Need Advice on Making A Demo

zircona1

OK, I'm a singer/songwriter/guitarist, and I've been playing for several years now. I have about 10 really good, polished songs and I'm considering making a demo soon to send in. There's this studio in town that makes demos and they charge like $60 or $80 an hour or something like that, but it's studio quality. There's also this guy I know who wants to sell me his 4-track recorder for $200.

How does one go about making a demo? Should it be studio quality? What about the number of songs one should put on it? Any advice?

exhausted

what people have told me is to put 4 or 5 of the best on the disc with your hooks up front. lead off with whatever you think (or people have told you) grabs the most attention.

as for investing in studio quality demo'ing. i don't know. for the money that would cost, i'd rent a decent digital 8-track and some mics and basic rack/effects equipment and do it myself but then there is the learning curve on the equipment etc. etc.

the 4-track would be good to have around regardless though. for sound quality, it probably won't cut it though.

i'd like to think that sound quality doesn't matter as much as content but i'm sure it plays a pretty big role.

Pacomc79

It's like a resume man. If you are serious go for the studio time. I own a pretty nice digital 4 track and the sound quality is not all that great. I think you are better off laying down a quality demo. People will listen to it more and take it more seriously if the sound is good. Plus, 4 tracks limit you majorly.

who's_pearljam?

It depends what your demo is for.
If you are sending it to a radio station or an a&r person, or looking for airplay, you want pro quality to start, because it's the first impression.. If it is just you or a small band, and are well rehearsed, a studio can be a good way to go. You go in, knock it out and they can help you master it. A good studio and tech can take the pressure off pushing buttons and whatnot and get good clear sound. They can coax the best performance from you, too. It will sound more professional. Some studios have a demo package too, where you get studio time and a finished CD.

A demo usually can be your 3 best songs on a CD. People don't have time to listen through whole CD's. The first few seconds of the songs have to grab ,too. It's like a business card or a brochure,,, it has to grab you right away.

If the demo is for gigging in clubs, you could probably record it yourself, keeping it real, but as good quality as you can. They want to know what the band sounds like in the club. But try to get it on cd.

good luck!

exhausted

i've heard home-made 8-track albums that have sounded awesome.

i've heard studio made albums that sounded crap.

if you know how to use the tools, you can make a great recording yourself. if you don't, but you're serious about getting somewhere, perhaps for selling songs or as a performing artist, the studio time may be worth the investment.

i like DIY. no one hears my fuck ups.

i like the idea of recording things myself and then getting it professionally mastered.

Pacomc79

Originally posted by exhausted
i've heard home-made 8-track albums that have sounded awesome.

i've heard studio made albums that sounded crap.

if you know how to use the tools, you can make a great recording yourself. if you don't, but you're serious about getting somewhere, perhaps for selling songs or as a performing artist, the studio time may be worth the investment.

i like DIY. no one hears my fuck ups.

i like the idea of recording things myself and then getting it professionally mastered.

This is true as well, you don't have anyone telling you how it should sound either.

IE, Pop drums on Nevermind.

who's_pearljam?

Originally posted by exhausted
i've heard home-made 8-track albums that have sounded awesome.

i've heard studio made albums that sounded crap.

if you know how to use the tools, you can make a great recording yourself. if you don't, but you're serious about getting somewhere, perhaps for selling songs or as a performing artist, the studio time may be worth the investment.

i like DIY. no one hears my fuck ups.

i like the idea of recording things myself and then getting it professionally mastered.

That is so true. It depends on your comfort level with the equipment and your playing. I've got a friend , Ben Vaughn, that recorded a whole CD in his car with an 8 track recorder. He liked the acoustics ( he is a producer, too) He had the drummer set up in the car, too! He went on to write the music for" third rock from the sun" and is scoring movies now, too.

My parrot was on some of my old recordings!,,,, Exhausted, maybe your trademark will be budgies in the background!:D

exhausted

Originally posted by who's_pearljam?
My parrot was on some of my old recordings!,,,, Exhausted, maybe your trademark will be budgies in the background!:D

i had a song on my first cd that had my budgies and cockatiel squawking on the intro and outro.

who's_pearljam?

Originally posted by exhausted
i had a song on my first cd that had my budgies and cockatiel squawking on the intro and outro.

So when someone says that you're tweaking the midrange,, do you tell them, "no I'm tweeting it!"?

exhausted

i'll try to find a copy of it and post it tonight. it's pretty funny.

who's_pearljam?

Originally posted by exhausted
i'll try to find a copy of it and post it tonight. it's pretty funny.

That would be cool.
I had my parrot through a delay once, just let her go with a mike and a bit of repeat. It was like the bird version of Pink Floyd "echoes"! It was the most hysterical thing. I wish I still had that tape.

Drummachine

i would suggest you to make it as good as possible because of radio station and music producers.choose 3-4 best songs(the ones you believe to be the best) and put it together.try to ask some good musicians for a help or at least for advice because they ll bring new point of to on your songs.