The recording process is very easy. You set up your preferred gear, mics are placed, headphones are set and levels are checked.
Once everything is good to go, it's time to record!
Setup:
Musicians will bring their gear, i.e. Drum set, guitar, bass, keyboards, horns. If you are used to practicing as a band then you should try and bring everything that you would use for practice to the studio minus PA system. You want to make sure that everything is in tune and to the tone of your liking. Adjustments can always be made after, but it is best to start with the best so that less time is taken during mixdown.
Always bring your best gear
Recording:
Once setup is finished, instruments will be mic'd up by engineer and then headphone levels will be set to the musicians liking.
Now all you have to do is play and the engineer will capture your song.
Usually the band will record with their vocalist singing a scratch track and then the real and final take will be applied after the instrumentation is complete. (A scratch track is a rough draft of the vocals that are meant to be used as a guideline for the other musicians.)
Mixdown:
Once all of the songs and takes are recorded, it's time tone, blend, arrange and create. The mixdown process is when we make sure that everything sounds the way that you want to hear your music. Changing tones to make all of the individual instruments and voices to fit, adjusting levels/volumes to create an even blend or to bring up guitar solos. We can even further edit with pitch correction, rearranging song progression and alot more.
The mixdown is where most of your time will be spent as it should be. This is the key part of the entire studio experience.
During mixdown you may find that you want to re-record a part. Taking another take is even easier than when you first recorded.
Don't be afraid to ask the engineer to change anything.
Mastering:
Mastering is one of those things that you don't "have" to have but it's a good idea. It's like adding salt to a bland soup. This process is where that final mixdown is taken and then analysed. Compression is applied, limiting is applied and additional EQ is applied along with many other usefull tools. All of these things will make your music sound louder and be ready for radio.
Typically the mastering is done by a second engineer. This is so the musicians have a second perspective on the final mix. But there is nothing wrong with using someone that you are already familiar with.
Once this is done, you will have a finished product in hand. From here there are various options.
Graphic Design:
This process is what seperates Serious Musicians from Garage Bands. Logo design, album design, business card design, poster design etc.
Burning CD-R's for your friends is fine, but when you want to really get your name out ther you have to have an image. Social media is key for Word of Mouth business and a professional look is what tells people that you are serious about your work. Having a logo get's you recognized and who knows, you may sell some of your CD's if they look presentable.