Sonic Valentine

Recording engineers are just about the only people who work on records non-stop. Most artists make a record once every 1 or 2 years. At most producers will generally make six records a year. A good recording engineer will be working on records non-stop… year round. Recording engineers will work with many producers and even more artists, watching them each make unique mistakes.

So here is my list of the most common mistakes I am forced to watch artists make… over and over.

1 – Not being ready to make a record – Just because you have written ten songs does not mean you are ready to make a record. By all means… go ahead… but don’t expect something that is going to stand the test of time. Many think that they know who they are as an artist, they think that they have a grasp of their artistic voice. Let me tell you, chances are if you have just started writing songs, just started playing live, you really don’t know what you have to say or even how to say it. Think of your first recordings as demos or experiments and try to budget accordingly.

2 – Picking the wrong producer – I’m not going to lie… more than once have I been an engineer on a session with an absolutely useless producer. The first step of not choosing a moron producer is easy… make sure they are actually a professional producer. I can’t tell you how many people call themselves a producer and have spent little to no time in a recording studio. Do your research, make sure that whoever you chose actually knows what they are talking about. Listen to other recordings that they have produced and even more importantly verify that they actually produced said recordings. This is probably one of the most damning and costly mistakes you can make as an artist. Not only will a bad producer produce a bad record. They will make your bad record cost more than a bad record should.

3 – Self producing – Trust me when the clock is ticking and every second is costing you money indecision is not your friend. Many artist freeze when they look through the glass and see a famous session player looking at you asking a question. A producer is someone to bounce your ideas off of, someone who can push you to try harder or have the where with all to know it is best to take a break. Most self produced records wind up costing more because of the artists lack of focus. More importantly most self produced records wind up sounding unfocused.

4 – Not setting a budget – Honestly, I suck at money talk. But you have to get it done and out of the way before you start working on your record. Ask the producer what their fees are and if there is a need to work out a contract. Ask the engineer, the studio, the assistant engineer, and the mastering house what their fees are. Your producer should be able to provide you with all of these answers (it is a big part of their job) but you don’t want to be held responsible for a bill you had no idea was coming. Common expenses that you should ask about are studio fees, assistant engineer fees, cartage fees, instrument/gear rental fees, and extra musician fees. It is the job of the producer to make you aware of all of this but some of you might be breaking another rule on this list and will be blind sided by the money jumping out of your wallet and punching you in the gut on it’s way to someone else’s pocket.

5 – Not having enough money to finish – If you want to record 5 songs make sure you have the money to record and MIX five songs. If you want to have a 10 song record make sure you have enough money for 10 completed mixed and mastered songs. Some artists think that they can come up with the money later to finish the record. This is a big mistake! It leaves time for doubt to set in and room for creative momentum to flow away. If you take time off between tracking and mixing your record 9 times out of 10 it will wind up costing you more. The other mistake that I have been a victim of is not actually having the money to finish the record. If you know that it is going to cost X number of dollars to mix your record make sure you have that money BEFORE you start and that it is locked away!! This way, when the engineer finishes mixing before you thought they would you are not scrambling to come up with the money to pay them.  Just try to keep in mind that you are an artist… but engineering/assisting/mastering/running a studio is their livelihood.