So you’ve read the first article and you now know the basic components that make up a home recording studio.

You’ve got the money saved up, cash is in hand, and you are ready to make the plunge.

Here are my personal recommendations for a hassle free setup without spending too much.

• Microphone(s) – If you plan on recording only vocals to put over premade tracks, then you only need one microphone.  If you want to record amplifiers of any sort, you will need at least two.  To get a great variety of microphones, I recommend picking up an Audix i5, and 2 Shure SM57s.  If you don’t mind having used equipment, with a little searching you can easily find these microphones at half the price.

• Recording Interface – It can be tricky to find the right hardware for your recording interface, but there are a few fail safe options! If you want great tone, very little lag between what you play and what you hear, I highly recommend investing in the Line 6 Toneport UX2, which gives you plenty of inputs, outputs, and zero audio lag if you do a direct connection to the computer and headphones.  If you want to spend a little more, the MBox Mini is a wonderful little interface because it allows you access to Pro Tools, one of the best and easiest recording programs available.

• Headphones – Like I mentioned before, the headphones must be high end for you to be an effective audio engineer.  My personal favorite headphones are the Shure SRH840 and Audio Technica ATH-M50.

• Speakers – Rather than buying regular computer speakers with a sweet subwoofer, we want to get studio monitors.  When you listen to any music through these, you will notice that it sounds flat and there will be little bass.  This is because it is meant to accurately reproduce the sound coming out of the computer without adding any bias to the low or high end, as subs or tweeters would do.  This will let you have a very clear picture of how you are doing on your track mixes. My favorite budget monitors are the KRK Rockit G2s, hands down.  These 5 inch little guys pack a punch, and get as loud as you would need.

After you have all of the equipment, set it up according to the instructions provided with each piece of gear.  If anything is USB powered, make sure you install the CD drivers before you plug in the device, unless otherwise noted.  This is how your connection flow should be once you are all set up and ready to go.

To Record Guitar

Guitar -> Amplifier -> Microphones -> Audio Interface -> Computer -> Headphones and/or Monitors

To Record Vocals

Microphone -> Audio Interface -> Computer -> Headphones and/or Monitors

Basically, the input starts where the instrument is, and the output will be the end result, which gets channeled to the headphones and monitors. The order of how you record each track is equally important, by the way.  If you are a vocalist who is just looking to lay down some tracks over prerecorded instrumentals, just record your tracks and lay them over the prerecorded ones.

If you are starting from scratch, however, you always want to begin with the rhythm section first.  Set the metronome up and record the drums, either through virtual drums or real recordings that we will cover in a later article.  After the drums, the next step must be bass because it lays the groundwork for the guitars to follow.  The bass must be on time with the drums to provide a strong rhythm section, and if the guitars are not on time, you will be able to easily tell.

Next, you want to record the guitars, and at the very end come the vocals and keyboards, as well as other sound effects you may want to add.  From here the next step is some trial and error as you play with your new equipment on your own.

In a future article we will cover how to record drums, as well as guitars, and audio mixing!

You’ve read the first segment, and you now have a well-practiced band with a full line-up, a catchy band name and enough songs to play continuously for about thirty minutes.

Apart from the neighbours who pretend they like your music but secretly wish you would keep it down, who else is going to listen to your band?  How can you get your music into the hands of the masses?

Music can be just like any business, and works much in the same way.  The artist or band can be seen as the company, and the music is the product, of course.

Your goal, in addition to having the time of your life, is to spread your music to potential fans who might love the music you made as much as you do.  You have to pitch it, sell it, advertise and market it, and distribute it just like any company does with their product.

Creating an Online Presence

The internet has been a great tool for both signed artists and independent musicians.

If you don’t already have one, make a Facebook page for your band.  Fill out all of the appropriate information, and try to keep it up to date!  Few things are as bad as having an obviously  old, outdated page.

If you have the funds available, create a website for the band.  You can make it like a virtual press kit, and it can include things like information regarding any upcoming shows, the band’s biography, links to purchase or listen to your music, lyric sheets, contact information and more.  If you think it is appropriate, perhaps you can put up a donation link on your website.

Cut a Demo CD

A lot of bands fail to do this even after having a good sized repertoire.  Making a demo CD is important to the success of your band for many reasons.  It can be given out for free or for very cheap to friends, family, and even strangers waiting in line for another band’s show.  It will also make it a little easier to get shows booked, as the CD will act as your resume by showcasing what your band has to offer.

Immediately after playing a successful show, offer free demos to everyone in the crowd.  Free is the best way to self promote, especially at the beginning, because many potential fans will be more willing to listen to something new and free.

Be sure to write down your contact information and band website, as well as the band name on each CD, so that fans will know how to keep in touch.

Many bands take the cheap and easy route when it comes to demo CDs, leaving them sounding rough, unpolished and hard to listen to.  You have to make it easy for the listener to understand what is going on, and the quality should be good enough that they can play it in the car while driving to work and not have to play with the equalizer settings.

Personally, I feel as though the demo CD should be the most important investment any band can make.

Promote Your Band

Promotion can be the trickiest part of band development.  If you advertise yourself too early, before you have any decent recordings, band photos, a band logo and a polished website, listeners might get the wrong impression and might not return once you’ve revamped everything.  I strongly recommend having the above solid and perfected, and once you have everything organized and where it should be, then the promotion can begin.

Besides handing free CDs to the audience at one of your shows, you could put up YouTube videos, post Facebook statuses on other people’s profiles, send your band’s website link to your friends and family with the instruction of them forwarding it to their own friends and family, and print out stickers to leave everywhere that is appropriate.

Verify that all of the CDs and stickers that you give out have your band’s name and website address, or else how are people going to find your band after they go home?

Anytime you have a show coming up, promote it early.  Print out tons of flyers and pass them out at concerts that have similar artists.

All of these things and more go into forming a successful band, but these are the foundations that must be strong if you plan on succeeding.  Entire books have been written on the subject of entertainment marketing and business, but the takeaway points of these two articles will get you started on the right foot in your journey to become a rock star.

So you want to be a rock star, huh? 

You’ve been playing your instrument for a while now in your bedroom and you are ready to assemble a band that will show the world what you’re all about, but before you begin, you must take a step back and think about a few things.

In this two-part series, we will go over everything you need to know about starting a successful band.

Part one will go over the basics of starting a strong band, and part two will go over gaining exposure and fans through marketing and promotion, as well as playing shows effectively.

Outline Your Goals

Do you just want a jam band that gets together once a week to mess around?

Do you want to get signed and make tons of money?

Think about what type of music you want to create, but don’t get too specific. 

If you want to make pop music or heavy metal that’s fine, but don’t limit yourself to a subgenre in order to allow creativity to shine through without too many rules.

Find The Right Band Members

This can be a somewhat difficult step.

You may already have a few friends that also play instruments, and they may have expressed interest in creating a band with you.  They are friends that you have a lot of fun being around, they play their instruments well and there is great chemistry between you, so it’s a no-brainer that you should invite them to join your band, right?

Actually, starting a band with friends could run the risk of ruining your friendship if any power struggles or complications arise.  If you end up realizing that your friend’s musical skills are not a good fit with your band, firing them would certainly be awkward and put a strain on the friendship.

For this reason I recommend looking for members elsewhere, like your local music shops, websites or even forums.

What you are looking for is people who have reliable transportation, a steady income, decent music equipment and know how to play their instruments. Nothing is more annoying than stopping an otherwise productive practice just to show your guitarist how to play his part correctly.

Going Forward

Once you finish assembling the ultimate dream team, there are a few things you must do before we can continue on to the next segment.

• Come up with a band name that everyone in the band is happy with
• Find a songwriting process that works for your band
• Create about a half hour’s worth of music
• Practice makes perfect, so practice, practice, practice!

Once you have some songs written and practiced to perfection, start working on your stage show.

Pretend that you are all at a live venue and just go wild.  Film it and play it back to see what you need to work on, and what looks great.

Music is only the first part of having a successful band; the second part is performance and how your band advertises itself, both onstage and off stage.

If you are interested in playing the drums, it is fairly easy to start, but while many end playing drums, few actually play it them well.

One of the reasons for this is that they are self taught, and while there are the select few that become great at their instrument, the sad truth is that most self taught drummers end up wandering off and developing faltering techniques.

Below is a general guide on what you need to get the most out of your drums, and buy a drum kit that fits you and your playing style.

Setting Up a Budget

Whether or not you are going to pay for lessons, drumming can get expensive fast. You can’t just buy a drum set and start whacking away at them.   It’s important to set aside enough money to purchase a drum kit, the hardware and cymbals (most drum kits don’t include these), a seat, plenty of drum sticks and a metronome.

A question commonly asked by new drummers is if they should purchase a cheap kit and see if they even like it at all, or get a higher end model.  Depending on your budget, if you can afford it I say definitely get a higher end model.  This way you won’t outgrow it soon after you start learning how to play, and later down the road you can even use it to play live shows with a band you might form.

To start your drumming comfortably, I would recommend having at least $1,000 on hand.  This will be enough to get a high quality entry level kit, plenty of drum sticks and a metronome, as well as all of the hardware and cymbals you might need.

Should You Get a Drum Teacher?

While this guide was mostly written to help self taught drummers, I think it’s important to at least talk about the possibility of getting a drum teacher.  If you have ever tried to teach anything yourself and failed because you either lost focus, didn’t know where to start or you weren’t disciplined enough to keep going or practice, I would definitely recommend searching for a teacher.

The right instructor will stress the importance of strong foundational skills, teach you what you want to learn and change his methods to help you learn easier.  Scout local ads, music shops and online ads to find a teacher.  Ideally you’d want a teacher that doesn’t have too many students so they aren’t in danger of burning out, and make sure he doesn’t charge too much.  Compare prices from various different resources so you get an idea of what you’ll be paying for drum lessons.

The Different Between Playing and Practicing

Throughout the eight years that I’ve been a music teacher, only one thing really bothered me that many of my students did; I would give them a homework assignment, and the following week when we met again they would cheerfully claim that they were practicing all week.  Upon playing the assignment back to me, I would notice the same mistakes as last week still present, only this time the student could play it faster.

First of all, faster does not mean better.  The slower you learn a piece, the faster you will be able to perfect it.  Secondly, there is a big different between playing all week and practicing all week.  To play the piece means to just regurgitate it as you remember it.  Mistakes are going to stay, and there will be very little improvements.  Practicing, however, means that you sat down, played the piece, analyzed it, observed what you did incorrectly and then work to correct it.

Final Thoughts

Now that you have a basic idea of what you’ll need to start drumming, you are ready to purchase your  drum kit.  When you first get it and everything is set up to your liking, I personally recommend not thinking about any lessons or technique for the first week and just bash away at them.  After you get the initial novelty out of your system, then you will be ready to learn technique.  Drums are great fun and a brilliant way to let out some energy.  The fruit of your labor will come in the form of a band that plays the music you love, and who knows, you might even play live shows down the road.

Inspired by the classic, edgy look of the Jackson Warrior, the Ibanez Xiphos was first released in 2007.  Two models were produced; the six string XPT700, and the XPT707, which is a seven string guitar.  While the two exhibit the same wild design, the XPT707 is definitely the one to choose for any guitarist into metal or hard rock.

Design

The first thing you’ll notice when looking at the guitar is its sharp design, literally.  Resembling a violent interpretation of the Jackson Warrior, the pointed corners and wide angles give the XPT707 a bold look.  The finish looks beautiful, and can come in either a Red Chameleon color or glossy black.

While traditionally most seven string guitars have wide, thick necks, the Xiphos maintains the thin, flat, fast-playing neck that has become a trademark for Ibanez.  The input jack is located inside one of the spikes on the body, keeping the cable out of your way.

My only complaint about the design of the guitar, though this tends to be common among seven strings, is that it is too neck-heavy.  Anytime I would wear the guitar standing up, the neck would slowly start tilting towards the floor.  Even though it might not be a big deal to some players, for those who play extremely technical passages won’t appreciate holding the guitar neck upright while trying to play.

Features

The guitar itself is packed with some very nice features.  The bridge system is an Edge III, and while it’s not everyone’s favorite tremolo system, it works nicely. The locking bridge allows for some really steep dive bombs.

The Xiphos’ body is constructed out of Mahogany and has a neck-thru design, which means the body and neck are basically one piece.  This allows for much longer sustain, deeper low ends, a more stable neck and a better tone overall.

Included with the guitar are two Dimarzio D Activator 7 pickups.  Ibanez has stated that these pickups, which are passive, are meant to produce sounds that mimic active pickups.  Depending on the amplifier you are playing out of, this might be true, but unfortunately to most players it won’t feel like psuedo-active pickups at all.

The tone, however, still sounds incredible, especially its low end.  The low end of this guitar will be absolutely booming no matter what amp you are playing out of, and even though the low notes are usually muddy on seven strings, on the Ibanez Xiphos they remain crystal clear, distortion or not.

Soloing on this guitar is a dream come true. With twenty five frets and a jumbo fretboard, you will easily be able to reach those glorious high notes.  Squeals and pinch harmonics will come out easily due to the high gain pickups, and notes can be bent and trilled as much as you need thanks to the long sustain.

Final Thoughts

One thing that I have seen many players complain about online, and I noticed it on my guitar as well, is that the guitar’s action is much too high out of the box.  It will take a long time to tweak it just right, and I suggest seeking the help of a professional who has done many guitar set ups before if you don’t feel comfortable doing it.

Besides the high action and the annoying neck weight, the Ibanez Xiphos XPT707 is a fantastic guitar that will meet the demands of most metal musicians, and deserves at least a try the next time you see it at your local guitar store.