with, to insure that the song does not speed up or slow down.

Working with a click track can be difficult sometimes so you might want to practice with a metronome ahead of time to feel comfortable Bed tracks are also called "rhythm tracks" because you are trying to set up a solid rhythmic foundation for the rest of the song to be built upon. Usually you will have someone sing what is called a "scratch vocal" as the bed tracks are being recorded. This is a vocal that is not intended to be a final vocal; it is just used as a reference so you can tell where you are in the song while playing.

Once you have laid down all of your bed tracks it is time to move on to overdubbing. This part of the process allows for improvement on small sections of your original recording and adding of additional tracks for vocals, solos, background vocals and other instrument accompaniment as needed to create your finished sound.  top

Mixing
After the overdubs are completed you will need to "mix down" the tracks to stereo or whatever your final output configuration will be. This is your final master and will be the last chance to get everything sounding exactly right. After the mixdown there is no going back except for re-mixing, which is mixing the whole song all over again.

Mixing has three stages. First, you go through each recorded track and adjust the sound so that the instrument (or whatever) sounds as good as possible.

Secondly, the effects are added. Effects are things like reverbs, delays, flangers, phasers, pitch shifting, compression, gating, and all the other wonderful "toys" that modern technology has provided for us. Here at Blueline Studios we have a wide range of effects so effects allocation is not a problem.

The third part of mixdown is the actual balancing of all the tracks together to get the best blend. Levels will have to be adjusted, and some tracks will have to be turned off and on at particular times during the song. A typical mix for an album can take anywhere from two to eight hours per song, while a quick demo mix is going to take much less. The amount of time spent in post production of your music will depend on exactly how you want it to sound when you are finished.

We've all heard the expression that you can "Fix it in the Mix!!!". To some extent this is true, but only certain types of things can be fixed in the mix. Mixing can fix things like uneven level changes within tracks or removing unwanted parts, or turning down noise on the track while nothing is going on.

Mixing cannot fix things like out-of-tune guitars or bad notes and sloppy singing in vocals although in the computer age, we have a lot more tricks up our collective sleeves than we used to. A large range of things that used to be impossible are now possible: Single note instruments and vocals can now be tuned up on the fly, individual notes can be stretched or shrunk in time without changing the pitch to match others in a vertical stack, the best parts of many different takes can be easily compiled into a very precise performance and all of the other techno-bounties that non-linear multitrack recording brings!
A common misconception is that a lot of reverb or delay will make a bad track sound good. Nothing could be further from the truth. An out-of-tune note with a huge amount of reverb on it gives you a lot of out-of-tune reverb! Remember: a bad track will always stick out. No amount of effects or anything else will make it sound better. The only way to fix it is to remove or replay it.  top

So there you have it. The recording studio can be an extremely flexible, creative tool for the person who knows how to use it effectively. It takes a lot of thought and time to become an expert at using a modern studio but anyone can get good results the first time out by following the advice and hints in this article.

Mixdown & Mastering
After mixing you will need to put all the songs in the correct order and decide how much space should go in between them. This is called "pacing" the album .
Sometimes songs will need an internal edit in order to reach a particular target length or shorten an intro. You can even combine portions of different mixes and takes to create a composite master performance.
You can also change the relative loudnesses of the songs individually, or tweek the tonal balance (EQ) so each cut flows smoothly into the next. All of these things are part of the process known as "mastering" and here at Blueline Studios, with the help of our computer based digital editing system, we can do some absolutely amazing things that were just plain impossible not too long ago!  top

CD Recording
Recently, it has become possible to record your own CDs . They are made one at a time with the help of (what else) a computer, and we use some very cool software called Toast and Jam (cute huh?). With these programs we literally have complete CD mastering capability.  top

Recording studios operate in what is known as the service industry. This means that when you rent the use of our facilities and personnel, we are here to serve you. We work for you, not the other way around. So Rule No. 1 is: don't be intimidated by the surroundings or atmosphere of the hi-tech environment. You take care of the creation of the music and we'll make sure it gets recorded properly. Our goal is to help you realize your artistic "vision", the way you hear it in your head, as closely as possible. If you have a special request we will do our best to accommodate you.

Some types of services cost extra. There are additional charges for the rental of any equipment not normally on the premises such as extra samplers, synths, exotic special effects gear or specific microphones.

Being sure that you know what you will be doing during your studio time will keep you from having unplanned extra costs. You don't have to know all the technical stuff to do good work at a studio today. However, a basic understanding of the recording process and the types of things that are possible at which stages of the recording are a big help if you want to avoid wasting time and therefore money! There is a saying that "Time Is Money" and that certainly couldn't be more true than in the recording studio where you pay by the hour. So after you're musically and mentally prepared, secure your booking date with us.  top

Load-In & Set-Up
Load-in is done through the door at the end of the Live Room. Blueline Studios has many musical instruments available to you. We have lots of guitars and amps; electric basses, hand percussion; keyboards and sound modules as well as a fantastic midi drum set for your use at no extra charge.

Guitar players will probably want to bring your guitar and amplifier to the session as, in our opinion, the instrument of "electric guitar" really consists of a guitar and amp working together to create the sound. So there's no guarantee that you will be able to get "your sound" on just any amp. That said we do have a Line 6 Pod and floor board amp modeler that is excellent for direct recording guitar tracks from any number of vintage modelled amps. Bass players, however, do not need to bring their amps as they are most likely taken "direct" into the mixing console and heard through the headphones.

Keyboardists should bring their keyboards but may opt to use our 88-note, weighted key electric piano as well.

Drummers often are more comfortable with their own sets. Do remember that the microphones will be very close to each drum and the smallest rattles and buzzes sound extremely loud on tape! Also, if you intend to bring your own drums, you make sure the heads are free of dents, are reasonably new, and are all of the same head style i.e. coated, pinstripe, oil filled etc. We give you roughly 1/2 hour of free setup time, but a kit that isn't in good shape or well prepared can eat up alot of extra time.  top

Studio Hints & Tips
* Don't be intimidated. Be comfortable and stay loose. You can't create while you're uncomfortable.

* Know what your project is and isn't. Is it an album, or a demo? If it's a demo then make sure you know what you are trying to demonstrate and plan accordingly. If you are demonstrating a song then make sure the vocal is well sung, up front in the mix; don't worry about a million keyboard overdubs or having the hottest guitar solo ever. In short, use some common sense and don't get bogged down on details which are not critical to the presentation of the song.

* Bring copies of the lyrics to your songs for the engineer. You can save yourself a great deal of time in communication with the engineer so when you say "Take me back to 'My baby left me' he doesn't have to ask you "Is that a verse or a chorus? Which one? The one after the solo? 1st time or 2nd?" you get the idea. This may sound trivial but if you ignore everything else we suggest on this page, don't blow this one off!!!

* Make sure your instruments are in good shape. Guitars should be able to play chords in tune up and down the neck, no matter which fret you are on. Put new strings on your guitar two days before the session so they have a chance to stretch out. Make sure you tune the guitar several times in those two days so that they get used to being at correct pitch. Check your 12th fret notes vs. harmonics and adjust your bridges accordingly.

* Basses should have new strings and drums should have new heads on snare and tom toms. Make sure the bass drum pedal does not squeak or rattle noisily when played.

* Don't bring people to the session who are not directly involved with the project. They will just serve as a distraction and will end up costing you money in the long run.

* If you have a home studio of any type, use it! Do your entire project (or as much as you can) on your 4-track at home. Doing this will uncover a lot of unforeseen problems and will provide a good starting point for the engineer to hear where you are coming from when you get to the session. This is especially useful for background vocals, (see below).

* Know your music completely. The more prepared you can be, the more work you'll get done for the least amount of dollars. The studio is a very expensive rehearsal hall. Do your rehearsing at home. You can do a lot of recording in very few hours if you don't waste time by listening to playbacks of takes that are obviously not "keepers".

* Know your background vocals cold. Over the years we have seen many projects that are proceeding right on schedule get bogged down during background vocal recording. If you have people singing background vocals who do not sing any lead vocals at all, then special attention should be given to this area during rehearsal. The problem is this: what sounds perfectly acceptable on the gig through the stage monitors is all of a sudden exposed to the intense scrutiny of the recording studio. A lot of times things that always sounded fine now sound pretty ragged. The most common problem areas are intonation (singing in tune) and ensemble (singing as a unit instead of 3 or 4 individuals). Pay particular attention to group cut-offs at the end of long held notes. Designate someone (usually the lead singer) to direct the cutoffs via a hand or some other visual signal.

* If you will be working with synthesizers on your session, bring the owners manual; unless you are completely familiar with the all MIDI functions. Know what synth sound you are going to use for which part and make sure you know where they can be found in your synthesizer. You should be very familiar with the steps to assign your sounds to the various audio outputs, and how to turn off any reverb or other effects in the board. Making a list of these things before you get to the studio can mean big time savings.  top