Digidesign Mbox-2 Mini Recording Bundle

    Not only do I play professionally in a live band but I’ve also been a home recording enthusiast for many years. My first piece of recording equipment was my good old Tascam Portastudio 4-track which came with microphone, mic cord and a box of good cassettes. I made a lot of great recordings on that old Tascam and eventually wore the recording heads out. After the Tascam died I moved to a Fostex hard disk based recording setup that I built up to create a 24-track studio. But to get in line with the rest of the recording industry I had to build a Digidesign Pro Tools based recording studio.

   I now have a Digi 003 rack system running Pro Tools LE in my home studio. It has been a great system to work with and I’ve become really good with computer based audio editing. It would be really difficult to go back to editing tracks without the ease of being able to edit audio on the computer. Pro Tools is a very powerful program that is fairly easy to learn but can be a challenge to master. If you’re going to get into home recording, I recommend starting with an entry level Pro Tools LE system.   

   Today I’m going to recommend a home studio recording package that is based around the Pro Tools LE software. This package includes everything you’ll need to get your home recording studio up and running. This package includes a Digidesign Mbox-2 Mini computer interface, a pair of M1 Active 320 USB Studio Monitors, an MXL 990 condenser microphone with shock-mount, 20′ mic cable, tripod mic stand, and a 3 meter RCA-to-1/4″ dual patch cable.

   Not only do you get all that hardware but you get a fully functional copy of the new Pro Tools 8 LE software. This software will give you up to 48 simultaneous stereo audio tracks. You’ll also get a professional MIDI sequencer with a dedicated MIDI Editor window. To take a look at all the amazing features in this version of Pro Tools, just click this link -> Pro Tools 8 Upgrade. The bottom line is, you’ll be using the same brand of software that all the worlds major music studios are using.

   If you’re just getting into home recording I highly recommend this package. If you’re moving from a traditional standalone workstation based recording system to a computer based system, I highly recommend this package as well. Just follow the link below and get a Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini Recording Bundle today!

Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini Recording BundleStudio package includes a Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini, M-Audio M1Active 320 USB Studio Monitor Pair, MXL 990 condenser microphone with shockmount, 20′ microphone cable, tripod microphone stand, and 3m RCA-1/4″ dual patch cable.Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini Audio Workstation The Mbox®2 Mini is the world’s smallest, most affordable Pro Tools LE™ recording, editing, and mixing system ever. Whether you’re a singer/songwriter who’s new to recording or a seasoned pro on the go, Mbox 2 Mini packs professional features into a robust, ultra compact, easy-to-use audio workstation to record and mix music wherever your inspiration takes you. And with its diminutive size, Mbox 2 Mini literally puts the power of Pro Tools in the palm of your hand.Like its siblings, Mbox 2, Mbox 2 Pro, and Mbox 2 Micro, Mbox 2 Mini delivers superior sound quality and includes plenty of powerful creation tools for composing, recording, and mixing music. It comes with award-winning, easy-to-use Pro Tools LE™ software, which provides you with many of the same tools the pros use on major recordings and in films. And because Pro Tools is the industry standard, you can use your Mbox 2 Mini-recorded sessions in any Pro Tools-equipped studio around the world.M-Audio M1Active 320 USB Studio Monitor Pair Alesis monitors connect via USB to your laptop or computer for plug-and-play listening. These compact speakers are equipped with I/O for connecting a keyboard, mic preamp, guitar effects, mixer, and other audio components for easy computer recording.M1Active 320 monitors deliver 16-bit/44.1-48kHz audio quality through a USB 1.1 port-without the need for special drivers. A Bass Boost switch increases the low-end for monitoring in big spaces. Besides the USB cable, the I/O includes quality 1/4″ plugs and standard RCA jacks, a TRS headphone output, two unbalanced 1/4″ phone jacks inputs, a stereo 1/8″ mini-jack input, and stereo RCA inputs. Another nice benefit is that each speaker is magnetically shielded, so you won’t have to worry about placing them near TVs or computers.MXL 990 Condenser Microphone The MXL 990 Condenser mic has a silky, sweet high-end while retaining tight, solid low and midrange reproduction. The 3/4″ gold-sputtered diaphragm creates a professional sound suited for digital and analog recording. Attractive vintage body style with champagne finish. 30Hz-20kHz frequency response. 130dB maximum SPL. Includes custom shockmount, mic stand adapter, and case.

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The Cheapest Way To Get Into A Pro Tools Recording Setup

Bill and Frank work out parts in the practice room.

  How many times have you spent a lot of time recording your new masterpiece only to come to the mixdown and finding that there are way too many low frequencies? It sucks when you get to mixdown and you have to filter out frequencies on the bass guitar just so it will have some presence in the mix. Having too many low frequencies in the mix is something that you will struggle with at your live shows as well. The biggest cause of too many low frequencies that I have found over the course of my live and recording career is the simple fact that the players in the band are playing in the same frequency range as each other at the same time. I’m not talking about lovely unison lines but when two or more instruments are playing different parts at the same time in the same frequency range.

   Let’s think about how the frequencies overlap each other for a minute. Let’s take the bass and guitar for example. The way a guitar is tuned overlaps the bass guitar all the way down to the E on the second string of the bass. So that’s almost two entire strings of overlap on the bass and the guitar. If you play your guitar tuned down to D then the overlap is even greater. This results in a lot of the same frequencies being doubled between the two instruments. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if you’re going for that low frequency heavy sound but you will lose a lot of definition between the bass and the guitar if you’re not aware of what each other is doing. Another thing to think about is the way keyboards fit in the mix. Keyboards can play frequencies below the bass and above the guitar but most of the time they’re playing right in the same range as the bass and guitar. Again, this can steal definition from the low frequencies. The drums have the most sonic frequency range of any instrument in the band but again the bass drum competes directly with the bass guitar. As you can see, it’s very easy for things in the low octave to get out of control.

   What can we do to help contain this low frequency soup that gets created by all the instruments playing in the same note range? The first and most important thing you can do is listen to each other. People get caught up in the “fixing the EQ” or “fixing compression” when really it’s most important to listen to how the instruments are working together. You may have a killer bass guitar part all worked out but if the keyboard player is holding down a low note in the exact same range as your bass, then your part is going to get lost. I’m not saying that the keyboard player should never play in the low range. It’s essential to have the keyboard player playing some low frequencies to give the song more depth than the bass alone can give it. I am saying that the keyboard player should be paying attention to what the bass player is playing and make sure the parts are complimentary. The same thing goes for the bass player. The bass player has to ask the question “what is best for the song here, the keyboard part or the bass part?”. Believe me it’s not as easy as it sounds once egos get involved along with differences in vision as to how the song should go. But the essential point is, if you want to have a great sound you have to compliment each others parts. A great player isn’t afraid to back off and let someone else take the spotlight for a minute. It should go both ways when players are competing in the same frequency range with each player giving up the room when the song calls for it.

   The same thing goes for every other player in the band. The drummer needs to listen and decide if the double-bass drum 1/8th notes are stomping out the killer guitar part that’s being played. The players need to take time to coordinate such bass heavy happenings. One thing that sounds great is when everyone plays those double bass 1/8th notes together. As I said before, it all comes down to being aware of what each other are playing. Be prepared to make compromises because that’s what it takes to really control all the things happening down in the low frequency range.

   The second thing you need to be aware of is the need for proper EQ’ing. I’ve already written a couple of articles about about getting proper EQ on your guitar as well as an article detailing how to watch for and mix key EQ frequencies. Those are good basic things to be in control of when you’re initially setting up your instruments. On bass frequencies the biggest problems usually happen between the bass drum and the bass guitar down in the 150HZ and below range. On the mixer it’s a good idea to put a bass frequency cut from 150HZ down on the bass guitar and letting the kick drum dwell in that range. Another device you can employ is a multi-band compressor that will let you tame down specific frequencies that are popping out of the mix. A multi-band compressor is one of the handiest tools I’ve found for controlling bass frequencies.

Tube-Tech SMC 2B Stereo Multi-Band CompressorThe rackmount Tube-Tech SMC 2B Stereo Multiband Compressor is an all tube-based compressor that adds the warmth of vintage quality masters to your mix. If you’ve heard records by Beck, Offspring, Rufus Wainright, and All American Rejects, you’ll find a Tube-Tech SMC 2B Multi-band compressor in the hands of Joe Chiccarelli strapped across the stereo bus.Tube-Tech SCM 2B Stereo Multi-band Compressor, First Take: Multi-bandband compression and variable crossover points let you craft your overall mix Three independent stereo optocompressors Flat frequency response across all three bands Balanced I/O and floating transformersVariable Crossover the Tube-Tech SCM 2B’s variable crossover points ensure precise control with all three bands of optocompression. Independent band specific Threshold, Ratio, Attack, Release & Gain parameters make the SMC 2B as flexible as it is accurate. For example, a stereo compressor can squash and muddy the midrangeof rock records. With the SMC 2B, you can add just the slightest compression to the midrange where the guitars live to keep them vibrant and lively. The adjustable crossover points allows you to set the low-frequency range so that the bass on dance tracks won’t get over-compressed.

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Creating Sonic Space Between Instruments Before Mixdown

Yamaha SPX2000 Digital Effects Processor

   One of the tricks of the trade when it comes to mixing down recordings is synchronizing the delay settings with the beat of the song. It gives your recorded tracks a very smooth and even feel when the delays are hitting on the beat or on divisions of the beat. These days, so many live bands are using sequenced tracks or recorded backing tracks that it’s an essential skill as a live musician to be able to set your delay effects to hit with the beat of the song that you’re playing. With all of the excellent digital delays and digitally controlled analog delays it’s easier than ever to get your delay effect units set to the beat of the song you’re playing.

   In the old days of analog delays the best you could do is use your ear to set the delay to the beat of the song. It was a good skill to have and not extremely difficult. The biggest problem that we used to face in a live music setting was changing that delay with every song to match the beat. In the studio it wasn’t so bad as we had time to fiddle with delay settings for each project. With digital delays, it’s so much easier to set a delay on the beat of the song that you’re playing. A lot of the new digital delays have a Tap button that will let you tap on the beat to set the delay in synch with the song you’re playing. But even the Tap button has it’s limitations as it still depends on human input.

   There are two simple delay formulas that you can use to calculate delay settings for type of note duration that you’re after. The first thing you need to do is determine the Beats Per Minute of the song. If you have sequenced a song you can simply look at the BPM setting of the sequence and use that for the delay formula. If you are working on a live recording simply count beats for six seconds and multiply the number by ten and you’ll know your BPM. Now, let’s say you want to set up a 1/4 note delay on a song that is 120 Beats Per Minute. For the first formula you simply take the decimal equivalent of the note fraction (1/4 note = .25) and multilpy it by 240,000 then divide by the BPM and that will give you the resulting delay setting in Milliseconds. The formula looks like this:

Note Fraction x 240,000 ÷ BPM = Delay Time (in Milliseconds)

First example for a 1/4 note delay at 120 BPM: (.25 x 240,000 ÷ 120 = 500 ms)

For a 1/8 note delay at 133 BPM: (.125 x 240,000 ÷ 133 = 225 ms)

Remember! To figure your decimal value for the note duration divide the top number by the bottom. For example 1\4 note = 1÷4 = .25

   The other way to set a delay up so that  it lines up on the beat is to use this formula. This delay formula is a little more complicated but it may make more sense to you:

BPM÷60 = Beats Per Second then divide 1 by BPS (1÷BPS=1/4 note Delay Time)

So first you need to determine your Beats Per Minute. If you have sequenced a song you can simply look at the BPM setting of the sequence and use that for the delay formula. If you are working on a live recording simply count beats for six seconds and multiply the number by ten and you’ll know your BPM. After you have your BPM just divide it by 60 to figure our your Beats Per Second. Once you know your BPS you simply divide BPS by 1  by can then set your delays accordingly. Here are a couple examples:

60 BPM ÷ 60 Seconds = 1 Beat Per Second. [1÷1BPS=1] For a delay that happens on each 1/4 note set your delay to 1 second. For a hit on each 1/8 note set it to 500 milliseconds. For 1/16 note set it to 250ms.

120 BPM ÷ 60 Sec. = 2 BPS. [1÷2BPS=.5] For 1/4 note delay set your delay to 2 seconds. 1/8 note = 1 second delay, 1/16 note = 500ms.

135 BPM ÷ 60 Sec. = 2.25 BPS [1÷2.25=.444] So 1/4 note = 444 ms, 1/8 note = 222 ms, 1/16 note =  111 ms.

   So there you have it. I have used both delay formulas to figure out delay settings. For some reason I seem to understand the second one better even though it does seem more complicated. But they’ll both get you the settings that you’re after.

Yamaha SPX2000 Digital Effects Processor The Yamaha SPX2000 Digital Effects Processor is a truly superior rack unit incorporating their most advanced technology with the emphasis on tonal quality and usable effects, including Rev-X reverb algorithm and 96kHz audio DSP. Dream studio reverb and early reflection effects with micro-parameter controls; versatile high-quality delays and echoes; sophisticated pitch shift with sound mixing, feedback, and synch to tempo; a broad palette of mod effects including stunning rotary; a powerful filter section that's MIDI controllable; a full assortment of very musical and useable distortions; lots of combination effects; and a heady phrase sampler make it a studio workhorse and a magician onstage. MIDI I/O/T, USB, word clock, AES/EBU XLR I/O, left and right 1/4" and XLR ins and outs with choice of -10dBu or +4dBu make it easy to integrate into any system.

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Set Delays On The Beat With The Delay Effect Formula

Acid Pro 6 Power! The Official Guide

   If you’ve been reading Live Musician Central for very long I’m sure you know I absolutely love Sony Acid Pro 6 Professional Music Workstation software. It’s extremely powerful and can be the heart of your own home recording studio. Sony Acid Pro 6 is a very capable and deep program which is easy to learn but can be a challenge to master. Today I want to turn you on to an excellent guide written by D. Erik Franks called “ACID Pro 6 Power!: The Official Guide“.

   Acid Pro 6 Power is a deep, detailed look at the capabilities of Sony Acid Pro 6. The users manual that comes with Sony Acid Pro 6 will tell you the basic features of Acid but it doesn’t take you very deep into how to get the full benefit of those features. That’s where “Acid Pro 6 Power!” comes in handy to fill all those missing details. There is something for every skill level in “Acid Pro 6 Power!” and it can take your music productions to the very highest quality possible with Sony Acid. The first few chapters discuss the user interface and program workflow. The book then moves into music theory concepts which will get you into serious music composition and song creation. The book will also take you into the highly technical aspects of using Sony Acid Pro 6. Simply having the book on hand as a reference guide is worth the price of the book.

   It comes with a companion DVD that includes some fully functioning, time-limited demos of several Sony music production programs. What I like the most on the DVD is you get over 500 sample loops to use in your own productions. You can never have too many loops and having loops that work perfectly in Acid is a real plus. ”Acid Pro 6 Power!: The Official Guide“ is only $23.75 and it’s truly worth every penny.

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Master Sony Acid Pro 6 With Power!: The Official Guide

Mackie Quad EQ

   One of the most important aspects of mixing music in a live venue or in the studio is the use of equalization. The other day I wrote about how to tweak your guitar amplifier EQ settings. Today I’m going to write about the effect of equalization on other parts of the mix.

   Having a good EQ at your disposal with your P.A. or home studio is one of the most important pieces of gear you can have. It seems like every time I play in a different venue I have to change the EQ of the main P.A. system. Every room has unique sound characteristics and in order to have your band sound the same from room to room you will have to make changes on the EQ. Mackie makes a fantastic EQ called the
Mackie Quad EQ 4-Channel Digital Graphic Equalizer. It’s an extremely powerful live Equalizer that will let you analyze the room with a built in pink noise generator and a microphone input. By generating pink noise through the P.A. and putting a microphone out in the room the Quad EQ will give you a visual readout of the frequency response of the room. This is the easiest way to make sure your EQ settings are consistent from room to room. By boosting or cutting specific frequencies you will be able to get the same frequency response in every room you play. The nicest thing about setting your main EQ like this is you won’t have to touch individual instrument, channel or board master EQ’s at all after they’ve been set at one room. The Quad EQ will also give you a visual readout of frequencies that are causing feedback allowing you to cut those frequencies and eliminate the feedback. It really is a must for proper live sound.

   If you’re mixing music at home or you’re searching for a great live mix you should know which frequency ranges affect which instruments. Bob Dennis has written a great table that outlines each frequency range and which instruments they most prominently affect. You can check out his article here: Equalization Key Frequencies.

   Now that you have some reference for your EQ settings all you have to do is listen and decide what you like to hear. One way I approach EQ’ing is by listening to some of my favorite album mixes. I then try to match what I’m hearing on my own music. It all comes down to what sounds good to you and having a good EQ at your disposal will let you find that perfect mix.

Mackie Quad EQ 4-Channel Digital Graphic EqualizerThe Mackie Quad EQ employs 4 – 30-band graphic, Adaptive-Q Equalizers to provide equalization <## HC plus mn ##>12dB using 30 individual EQ filters, without the ripple and boosting effects found on traditional (Constant-Q) units. These Adaptive-Q filters and super-accurate LED display ladders paint a highly detailed picture of the Quad EQ’s effect on the output signal. In other words, what you see in the display is what you get.Of course, if you’re the type of person that likes to measure and analyze, you’d really want to get a mic and an RTA unit. For the first time, sound-pressure level (SPL) and SMAART real-time analyzer (RTA) meters are no longer expensive add-ons, but part of a fully integrated, user-friendly package. The Quad EQ includes an SIA reference mic, as well as a dedicated reference mic input. Once plugged in, SPL can be displayed via a bright 3-digit display in the upper right corner. Or simply press the mic button and the RTA will display what’s going on in the room, on the same ultrabright ladders as the EQ filters. In this way, you can simultaneously view your EQ settings versus what the results are. And RTA data is post EQ, so if you encounter feedback, you can quickly see it, cut it, and view the results. Mackie also added some features live sound folks will really appreciate: 99 user snapshots to store and recall your EQ settings; a built-in pink noise generator; variable hi and low pass filters with multiple slopes on all 4 channels; stereo linking of channels A/B and C/D; high-quality TRS and XLR input/output, and a Planet Earth power supply for use anywhere between 100 and 240V.People are really attracted to sound engineers who know how to operate equipment with lots of flashing lights, so the Quad EQ was especially designed with plenty of lights. (Heh!)

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Getting Proper Equalization With EQ Frequencies

Billy Joel Demo Tape

   One of the most important pieces of marketing material you will produce for your band is your demo recording. I’ve already discussed using a live recording in your marketing kit as opposed to a studio produced recording. Today I would like to discuss your song selection that you will be including on your demo. The songs you choose for your demo can sell your band in many different ways.

   I guess it’s a no-brainer that you will want to put your best songs on the demo recording. What determines your best songs? A combination of different things. Obviously you want the songs that you actually play the best. These would be the songs that the band knows like the back of their hand. Songs that you play perfectly every time you play them. It’s very important that you give a great consistent performance of your demo songs so when you play them in another club you will sound like your demo.   

   You will also want to pick some of your most recognizable songs. Put a couple standards on there that everybody knows. The Billy Idol version of Mony Mony is a standard that always packs the floor and everyone knows. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Sweet Home Alabama is also a recognized standard and will allow you to feature some great guitar playing as well. You should also include a signature song that your band plays. This will be a song that you have re-arranged and given your own original touch. My band “In Stereo” plays Closer by Nine Inch Nails and it’s one of our signature songs. We have changed the song enough to make it sound like In Stereo as well as Nine Inch Nails. It’s on our demo as well.

   You will also want to make sure the songs you put on your demo are danceable. Most clubs have dancing and the owners will want to make sure that people can dance to your songs. Make sure you pick your catchiest, most danceable tracks. If you want to put a slow song on there, only put one and make it a short one. Slow songs don’t convey the energy a lot of booking agents look for on a demo.

   Also, if you have multiple singers, try to pick a group of songs that will let each singer sing a lead vocal. It’s a plus to be able to have that kind of vocal variety in your band and you’ll want to highlight that on your demo. If you have a lot of good singers make sure you put a song on there that has some really good harmony vocals as well.

   Finally, you’ll want to highlight your best musicians. If you have a great drummer, make sure you have a song that will prominently feature their drumming. The same goes for having a great guitar player or a great bass player. Pick a song that will really let them stand out.

   Those are the basics for putting together a good demo. Make sure you follow them and I promise you’ll get some good bookings from your demo recording.

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Which Songs To Put On Your Demo Recording

Archive Those Tapes With Mass Storage

   As a musician I’ve wondered what my legacy will be. Will anyone remember or care that I worked so hard at music for so many years after I’ve gone? I’m hoping that at least my kids will remember and care about my musical legacy after I’m gone. So what is something concrete that you can leave behind? I believe that the recordings that you should be making over the course of your career will be the biggest evidence that you really gave music your best shot. A good body of recorded work will document your life as a musician in a way that nothing else will. It will show your progression from beginner to being the best you could possibly be. A good body of recorded work will bring you a lot of enjoyment as you get older and want to take a trip down memory lane to see where you’ve come from as well. I know listening to my old recordings makes me feel really good about where I am now.

   If you’ve been reading Live Musician Central for long you know that I’m very big on recording. I believe that recording yourself is one of the most important things you can do. I’ve learned more about where I need to improve as a musician from listening to recordings than I have doing any other musical activity. I started recording myself right at the beginning of my career many years ago. Needless to say I have amassed quite a collection of my own work. I have been lucky to not lose very many of my earliest recordings although I have lost some. There are a few recordings I made right at the very beginning of my playing career that I would love to have back. But luckily I have a lot of my early recordings and they are a cherished treasure now.   

   It’s extremely important that you take care of your recorded work. When I started out I was recording on cassette tapes. I was smart enough to store them properly so they survived until the digital age at which point I was able to transfer them into .wav files for safer storage on hard disc, CD and now DVD. I still keep those original cassette’s safe in case technologies improve even more and I can pull even better quality out of them. So my first tip for you is to make sure you store your recordings in a safe place and in a format that you can access easily later on. Always try to preserve the original recorded tracks in the highest quality possible. If you record in 24-bit wave files then make sure you save masters in 24-bit wave files. It’s okay to mix down to 16-bit for distribution on CD and you’ll want to save copies of those as well but be sure to save the high quality stuff as well. Keep your masters on DVD and make multiple copies.   

   My second tip for preserving your recordings is to give copies to your friends, family and fans. The more copies you give away the better chance you have of your recordings surviving over the years. When I record with my band all the band members get a master copy of the mixdowns which will then be stored in four separate locations. If somebody loses a disc or one gets ruined somebody else will still have a copy. It’s also a great idea to have a friend or family member store a copy of your masters. So if disaster strikes and you lose yours, then you know you’ve got a copy somewhere else. So make sure and spread your recordings around. It’s easy security for keeping your legacy alive and you can enjoy some of that legacy while you’re still around. My fans love it when I give them some fresh new material to listen to.   

   Finally, make sure you keep it all organized. The easiest catalog system of all is to simply put the correct date on all your recordings. That’s probably what I was weakest at when I was younger. I’d forget to date things and so now I struggle to remember when my oldest stuff was recorded. The best catalog method is to list the date the recording was made as well as where it was recorded and who is featured on the recording. I’ve recorded with a lot of different musicians and I’ve forgotten some names. So make sure you list at least the names of everyone on the recording. It’s always better to have too much information about a recording than not enough so you could even write short bio’s on all the musicians featured on a recording. It’s also a good idea to label the recordings as a practice, live show, jam or writing session. That information makes the recording more valuable as the years go by. Other information you could list is all the equipment used on the recording. Since we’re in the digital age it’s a good idea to include a text file with information about the format used for recording as well.   

   So there you have it, your recordings will one day be your musical legacy. So preserve, organize and distribute them.  I hope my recordings and yours will survive for many years after we’re gone.

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Preserving Your Musical Legacy

Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder

   There are a lot of incredibly good audio recorders on the market right now. They are compact and handheld with built-in stereo microphones. Having one in your gear arsenal is very important for a number of reasons.

   I’ve written before about how important it is to record your live performances. You can learn so much from hearing your gigs back on a recording. Having a recorder like the
Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder can make recording your live shows as easy as setting the recorder up in the back of the room and letting it record. Since it’s all digital you can edit out dead spaces later. Making a back of the room recording is a good idea because it really lets you hear what the audience is hearing. You can also capture the audience reaction to your performance. If you get good at placing the recorder where it picks up well, you could end up with an excellent live recording that you could use as a demo in your bands marketing kit.     

   Another reason to have a portable recorder is to capture song ideas. It’s great to have one handy when you’re practicing your instrument and you come up with a great riff. You can record the song idea with a minimum of hassle. Sometimes when I’m in the car driving I have a great idea for a song. I usually have some sort of simple handheld recording device with me so it’s easy to record my song idea.

   You’d also be surprised at how popular you get with your friends if you take a good portable recorder to their gigs and make a recording of their shows. I am friends with several local bands and none of them usually take the extra time to record their gigs. So from time to time I’ll take a little recorder along and tape at least some of their show. They’re always extremely grateful. You just want to make sure it’s okay to record before you start recording other peoples shows.

   So that’s today’s tip. Get a good quality, easy to use stereo recorder and start putting it to use. You’ll be glad you did!

Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM RecorderThe compact and portable Olympus LS-10 Recorder brings you high-fidelity sound recording that’s ideal for everything from live music to the singing of birds. The LS-10 delivers unparalleled sound quality, anytime, anywhere because it combines the advanced technologies derived from Olympus’ decades of experience in the recording field.24-bit/96kHz Linear PCM Recording Whether you re in the recording studio or at the office, the LS-10 will let you capture it all-exactly as you hear it-with dependable, extra-high-quality digital recording that sounds better than a CD.Up to 12 Hours of Recording Capability 2GB Built-in Memory and SD Slot The 2GB built-in flash memory assures immediate recording, while the SD slot allows for expanded capacity. Long battery life allows you to record music, performances or lectures up to 12 hours with two AA batteries, so you can spend less time worrying about recharging or replacing batteries.Three Recording Formats: WAV, MP3, and WMA The LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder makes it easy to record audio and play back the files in the format of your choice. With three compatible file formats, the Olympus LS-10 offers impressive versatility and enables longer recording capacity.

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Get A Good Music Recorder

Make A Live Recording

One of the most important parts of your bands marketing strategy is your Demo CD. The Demo CD is going to be one of your biggest selling points in getting new gigs for your band. I’m going to give you a few tips for putting together a Demo CD that will help sell your band to club owners.

   I was listening to Demo CD’s one night with a club owner who was trying to sift through prospective band for his club. I remember he kept saying things like ”Studio recording”, “Studio Effects”, and “Too Produced”. And he would toss those Demo CD’s in the trash. What the guy was looking for was a live representation of how the band would sound when they played in his club.

   So the most important aspect of putting together a successful Demo CD is to make a good live recording of your band. Preferably with a lot of crowd cheering mixed in. Club owners want an accurate snapshot of how you’ll sound playing in their club. They want to hear how you talk to the crowd and how the crowd is reacting to you. So a live CD is the must for getting into clubs.

   If you do want to mix a few studio tracks on your Demo CD that’s okay, but put them at the end. Club owners really don’t care what you sound like in the studio. The best thing to do is have the live demo for the club owners and a studio demo to give to fans at your shows. The studio demos should also have some live tracks at the end because you never know when one of your fans is going to put a Demo CD in the hands of someone who can line gigs up for you.

   There are a couple ways to capture a good live CD. One is to record your show at a club that you regularly play at and hopefully you’ll catch a good night. Another way is to control things a bit more and invite a rowdy crowd of friends to a more controlled environment for recording. I’ve done both and the demo’s we’ve recorded with a crowd of friends has usually turned out better just because the band was more relaxed and interacting easier with the crowd. Remember, the club owners want to hear some stage banter.

   Finally, put your best songs on the Demo CD. Make sure they’re the songs that everybody will know and recognize. If you want to really show off your skills with a highly technical song, only put one on. Also, unless you want to play weddings, only put one slow song on the Disc.

   It’s really excellent practice to record all your live shows because you never know when you’re going to have that perfect gig. You just may get the live recording of a lifetime. So be prepared by having a recorder at the gig recording your show.

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Putting Together Your Band Demo CD

Abby Road Recording Studio

   So you’ve finally got enough songs, enough time and enough cash to get yourself some studio time and record that album you’ve always dreamed about. So what else do you need to do to get ready to make every minute count?

   The number one most important thing is to have the songs fully written and learned before going into the studio. You don’t want to waste valuable studio time making changes to the songwriting in the studio. You should have all your instrument parts learned including solos. Your singer should have all the lyrics memorized and everyone should have their backup vocal parts learned and memorized. Figuring out harmonies in the studio can be agonizing while the clock is ticking. If you have the songs written and rehearsed then you’re completely free to concentrate on giving that once in a lifetime performance that you want to capture forever in the studio. You need to take care of the details so that nothing impedes your performance in the studio. Just be sure to have complete mastery of your music before going into the studio to record.

   You’ll also want to make sure that all your equipment is in good shape before you take it to the studio. You don’t want to have to deal with any breakdowns. If you have an amp or guitar that has been giving warnings that it could have problems, take the time to get it fixed before you go to the studio. Bring any spare picks, strings, sticks, heads and electronics that you think you may need so you don’t have track anything down on studio time.

   Another excellent idea is to take a tour of the studio before you go record there. See if you can visit during another bands recording session so you can get a feel for how the studio personnel run things. If you see that the recording engineer likes to record guitar amps without the speaker grill, get it ready to be removed quickly in the studio. Ask any questions you can ahead of time so you’re not on the clock asking those questions during your session. Also, make any special requests ahead of time so the studio can have those things prepared for you when you get there. Just having the studio dig out the right number of headphones before your session can help speed things along when you get there.

   Finally, BE ON TIME! Or better yet, be early. You’ll get charged for the time that you’re late but you most likely won’t be charged for time that you’re early. If you get there early you can spend that time unloading your equipment and hauling it into the studio.

   If you follow these simple suggestions your studio session will run far more smoothly than a lot of other bands. Just remember the most important thing is to know the songs. The Beatles were able to record their entire first album in 15 hours. Not because of limited options but because they had the songs down so well, there was no need to spend any longer to achieve perfection.

Alesis ADAT-HD24XR Digital 24-Track Hard Disk RecorderThe Alesis ADAT-HD24XR Digital 24-Track Hard Disk Recorder has all the incredible features of the HD24 plus 96kHz, 113dB A/D/A converters. The world’s first 24-track, 24-bit/96kHz hard disk recorder designed to fit comfortably into any standard ADAT environment and match ADAT’s legendary performance and affordability.

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Preparing For A Studio Recording Session