A Day at the Studio

So recently I was in a recording studio with one of my bands, Brilliant Thieves. It's a cover band and we basically wanted to have a demo record for anyone who books us, so they know what they're dealing with.
I was seriously more than impressed with the professionality of the studio. I have never been in a studio as big as this one, so naturally I wanted to take pictures. The only thing I had was my mobile phone, so the quality sucks, but you get a nice impression of the rooms and gear. Also, for everyone interested, I put the demos at the end of the post so have a listen if you like.

This is the first room you'll see after entering the studio, and it sets the tone for the time you'll spend there, that is to say: It's fucking comfy and relaxed. There's even a bar.

 This giant box casually standing around in the hallway next to the recording area is actually a historic Reverb/Hall device. Seriously, it's huge. If I recall correctly from our producer's description, you shoot the original sound signal through this box filled with giant plates of some sort of metal I think, and it is reflected a few times between those several plates.
The good thing? This box makes for a whole second of reverb. Well, it was a giant feat back then, I guess.
But really, I have been told that this thing creates an incredibly realistic reverb that no digital effect can reconstruct; that's why this box will still be used.

This is the actual recording room. The chest-high walls you can see on the left divide the instruments and stand on wheels so they can be easily moved and fitted to the current band/ensemble. My 'booth', so to say, is left outside the picture, next to me is our other guitarist, and behind us is my father's drum kit. Our bass player sat very central next to our keyboard player, while the singer sat in a seperate room on the right (the room through the door; the window is part of the control room). Oh and do you see the little device straight ahead sitting on top of the box? That's actually a technical (not visual) replica of a Vox AC30 tube top. I REALLY wanted to try that one out, but unfortunately there was no time. I've been told it sounds like the real thing, which is awesome.

One of two control rooms, the smaller one. And if you're thinking 'holy shit, this mixing desk is ginormous!', then be assured that soon there'll be an even bigger one - approximately thrice the size. I've seen it, and it is beautiful.

My working space. Sadly, neither the 1970's Fender Twin Reverb tube amp nor the 1978's Ibanez Tube Screamer stompbox belong to me - but da-mn they sound fine!

So much to the working conditions (loved it), now for the results. We recorded four songs in live situation, i.e. the band records the song in one take. We took the liberty to re-record the vocals altogether to get the best takes. Also, I had to do all the backing vocals (usually our keyboarder has a huge part in this, but I didn't mind), so we took another day of recording only vocals. My dad and I finalized the mixing at home, and this is what they sound like:

Lenny Kravitz - I'll Be Waiting

I don't have much to do in this song, guitarwise; I only play during the chorus and, like, one measure during the bridge. But the backing vocals were fun to record and sound pretty good too - I was kinda suprised. Really dig the chorus and prechorus.

Bryan Adams - Run To You

This one just rocks. I've always loved that song because of its straight forward rock force, if you know what I mean. I'm the one playing the lead guitar here for a change, at least during the verses; and I'm the one playing the break after the solo. Rock on!

Scouting For Girls - This Ain't A Lovesong

This song I always disliked before playing it, but it's surprisingly fun to play, and also a challenge to sing. I'm the one playing the very far acoustic sounding guitar somewhere in the back and, of course, singing most of the backing vocals. So far I think the song sounds a little too distant, there's a lot of reverb going on and the instruments are all a little to distinct from each other, which of course is generally a good thing. I don't know how to explain it better, maybe you understand what I mean.


Well, I hope I could give you a little insight into studio recording. I had a lot of fun doing it and it was a great experience. Who knows when I'll get the chance to enjoy that again?

So do you like the songs? Have you ever been in a professional recording studio?