1.  Start fresh.  New strings for guitars, bass, and other stringed instruments is a must.  They will liven up your mix and make it very easy to get a great sound.  Same thing goes for drums and drum heads.  Also, bring enough sticks and picks!

2.  Too Ning.  This brings me to my next point.  MAKE SURE TO TUNE IN BETWEEN EVERY TAKE!  There are many things a good engineer can fix in the mix, tuning is not one of them.

3.  Play Like You Mean It.  Studio mics pick up a lot of things, including when your playing half- heartedly.  When you are playing drums, make every hit just as hard as the last; when playing guitar, strum every note with the same intensity; when doing vocals, sing every note with confidence.

4.  Be Prepared.  When you schedule studio time, especially at the per song rate, you are expected to have your songs down tight.  All fills, licks, riffs, notes, melodies, lines, words, ect... should be written and practiced before you even consider recording it to a CD.   Should it become evident that the song needs some work, the session will be stopped and rescheduled.

5.  Practice to Record. Drummers, if you can play along with a metronome, that will make your recording go smoothly and sound awesome.  If not, I suggest the following;  A couple weeks before your session, start every song with an eight count ( The last count being silent.)  The count off should be done regardless of how the song starts and the counts speed should reflect the speed and time signature of the song.  Also if there are any long breaks in the song where there are no drums, a beat should be kept with your sticks or lightly pressing the hi hat pedal with your foot there as well.  This will make tracking guitars go smoothly.

6.  Did I Do That?  If you make a mistake while recording, please stop.  If you hear someone else make a mistake, stop them.  This will save everyone from wasting each others time.

7.  'Til the Bitter End.  This happens way too often.  We're laying drum tracks down for the 5th time this song, we get all the way to that last cymbal hit and as the cymbals start to ring out to end the song, "FRIGGEN SWEET TRACK DUDE!!!"  Thats all good and well if you want that at the end of the track.  But if you don't want the sounds of people talking or yelling, the noise of the sound booth door opening, the sound of the drummers sticks clicking as he places them on the snare drum, then please, stay still until the cymbals die down and the guitar stops.

8. Relax.  The studio can sometimes be a cold and intimidating place, so try to relax.  If you need a different mix in the headphones, water, bathroom break, anything, let me know.  It doesn't take much to make a session go sour, especially after a long one.  I want to make the experience of recording a good one and hope to see you soon!