Unless you play instrumental music, the vocal track is the most important part of your demo. It’s the part of the music that most fans and listeners connect with the most, and that makes your vocal tracks the heart and soul of your recording. But recording vocals can be a tricky thing. How do you capture the spirit of a great vocal take without losing any of the raw energy of the performance? Here are a few recording tips for… [Read More]

There can be a lot to think about when you start your first Studio Pros production.  Here are some links that you should browse through before you begin to ensure you get the most out of your experience—and to be sure you make an awesome song with us! Before You Record: Preparing the Perfect Pre-Production Files Using Reference Tracks to Get The Sound You Want Choosing the Right Instrumentation After You Start the Recording Process: How to Get The Most… [Read More]

We love giving musicians a lot of options for their songs, but not every option can be right for every song. You should always carefully consider the instrumentation you choose. Not only will the right instruments make your track sound appropriate for its genre, they will also allow you to showcase the parts that are most important to your song. Here are a few choices you may come across when picking the right instrumentation. Real drum track vs. programmed drums… [Read More]

The first step of Studio Pros’ full music production package is laying down a guitar/keyboard track with a melody line synced to a click. We call it: A Sketch. The sketch will help the rhythm section (the drummer and bass player) to understand the structure, the chord progression and the melody of the song.   This is the foundation of the production and will later be replaced by the final guitars/keys. The sketch will NOT serve as part of the production’s… [Read More]

So, you’ve decided to start your first project with Studio Pros. Great! You’ll notice that the first step after placing your order is the upload page. This is where you get to upload a scratch version of your song for our musicians to work from, plus any other files you might want to include. Here are some important things to keep in mind to help you prepare to make your Studio Pros project go smoothly. Record to a Click Track… [Read More]

Have you ever tried talking to someone about your music? Sometimes describing something so abstract can be a little tricky. “I want this song to have a smooth vibe, but still be a little rough around the edges.” “This song should rock out and have tons of energy.” “This track very ethereal and spiritual, but without being corny.” Sound like anything you’ve heard before? Each of these things means a specific thing to the artist. But what it means to… [Read More]

If you want a great drum track for your song, you might want to practice your… keyboard skills? Well, if this video teaches us anything, it’s that we musicians should probably start shedding our keyboard chops if we want to record a funky, tight drum part: And if you want to really rock out, just follow this guy’s lead (he really busts it open at about 1:20): So the moral of these two videos is this: if you want to… [Read More]

1. Decide whether you want to record live (with the whole band playing together) or record one instrument track at a time. Even though recording live seems more fun, it’s actually much harder and requires renting a bigger, more expensive studio. 2. If you plan to record live, you should first try recording one of your rehearsals with an mp3 recorder. Even though the audio won’t be high quality, you’ll get a good idea of how “together” your band sounds… [Read More]

1. Choose your session players wisely. Many local (non-commercial) studios will offer you their own musicians, or even to have their engineer play on your album.  But 99% of the time the result is just a mediocre instrumental track that will do nothing to set you apart from the thousands of other singer/songwriters out there. Think about it for a second: do you know of any famous songs that were recorded by a “one-man-band?” It is crucial to the sound… [Read More]

Mixing and mastering usually go hand-in-hand. But while most people refer to them both together, they are two distinctly different stages in the recording process. So why exactly do you need to master your album? Couldn’t you just get your songs mixed by a great engineer (maybe a Studio Pros engineer), skip the mastering step and save a few bucks on your record? It may seem like an effective cost-cutting solution, but if you don’t get your album mastered, you’re… [Read More]