Putting a specific time or cost on recording a band is like the old piece of string question. It depends. So we will outline some of the different ways we have gone about recording bands.

To begin with, we want to meet you. You will meet with our Producer/Engineer to have a chat, a cup of tea and a look around the studio. Preferably this is separate from the pre-production sessions so that you know that we are the right people to help you.

Next step is to book a pre-production session at the studio. This is like a rehearsal session but our Producer/Engineer will sit in and get to know you as a band, the sound that you're aiming to achieve, and the gear you use. He will also get to know the songs you'll be recording. The reason we strongly suggest that you do this is because too often we've found that all the stuff that should be sorted out before the recording session happens during the session itself. Such as song structure, whether you actually like the songs (strangely, there always seems to be a song that no one in the band likes!), whether you know how to get the perfect sound from your amp. And it's cheaper for you to sort this out in pre-production than during recording.

We will advise you on gear maintenance and can recommend people who can set up your instruments properly. An often-neglected instrument is the voice, and all the best vocalists use a vocal coach. We offer the services of our in-house vocal coach who can help you to deliver the best performance.

Now we'll explain how we'd go about recording you.

The control room normally housing our ProTools HD3 system is in between a large booth and a large live room, with windows between the three rooms. This means that we have the three rooms as potential recording areas.

Scenario One:

A four piece band comprising drums, bass, rhythm guitar and lead guitar/vocals want to get two tracks down in a day. Getting here bang on time, they bring all their gear in and set up the drums in the live room facing the control room. The two guitar amps go in the booth facing opposite corners.

We spend the first hour miking up the drums, usually individually, with two overhead mics. We'll have talked over the kind of sound that the band is after and will alter the setup as necessary. The drummer will play each drum individually and we'll listen in the control room until we're happy with the sound. Often this includes to-ing and fro-ing between rooms to tape up skins, adjust mics and apply WD-40 to squeaky drum pedals. It saves a lot of time if the kit is well maintained and has new skins on and is well tuned.

We'll ask the drummer to play a few bars and then come in and listen with the rest of the band. They all need to be sure that they like the sound as the drums are the backbone of the track.

Then we'll mike up the guitar cabs in the booth, or DI from your pedals. The bass will be DI'd into our system. The guitarists will be in the control room with us along with the bassist. They'll all be able to see the drummer on his or her own in the live room, and will all be able to talk to each other. The singer will have a mic set up in the control room so that he or she can record a guide vocal track.

This way everyone gets to play live and with the vocals in there, you don't forget where you are in the song. If everyone does a great take, then brilliant, otherwise we carry on until the drums are done and then everyone else can overdub their parts. Because of the way we're set up, spill from nearby instruments into the mics is minimal, which means that replacing parts one by one is easy.

Next comes fills, overdubs, extra guitar solos, and making sure the track is sounding good.

If you're doing a second track, then we can repeat this process for that.

The final stage of recording is the vocals. We'll set up a mike in the booth (after the guitar amps have been done with), usually a Neumann U87, and some headphones, and the singer will replace the guide vocal with a proper one. This might take a few takes. He or she might also add backing vocals, perhaps along with other band members.

Last bit of the day is to do rough mixes of the tracks, applying effects as necessary and getting a balance between all the different elements. We stress at this point that when you take it home and listen on all different systems, it may sound different. Usually mixing is left to another day, sometimes a few weeks after recording, because you need fresh ears. Recording involves listening to the song lots and lots of times and by the end of the day you might be thoroughly sick of it. You need to take a break. When you're listening to the tracks, make sure you take notes so that when you come back to us for a mix session you can tell us exactly what you want changed.

Scenario Two:

The Band is adamant that they all want to be in the same room, playing live. For a similar line-up as above, the setup would be similar except that everyone would be together, the drums would be fully and closely miked, amps would be turned to the corners of the room. However, there would be some spill between instrument mikes and so if you wanted to radically rework any part of the arrangement there might be "ghosts" of other parts that have been picked up on different mikes. We might also have a couple of room mikes to pick up the general ambiance of the room.

The vocal would still go on last and seperately, and there may be more overdubs such as guitar solos, clap tracks or percussion tracks.

However, we have recorded a traditional Irish-type folk band in one room. We put a U87 in the middle of them, DI'd the electric bass from an amp so that he could hear himself, then overdubbed a bodhran. The singer was in the control room laying a guide vocal which he then replaced after all the other parts had been recorded.

Scenario Three:

The band want to take more time and track each part seperately. This can happen over a week or several months. Drums would still come first, and if there are several songs to be recorded for an album or EP, it's best to get all the drums done at once over a day or more. This way we minimise setting up time and there is a consistent sound to all the drums. Incidentally we do lockouts if you record for longer than a day. This means that all the equipment can stay set up and that once we get the killer sound we know that it'll stay the same the next day.**

Note on click tracks

If the drummer plays to a click track, this can make things easier afterwards. If there are keyboard or synth parts to be sequenced this works far better with a click track.

However, not everyone likes playing to a click track. Some think they can and then the pressure gets too much. Some think it takes away the feel of a song. Some think it's artificial. If you feel it's right for you as a drummer or as a band, do it. If not, we won't force you.

Once the drums are done, it's up to you what you add next. You can work on a song at a time, or an instrument at a time over all the songs.

**Your equipment must be insured. Space Studios accepts no responsibility for any equipment left on the premises that does not belong to the studio.

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