Here's the basic outline I used to teach a class at Club Passim a few years ago... it's slowly developing into a fully fleshed out document. The general idea is to lay out my "wholistic" approach to making records... thinking from the end product backwards to the start of the project seems to help in achieving the desired goal. I like "concept" records... records with an overarching theme, and I like thinking about the song order very early in the process. Records are just long songs to some degree, and good records have many of the same properties as good songs.

How to make a record, in six easy steps:

1. PLAN
2. RECORD
3. EDIT
4. MIX
5. MASTER
6. MANUFACTURE


1. PLAN

imagine the end product before you begin the work
know what the record should be, and what it should do for you
develop the skills to know, and communicate, what you want to end up with
few records are made in a vaccuum: understand the value of teamwork


Theme: the thought process/conceptualizing the record
concept always applies...so deal with it upfront
who is the record for?
what is it that we're making anyway?

Songs: knowing when you're ready
how do you develop your material?
peer groups, band mates, preproduction
copyrighting songs and performances

Listening: defining audio terms
what is the sound you want
contemporary folk, pop, country, learn to hear the styles
finding words for the sounds you want, or hate
favorite records: why are they so cool?

Production: finding the right lens:
what’s production? Do I need a producer?
How can we get the best from the song?
raw, overproduced, sparse
instrumentation, other ears, other ideas
choices and wisdom, using the studio instrument

Rehearsals: scheduling the team
listening to the songs, listening to each other
the arrangement makes the song
keeping the options under control

2. RECORD: find the way to get what you want

Location: Live? Studio? Positives and negatives
Setup: Who goes where? What do we need to hear?
Basics: skeletal arrangements
clicks, loops, wild: tracking options
preparing for the session: charts, tempos, lyric sheets, food, and sleep
scheduling is king
is your instrument ready to record?
Overdubs: filling in the holes with the right sounds
choosing the players
choosing the parts...pieced or played

3. EDITING: tidy is good, and saves money
pre-mix housekeeping keeps the focus at mix time
notes for the mix... don't edit the feel out!

4. MIXING: relating the theme to the sound
what can be controlled: timbre (eq)/level (pan, volume), fx
imtimacy, depth, width
mix styles for music styles
what's the focus?

5. MASTERING: what we need to know
making a "record" from a group of songs
Essentials: fades/levels/spacing/pq codes.
Options: eq/comp/limit/tricks

6. MANUFACTURE: making it tangible

The Package: choices relate the product to the production

Graphic Design: why the cover is still important:
how the album is represented in the physical world
retail sales, posters, promotion will rely on the package- not the music
Design Essentials:
Name: appears on cover, spines, back and cd
Songs: back, inside, cd all with times
Contact info: Back and inside- website, address, phone, e-mail
Options:
DJ Cheat sheet
Lyrics?
Conceptual interior?
Website connections?
Postcards?

HIRE A DESIGNER with experience doing cds.
Dimensions, colors, film prep work must be precise or it will cost you more money later!
Prep for booklets and CD is different.
Number of panels, booklet type, eco- and alternative packaging options


Photos: mood, location, color all lead to the concept
should you be on the front of the record?



Duplication: quantities, turn times, submission file types
audio delivery formats (pros and cons)
specs, copyright, over/under runs
Scheduling

HOW IT WORKS the technical process

The centerpiece of the studio is an Otari Concept Elite. The Elite is a 48 in, 24 bus desk with very nice mic pres, 4 band parametric equalizers, incredibly flexible routing, and Eagle mute, switch, and fader automation. The console has "Image Recall" which allows every knob's position to be stored by the computer and recalled at a later date. 48 inputs are available at mixdown, all of which have touch sensitive moving faders. Inputs on the Elite are supplemented by a 16 channel Roland M160 line mixer which is connected to the MIDI rack.

Nearly all installed wiring in the studio is Mogami, terminated with Neutrik gold XLR or Canare connectors. Mic cables are Mogami or Monster terminated with Neutrik gold xlrs. All patch cables are Monster gold plated. Tracks are recorded to Digital Performer 5.11 or RADAR depending on the situation. Typical basics sessions are done through the RADAR converters and printed to DP. Projects can be brought in from the outside on ADAT tape, RADAR drive, or as computer files. Tracks play back trough the D/A converters in RADAR and/or two MOTU1296s and then I mix using Eagle, real moving faders and real (patchbay) plug-ins.

The typical mix path is through the AvalonVT747 and Crane Song HEDD192 A/D converter back to the DP session as 24 bit files. I can print 44.1 on up to 192kHz files and even DSD files to the Tascam DVRA master recorder. Two tracks edits and mastering duties are handled by Sonic Solutions 5.4.b10 (Nubus SSP, Mac 950, 11 gigs on line). Sonic is still regarded as one of the best ways to get from a bunch of 2 track audio files to a finished pre-master cd and gives the user complete control over levels, fades, spacing and PQ codes. It can also automate eq and level changes, and feed it's burner while running the program through external devices (outboard compression, limiting, etc.). This is the same software used at M-Works, Northeastern Digital, Gateway, etc., which makes for very easy file transfer to external mastering houses. Sonic makes the best fades in the business, hands down. Typical external processing used here when mastering includes the HEDD, Lexicon M300, Sony DRE-S777, dbx Quantum, and Waves L2 hardware limiter. 

Of course you can't make a good sonic decision during mixing or mastering unless you're hearing the truth about what's going on, so every effort has been made to maximize the resolution of the monitoring system. Stereo D/A conversion is handled by the superb Benchmark DAC1. My main monitors are JBL LSR32s on Sound Anchor stands, powered by a Hot House S400 dual mono-block amp. The 32s are supplemented by the NHT B20 stereo subwoofer system, and all interconnects are Mogami and Monster. This combination sounds great top to bottom, and translates very well to the outside world. Also on the meterbridge are the JBL LSR28p active monitors, as well as Radio Shack (Optimus) minimus 3" speakers. A set of Apple powered speakers (the Bob Clearmountain balance checkers) and Yamaha NS10s are also available at the twist of a switch.