Coordination

First thing of business in being ready for the studio is planning. So much time can be wasted because of poor planning. Im referring to not only in running your sessions efficently but also ensuring that the session will run as planned by carfeul consideration of all the facts. For example, if you are doing percussion overdubs and need a conga or djembe sound, you have to get a player and the studio to commit to the day. If the player does not have equipment you then have to manage a rental or find someone who can loan you the gear. If any of these elements fail, it will yield a wasted session and cost valuable time. If the player seems sketchy, or if you haven't worked with them before, you should have a backup plan as to what you are going to do instead, in example, guitar overdubs, in the event that the player sketches out at the last minute.

Coordination is usually the most popular reason for the lack of progress. Musicians can be very non committal. They will say "Yeah, sure I'll do it" but when it comes down to setting a date, good luck. Usually if they commit to a date you'll be ok, but sometimes they cancel on the date of the session. This costs time and money to all parties and is real tough to deal with. You never know who is reliable and who is not, so unless you know the person well, the best thing to do is to have your backup plan ready.

Some studios may ask you to sign a contract when you book dates. The East Coast Bands recording studio policy on this is simple: I work on a verbal contract basis as long as booked sessions are not cancelled within 5 days. If a client cancels at the last minute, It is understandable that I may use a contract for future sessions.

I will be compiling a list of preferred musicians who are available for session work. There will be bio and contact information to allow easy coordination of your session with them.