Recording 101/How the process works

DECIDING WHAT YOU NEED

The first thing you need to do before coming into the studio is to decide what you need. We are more than happy to help you with this aspect of your project.

• What is the purpose of the recording? Are you recording a full fledged album for release with full production that will be competing with music on a national level or a demo for booking gigs? There can be a huge difference in price between the two.
   
• What is your budget? Be realistic here.  If you or some of your band mates are new to the recording process, give us a call to set up a consultation so we can help give you some realistic expectations of cost and time. A record can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
   
• How many songs do you want to have on your album. Generally speaking I suggest 10. The reason for ten is most songs sell for $0.99 a piece on Itunes. You can sell the album for $10. The other reason is it keeps the length of the album to about 40 minutes. I have discovered over time that this a good “in the car time”. Most Commutes take between 15 to 20 minutes one way.  A longer daily drive is between forty minutes to an hour. So on the first one you listen to hal;f the album there and the other half back and on the second one you get the entire record  in one drive. But in the  end the call is yours.
   

How many songs do you have is another thing. You may not want to put them all the album. For an album with ten songs you might want to record twelve to fifteen and choose the best. If the budget doesn’t allow for that you might want to poll the general public (ask your fans) which songs to put on the album.

• Production…this also has much to do with how much time you will be spending the studio. If you are an acoustic duo recording a demo for getting gigs then it will be a minimal production. We will set you up pretty much the way you play and track it to multi track or even live to “2 track” Some editing between songs, a little mastering and your done. On the other hand, doing a “pop” record (this includes R&B, Pop Rock, Dance Pop, Pop Metal...ect..) be prepared to spend many, many hours on each song. Between programming and editing all the instruments and the multitude of vocal takes and tuning, you are going to spend some serious time with the engineer. There is nothing that’s not perfect in this type of production. With all that said, the majority of projects land in between those two production types.
   

We are always glad schedule a time for you, your band and anyone that maybe involved with your project to come to the studio and speak with our staff. As a matter fact we highly suggest that you do this. It gives you a chance to see the studio, listen to some of our work and meet the staff.

BOOKING YOUR SESSION

After talking to the studio you should know approximately how long it will take to record your record.  Your budget is together and you have met with Babblefish Studios. If you didn’t book at the consultation then this is what needs to happen next.

• Meet with the people involved in your project, band mates and financial people if they are not the same.  
   
• Decide on when you want to have the project released. There should be at least a month between receiving your master and scheduling the release date if you are doing physical units such as CDs or vinyl. You will want to work backwards from that point. Say you want to release on Sept 1st. The album needs to finished with master in your hand by August 1st. If you have allowed two days a week for recording and you will need 6 days to get your basics and overdubs finished that’s 3 weeks. A week to mix and master the record is a total of four weeks. That means you will want to schedule your first session at the latest July 1st. As with any kind of scheduled event build in some space for “Murphy’s Law”
   
• Get everyone’s availability together. Decide on days and times that work for everyone for the first few sessions. You will want to have some alternate dates in the event the studio happens to be unavailable for those dates. Remember, as the process moves forward you will not need everyone at all sessions. Again, talking to the BRS staff will give you incite on this.
   
• Contact Babblefish Recording Studios, 937 746 7876 or babblefishstudios @att.net or www.babblefishrecordingstudios.com.
   
• Give the studio manager the dates you would like to get started. The studio is usually booked about a month or so out. There are exceptions, but it is a good idea to plan that far out. It will be possible the dates you want are not available so this is where having a few options is going to come into play.
   
• After the studio manager confirms the dates are available you will be ask for a deposit. See the “the policy page” on the website. We can either take a credit card over the phone, cash in person or a check through the mail. We can also accept Paypal but there is a fee. Once the deposit is confirmed the session is now on the books.