Bottles and Cans – How to Prep for a Session, Engineer's side of the Glass

Hey everybody! Please give a warm welcome to Paul Schaefer, who has joined the effort to improve AGZ. Paul is the owner and head engineer of The Worship Factory, a small studio based in Cincinnati, he’ll be contributing articles once in a while here.

Welcome to the team Paul!

Bottles and Cans – How to Prep for a Session, Engineer’s side of the Glass

So you got a brand new shiny client, or a repeat customer coming in to record. You start going through your mental list of things to do. Take out the trash, try to clean up the desk a bit, maybe even wipe off the Taco Bell hot sauce off your keyboard from the last session. Ahh, all cleaned up, lookin’ good, smellin’ good (mostly). Is that enough? Doubt it. Well at least it shouldn’t be enough.

The old saying “first impressions” goes along way in the recording industry. I get flack all the time from friends and family who think I go too far with my customer service but in the end I know it makes a difference, especially when they come back a second time. I go out of my way to make sure that first impression is the best I can make it. Let’s go over the basics (at least for me).

Get Your Clean On: Grab a Bottle of anything and a glazed donut to go…

Like I mentioned earlier start by cleaning the place up. Grab you a bottle of all purpose cleaner and clean up your primary work area be it your main desk, control surface, tables etc. The last thing someone wants to see (or smell) is your previous clients dinner mess from the night before. Wipe down any and all glass you will be looking through with your client. KFC grease and a good vocal take depend on it! Take a few minutes and put all cables and things away that wont be used in the session. If you have a system, they are easy enough to go grab later anyway. If you have a wood floor in your tracking room or vocal ISO booth, take the time to run a swiffer over it. I had a client come in a few years ago that was extremely allergic to dust. What made it worse was that she was a vocalist. Point being? You just never know. As much as you hate to, clean the bathroom and take out the trash! Whether its close to your control room or not, nobody and I mean nobody likes a nasty bathroom. Harvard should do a study on the weird things thrown away in a recording studio bathroom trash can. Enough said.

Session Setup: Check Your Cans…

Whether you have a full band coming in, or a banjo player, take the time to get your session setup properly. Run all your cables, get your Gobo’s, blankets, mic stands, etc setup and tidy. Run some Velcro cable straps around your mess of cables and tie them up neatly. If you have never done this, you’ll thank me before you roll your ankle over them going back to the back to get a mic. Voice of experience. Double check all of your cables and mics to make sure they are working. I know its crazy, but I decided early on to invest in the best cables. I have Monster and Mogami all through my studio. The only cables that have went bad so far are the ones I bought at Radio Shack. Sit down or stand where your client will be. Get a feel for their perspective. Make sure you don’t have a can or spot light right in their face, or an air vent blowing at them. Also check the chair or stool to make sure it doesn’t wobble or feel uncomfortable. Lastly and most important, CHECK YOUR CANS! I could write a book on making sure the headphones your customer wears fit properly, sound good, and don’t smell like ass! If you have scratch tracks or anything already in your session, I cant stress enough to double check the mix your customer will hear. I’ve done allot of studio work for friends and am almost always let down by my headphone mix. I swear I don’t think those guys had ever put on their own cans to check. Amazing. If you have an in-experienced recording artist, they wont know what to tell you if their mix sucks. An hour into the session, you’ll find out too late. Good luck getting that killer vocal take now.

Let go of a few bucks and buy some drinks…

I was playing on a buddies CD a while back and we were at a studio outside of Cincinnati. There were only 3 of us there, and I couldn’t get past the fact that the studio engineer/owner charged us a buck for every bottled water we got. We had an 8 hour session, and by the end of the day I was out $6! By the end of the session I was so pissed I could barely play. Bottom line, go to your local cheapo-mart and get some water, soft drinks etc. Take them back to your studio and put them in your mini fridge. Don’t make your client ask, tell them to grab whatever they want. That $20 worth of beverages should be the least of your budget concerns. Clients always ask me the first time they want something. The next time they are at my studio, they just take their shoes off, grab a drink and we got some stuff done. It pays off, trust me.

Enjoy Your Session…

Once I get to this point with a new client or even one that has recorded with me before, we both feel better knowing that these basics are covered. Most customers tell me they love coming to my place to record. It’s comfortable, clean, smells good, and I always know where things are so I can quickly adapt to whatever is needed. Being organized and tidy for sessions makes for better workflow and happy clients. Both of those get more cash in my pocket. Something all of us need in today’s market.

Feel free to drop me a line about your success stories, or not so successful stories on this topic. I’d love to hear from you.

P.S. don’t forget, not everyone likes diet drinks.

Paul Schaefer
Owner/Engineer
Worship Factory

www.worshipfactory.com