Mel StirlingI often get asked about the process of recording. The truth is, there is no right or wrong way to go about it and it really depends on your budget and the purpose of the recording. For example, if your aim is to record a live demo to assist with booking gigs you won’t need as much studio time as you would to produce a single, EP or LP.
Initially my goal was to record a quality demo but the recordings turned out so well that I decided to release them as an EP instead. It’s beneficial to remain flexible because sometimes a project can evolve into something bigger and better than you envisioned.
For me, the most important step of the recording process was building a solid team. Unless you’re Dave Grohl (a virtuoso on every instrument), you will need other musicians, engineers and producers to record your product. I was very lucky as it didn’t take me long to find talented people I gelled with musically.
Even though I had already recorded most of the instruments myself, I did recruit a bass player, guitarist, drummer and engineer to add their talent and ideas to each track. Of course, if you’re in a band you won’t need to do that but if you’re a solo artist, hiring the right session musicians for your stye is a smart way to go.
For me it was important to take my time with the recording and mixing process. I allowed time for experimentation and didn’t enforce a deadline for completing the project. As far as I was concerned, it would be finished once I was 100 percent happy with each track and couldn’t think of any other ways (within my budget of course) to improve them.