Recording Tips

Recording is very different than any other kind of music-making. Making a recording is different than a live performance, and elements that you may not have played before may be very helpful if layered in such as doubled guitars, or tambourines on the rhythm track.
 

Bring in a "reference" CD for the engineer to mix or master to (unless you are paying for an outside mastering which is recommended if it is a full album project, but a three song demo will probably be mastered right there). A reference CD would be a CD that you particularly like the production on and the band has a similar style as yours.
 

When in the studio, always try to be open to suggestions. The engineer may have some good ideas that you haven't thought of or considered. Be a student of the process. Ask questions about 'how and why' but don't be a pest. Tell the engineer that you want to learn as much as you can about the process, but bear in mind at all times that in this circumstance, time is money - your money.
 

Many of us operate on a shoestring budget. If you haven't got all of the funds together yet, wait until you do. Nothing is worse than being forced to rush when in the studio and then listening to the bad results forever. Always have sufficient funding to go overtime. Don't ever settle if you don't have to.
 

In regards to 'pestering' the engineers with questions, well, when you don't know, ask. They will answer you, but always bear in mind that time is money, and in this circumstance, the money is yours. The other thing to remember when talking to the engineers is the fact that there's nothing wrong with questioning the people your working with. They don't necessarily know exactly what you're looking for.
 

Being in the studio is almost always a high stress environment, filled with competing ideas and clashing egos. Strive to lessen the inevitable tensions that will arise by being as nice as you possibly can to everyone involved in the project in order to keep the atmosphere casual.