How to record an album by supersecretcel

"ill prepared but persevered, learning so much for the next time around. definitely worth it."

How I did it: 1. signed to a small start up label
2. researched recording studios recommended by other bands with tiny budget in mind
3. booked 13 days with the cheapest option in order to have the longest amount of time in the studio (analog tape)
4. recorded 14 songs live  (one day for setup, 3 for recording band)  - 3 of which  didn't have ANY lyrics, 1 without a song title,  2 without complete lyrics, 1 completely rearranged and later scrapped.
5.  recorded vocals while hastily conjuring missing lyrics
6. added "playing around in the studio" tracks
7. moved to another studio for mixing
8. mixed 3 songs a day
9. titled song without title
10. recordings mastered.
11. scrambled with 12 hours to get "artwork" done - despite having 3 months to do it
12. turned in masters and "artwork" to label
13. anxiously await cd release party!

Lessons & tips: beforehand:
rehearse as much as possible
have all lyrics finished
have all song titles finalized
be able to articulate ideas for tracks you might not play live

during recording:
don't drink too much
don't smoke too much
don't let the engineer tell you that take was a keeper if you're not happy with it - but don't be too anal. 

remember - it's a snapshot of where you are at that particular time, don't fret too much if it doesn't turn out exactly how you envisioned it.  it's all about the process and having fun. they'll be many opportunities down the road to use what you learned this time around!


4 people found this helpful
 

Sep 27, 2008, 06:57PM PDT | 4 comments | 2 cheers


Comments:

Andreya afraid of Halloween! :)

WOW!! In just 13 days!!

How much did it cost you, approximately? just curious..

I’ve had a few ‘free’ offers so far & couldn’t really decide for any of them..

You are so right with being prepared enough though.. I think I really need to practise more, lol!! :)

Mar 19, 03:35PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

supersecretcel

costs:

in the end i’m not sure what the total costs were. we had recording, mastering, cd duplication/artwork, 1 month of PR through pirate all paid for by our label. i think the initial numbers thrown out there were somewhere in the 6-9k range. i would suspect it was towards the higher number – lots of unplanned things happened during the process! if you’re connected with people that have hobby studios free is a good option just to go through the process…i wouldn’t count on it for a final product though. cheers!

Mar 21, 09:58PM PDT | Respond to this

KamelDaniel is writing

Great job

Great job, one of my goals is to work with a recording label. Though you said the lable is small, how did you apply?

Mar 21, 07:18PM PDT | Thread | Respond to this

supersecretcel

labels

thank you :)

our label was started by people who were in bands we had played shows with before. so i guess in short, the answer is networking and luck.

i’m not sure what genre of music you’re in or what sort of deal you’re looking for – our needs were very simple. we just needed our recording to be paid for. if you’re looking for the same, it shouldn’t be too hard to find.

my best advice to you is to know exactly what you want your label to do for you and book a TON OF SHOWS. make friends with everyone you play with and meet when you play out and the rest will fall into place. oh, and the hard work doesn’t stop when the album is released. just fyi!

Mar 21, 10:15PM PDT | Respond to this


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