Phew.  It’s been a terribly crazy month for AASG – getting ourselves prepped for  AES, my mind being blown by Logic 9, traveling back and forth between Orange County and the Bay Area repeatedly, and a ton of dental work.

But I’m finally back in the saddle, ready to pick up where I left off.  Lots of Logic 9 stuff coming your way, and hopefully a cool interview or two.

This month, however, has also been a learning experience for me as an engineer.  In the scope of one project, I’ve recorded in fantastic studio, tracked in several bedrooms, pulled beat-detective-related all nighters, and done my best to navigate the ever-complicated schedules of musicians.

The biggest lesson I’ve taken from this is simple: You can play music your whole life and still not be ready for a session.

I say that not to speak ill of the musicians I’ve been working with – they’re great.  But no matter how well you sit in the groove, shred your axe, or make that bass talk – recording is a whole different animal.  And being successful at recording often has more to do with preparation and work ethic than it does with talent.

Some people might scream at me for causing the end of “good music” as we know it for saying that, but let me qualify it.  Talent, creativity and inspiration are essential for great music.  But they require a context – a space to happen.  Sessions can be perfect places for moments of musical genius to happen, but only if you’ve done your homework.

Recording sessions tend to take longer than expected, move slower than normal practices and shows, and require more repetition than most bands are used to.  Often times, putting in hours of hard work at session is the only way to achieve random brilliant takes.

So all of that being said a few big tips to help your session go well:

1) Practice.  It’s gotta be tight. You have to know how the song fits together in all these parts.  I’d even suggest recording your practices – just one mic in the room if thats all you have. Then listen carefully to those practices and get used to listening to yourself and judging yourself on some sort of objective level.

2) Know your parts.  You’ve got to know how the song comes together.  Figure out some of the tones you want, where solos and embellishments are placed, even some rough bpms (if you record to a click then you NEED to figure this out before hand).

3) Practice to a Click.  This only really applies if you’re recording to a click or if you want your sound to be as tight as humanly possible.  Either that, or be prepared to spend some dough having your engineer time-correct your drums.

4) Bring a notebook.  Yeah it’s lame but, if you’re recording yourself then one of the biggest things you’re not getting is an engineer.  That little geeky guy who pushes buttons and turns knobs, actually does a lot more than that.  A thoughtful engineer will take notes during takes – noting where timing slips, or a wrong note gets hit.  Even just noting some of what the band “feels” about takes.  These notes are a the best place to start editing different takes together, and judging various takes against each other.

But if you record yourself, then you’re not getting an engineer so I’d at least write down a few notes between takes – you know that awkward “what did you guys think?” conversation you have after playing through a song?  That’s the stuff you should write down.  It may seem unimportant during the recording process – but you’ll find it saves you a lot of time later.