Hello, eb,

Since I'm pretty new here, I really don't know how much it's been discussed. But in anycase, some advice:

- Find a studio that will not put as part of the deal that they keep a part of the publishing or that they get a co-write. Of course, if you DO co-write with them or their musical ideas change the song's core (in a good way, obviously) then it's only fair and ethical that whoever did that, get's a co-writing credit.

- If you're not pressed in your day-to-day schedule, ask the studio owners if you can record during down-time. That means recording in hours when nobody else is using the studio (usually weekend, mostly Sundays, and other days from like 10 pm to 6 am).

- Make sure that by the time you actually GET INTO the studio to start your sessions, everything is in place. If you're paying for the recording, that makes you at the very least the executive producer. That means that you have to make sure that all the time is well spent. Make sure the songs have been practiced so that you don't waste time with mistakes that could've easily been taken care of during rehearsals; have all the arrangements done; have all the instruments in tune by the time recording starts; have a recording plan so that you know who and what is recorded first, second, etc. If you're recording any covers, you should already have asked for and gotten permissions from publishers, writers, etc.

- If money is a big issue, like it is many times, you can always ask (very diplomatically) if there's some way of lowering the price by doing some sort of exchange: if you're good at your instrument, you might suggest free recording sessions as a studio musician, for example.

- If you're planning on mastering your session (always a good idea), see if the studio has the facilities to do that (not all of them do and there are specific type of studios with engineers that specialize in mastering). If they do, see if there's some sort of package deal that would include recording and mastering the session afterwards.

- If you're looking to have CDs made, some studios offer this service, too, or have the connections with a company that does this. Of course, look around for better deals in this part, too.

- Look around. If you're not in a hurry, take some time to not only look for a good studio that fits your needs, but also get a feel for the people that work there.

Anyways, I hope this advice helps you.

Take care and good luck!


Serge



Sergio Mendoza Hochmann

"Maybe I'm singing off-key, but that's ok, you see, I've come to terms with my own voice."

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