When a band or an individual comes up with the idea of going into a recording studio to capture what they play or perform on a physical medium, very often it is not clear enough in advance how satisfying the result of the recording will be from an artistic point of view. If there is a music producer involved, he or she is usually the one in charge of making sure that it is. For that, there has to be a minimum budget to cover this important responsibility, but that is not always the case. There are many occasions when musicians go straight into the recording with their instruments as their only weapons, and that is usually not enough. Both sides, musicians and engineers, assume that the other will do their best to make the work decent and presentable. Normally it is the sound engineer, given his or her greater experience in the field, who knows the steps. Musicians, however, often have to face the recording with little or no experience.

WHAT SHOULD MUSICIANS KEEP IN MIND?
The first thing any musician thinks about when facing a recording is the quality of the musical performance he or she will deliver. In itself, this is a vital aspect of their work, and it is obvious. If we ask: "And how is it going to sound?" the answer will often be: "If it's well played musically, it will sound good." Is that always true? Usually not.

To get a positive answer, musicians have to worry about broader, but no less important, aspects related to the sound of their instrument, tuning, arrangements, technology, etc. In general, each of the musicians in the band has to keep many aspects in mind. Some of the most important are the following:

DRUMS
From the days of James Brown to the present day, the drums have been the engine of the band in modern music. If a drummer does the job, the recording has better than a 60% chance of reaching a good outcome. We know we have systems such as Beat Detective and Sound Replacer on our side to help us but, in any case, they come into play later.

The first aspect to keep in mind is tempo. This is non-negotiable. The drummer must have solid time, even though we have technology that corrects timing problems. Let's not rely on it, but on our musicianship.

Another aspect drummers should keep in mind is the tuning of their instrument as a vital part of its sound. Every musician carries a tuner along with the instrument, but not drummers. Tuning drums is more complex than tuning any other instrument, but that doesn't make it impossible. It is not the purpose of this article to discuss this (fascinating) subject in depth, and I am sure Blas Fernández, another contributor to this magazine, will soon have a good article on it ready. We should take into account the shell's own pitch for each drum (for example, many DW models have a reference note inside the shell). If not, we should use a tuner or a strobe, or record and analyze the sound each drum gives us. Cubase has an excellent frequency analysis tool, and so does WaveLab. This way we will know the fundamental frequency (the one that determines the pitch) of the sound in question and can act accordingly.

It is advisable to have new heads on every drum, suited to the musical style. On each head you have to pay attention to the sound at each tuning lug, and take into account the tension and the musical relationship between the bottom and top heads on each drum and among all the drums that make up the kit. For the latter in particular, there are different approaches that your drum teacher can surely tell you about.

If every element of the kit is important, the kick and snare are vital, so they need special attention. The resonance of the kick drum and/or muffling it with different items, such as a small blanket or towel, a muffle, or a damper on one of the two heads, etc., has to be taken into account, though it is not always necessary. As for the snare, we should try different diameters, depths and finishes to hear the musical and tonal differences with the same groove. And we should also keep in mind that there are audio editing tools such as Sound Replacer or plug-ins such as Drumagog that can help us get the most suitable snare sound for each song.

As for cymbals, you need quality gear, and the tonal relationship among them must be appropriate, even with respect to the musical aesthetic being played. A jazz ride cymbal has no place in a pop band that needs more attack and less sustain. That is why there are different cymbal lines for different styles.

For those thinking about editing after the recording, imagine the drummer's face when the sound engineer says something like: "Don't play that cymbal, we'll paste it in later..." All musicians should be aware of the possibilities technology offers us today. However, in the example above, and in the case of a drummer, it can be an additional problem that his or her musical technique must be able to solve.

Other percussion elements
What approach does a drummer take to percussion elements that will be added later? A typical example is wanting to add a tambourine or a shaker that then clashes with the part the drummer has already recorded. If the drummer takes it into account from the start, his or her playing in a given section of the song will be shaped by it. It is also true that this falls within the realm of the arrangements, which should have been worked out beforehand.

Drums and drum machines
Sometimes an acoustic kit is combined with some kind of rhythmic sequence. Being able to lock in with it musically is a big plus for any drummer. For everyone else, there's Beat Detective.

BASS
First, the obvious: drums and bass make up the rhythm section. We are now at a 75% chance of getting a great recording. We don't need slaps at 300 bpm from the bass player, or riffs at twice the guitarist's speed. What we need is pulse, groove and sound. The right tempo and feel. All of this is part of studying the instrument. Also, we should be able to listen to the bass soloed and be 100% happy with it.

From a technical point of view, you need to consider the most suitable tone for the song being recorded. Tackling a jazz quartet recording with a Music Man is not, to begin with, the best choice, nor is trying to record a fusion track with a '61 Precision. The instrument's tone, the attack we get on each note, is essential for a bass player. You don't need 20 different basses, but you do need to be able to sense how to get the tone you have (do you have it?) in your head for that song. Listening to the first Red Hot Chili Peppers or Jamiroquai records, it is clear that the tone is right for the style. Can you imagine swapping the two bands' bass players? Would it work?

Tuning has to be checked constantly, as does the instrument's intonation, which becomes especially apparent above the twelfth fret; this must be kept in mind.

As for the musical arrangement, it must have been worked out conscientiously, above all in relation to the drummer. Bass and drums must be able to play the song from start to finish knowing at all times where they are and what the right feel is in each case. Musically speaking, this interplay has to be appropriate and interesting for the song and the style, so that the resulting groove supports and propels the song.

Pedals and special sounds
For bass players, they are not essential. In 90% of cases, they are not an essential part of the song, and very possibly the producer (if there is one) will ask us to leave them off.

GUITARS
As we all know, the world of guitars and guitarists (...phew!) is enormous. Different musical aesthetics involve a myriad of different sounds across all the various styles. Regardless of all that, any guitarist must be able to have several sounds of his or her own suited to the musical style being recorded. That doesn't necessarily mean stepping on several pedals, but adapting your playing and sound to the specific musical part.

It is also necessary to know your gear in depth, how your instrument, amplifiers and the various effects you have respond, and to get the most out of them. In the case of multi-effects units, it is not enough to use preset number X to sound good; that preset will only sound good if aspects such as gain, tone, pickup selection, etc. are set properly.

At a recent master class organized by MrJam CMM in Bilbao with English guitarist Guthrie Govan, we had the opportunity to get a close look at his approach to sound, using only volume, tone and pickup selection, and it was a truly striking demonstration of how useful these simple elements are.

We might ask a guitarist: "Can you play this on an acoustic?" and many will put on a poker face. That is why we must be prepared to deal with these situations.

KEYBOARDS
In our band, what do we need or have: a pianist or a keyboard player? This is the biggest battle many bands face. A pianist who can cover the band's need for a keyboard player, or a keyboard player who is also a seasoned pianist, has a world of success ahead in the music business. However, that is not always the case. Many pianists don't understand that their band and the world don't need another Michel Camilo solo, but rather keyboard pads that add width, depth and interest to that two-chord verse being recorded, and that these things are often achieved not with notes but with sound. That sound, once again, is not just a matter of choosing preset X2, but of working on deeper aspects such as attack, decay, sustain, release, etc. I recommend listening to the great keyboard player, pianist and producer Jim Beard.

VOCALS
The voice is the soul of the song, the icing on the cake. Let's not allow a bad melody or a vocal performance that is anything less than perfect. The things a vocalist should have written on his or her forehead are feel, melody and pitch. And, of course, the lyrics: learn them by heart and interpret them; you are an actor playing a role.

For audio editors, plug-ins such as Melodyne will help us with pitch.

Vocalists must be prepared to be asked for a different interpretation from the one in their first or sixth take, for correct English or whatever other language they are singing in if it is not their own, and to be able to create and perform doubles and/or harmony parts to their own lead vocal. And if they also suggest backing vocals in different parts of the song, perfect.

And, in response to the slightest comment about the performance, never say: "...What's the matter, don't you like my voice?" Be able to value and take into account any comment that helps your recording.

WHAT SHOULD THE BAND KEEP IN MIND?
The band must be aware that, above each member's individuality, comes the song or piece being recorded. If, for that purpose, a certain element has to be modified or sacrificed (that three-minute guitar intro in a five-minute song...), it should not be taken as a personal affront.

If there is a record deal and/or a producer, the band should keep in mind that a particular member may be sent home because he or she doesn't meet the demands of the production, and a session musician may record that part. The whole band may even stay home while others do the recording. We would be surprised to know how many bands this has happened to. This in itself can create unbearable tension for some band members and lead to very unpleasant consequences. In any case, we must accept that this is an industry (and hopefully it will be even more so in the near future in our country) and, as such, it must have quality standards in order to compete with other music products.

For all these reasons we must, first, be musically and psychologically prepared for the recording and, second, have all these aspects very clear, and make them clear, before entering the studio. Perhaps the order should be the other way around, shouldn't it?