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Tips before you record at the studio...
In order to get the best possible experience recording at Coombeshead, we recommend you read the following tips: DRUMS Drums should be properly tuned before you bring your kit in - loose and flappy sounding drums will inevitably make a mix sound untidy. Listen carefully to the pitch of the drums as you tap each drum round the outside of the head - the pitch should sound the same right the way around the circumference. If it doesn't you need to tune the corresponding points around the drum to make the pitches match. We very strongly advise that you use a bass drum head with a hole cut in it, with the inside of the bass drum fairly well padded out using a large pillow or thick blanket if you are looking for a tight thump sound. It is very difficult getting a good bass drum sound without the ability to put the microphone inside the actual bass drum, and if you do not wish to do this you can always use the studio bass drum (see our kit details below). The snare should sound fairly tight in most cases, and excessive ring of the snare head can cause the snare to sound in sympathy with the rest of the drums, adding an overall flappiness to the sound. Try to tune the snare so that the sustaining resonance is brought under control quickly. Obviously the overall sound of the drums should be determined by yourself so if you disagree with any of these tips, preferring a different sound depending on your playing style then by all means set the drums up to your own preference! These are simply guide tips which may be useful to the inexperienced recording artist. The studio has a drum kit available for use by recording artists. It comprises of bass drum, snare drum, 2 rack toms and a floor tom, hihat, crash and ride. It is set up for recording and so has a great sound, although if you have a great kit yourself you may wish to bring your own. If you wish to mix and match the studios kit with your own drum kit, you are welcome to do so. We have 2 additional cymbal stands should you wish to bring extra cymbals, although any more and you will require the extra stands. Most artists who use our kit tend to bring their own snare and cymbals.
Bass guitar can be DI'd directly through the system so a bass amplifier is often unnecessary during recordings. Just bring the bass guitar itself! Guitars sound best on recordings when they have fresh strings. We strongly advise you change the strings on all guitars approximately 2 days before the recording session, so they are fresh and new but have had time to stretch themselves in, avoiding tuning problems. We may be able to supply one Peavey Bandit 112 guitar amplifier to save you bringing your own (prior arrangement required) - it sounds great miked up, although if you have two guitarists you will need another amp! Even a fantastic sounding amp can sound dull and lifeless if the miking techniques are not properly thought out, and therefore we aim to get the miking of guitar amps just right, which can take a fair bit of time in adjusting mike positions. Each amp is different so there are no quick rules for where the mikes should be - consequently to save time in your recording session, we encourage guitarists to get their gear set up as quickly as possible so we can experiment with miking your guitar cabinet whilst the drums are being set up to make effective use of your time. If you wish to design the artwork yourselves, the following tips will be useful to ensure we can produce the CDs as efficiently as possible: Use high resolution/DPI jpegs or bmps (the higher the better!). Make sure all important text/logos etc are away from the sides as when inlays are cut they may lose a millimetre or two off the edges. You risk losing text if it is backed up against the sides! Below you can find templates which may be useful for layouts: CD We can offer many different CD packages, such as double sided
printing in inlays, booklets, unfolding poster style inlays and
see through cases with an image under the CD tray. Contact us
for more details and we will be happy to price up a design for
you. Remember that you pay by the CD, there is no charge for artwork
design etc. Please print the following map for directions to the studio!
MAP If you are coming from Plymouth, take the Newton Abbot turnoff,
and stay straight. After 10 minutes you will end up on Ashburton
Road. |
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Owners. All Rights Reserved. 
