Pre-production: ‘Cause The Average Ruskie Don’t Take A Dump Without A Plan
Last night over beer a buddy was asking me about the general “stages” of recording. After a bit I started to think about the first step I had told him: Pre-Production.
Prepro is probably the easiest to underestimate in the recording process. It took me quite a few sessions to figure that out as there’s not the clear cut path to follow in my market as far as learning the ropes.
Let’s look at the basic premise of prepro: the producers of the project (bands, producers, engineers) talk over what they hope to end with and how they’re going to achieve it. Will everybody play together at the same time? Is everybody rehearsed, songs selected? Budget? Studio? Schedule?Deliverables? Click track? Rental gear? Do instruments need some tlc from a tech? Etc etc.
At a home studio or pro room ( or any combo of the two ) this simple process is the key to many problems that usually come up later.
It’s a painful lesson to learn, but once you get in the mode of planning, the sessions go sooooo much better. There’s quite a bit less drama in the studio with this short meeting.
Tags: Production