Recording preparation 2. BEEP Boop Boop Boop...

A screenshot of the click-track app I'm using.

a) Re-string all the guitars I'm using, I find this a complete chore, done before every serious gig and for recording. But wow the fresh strings sound so great.

b) Practice playing the songs to a click track. As far as I'm concerned this has two main uses at this stage of things, one is to work out the perfect tempo for each song I'm going to play. Live is one thing,  songs can be played faster or slower depending on the 'feel' in the room and the band, but a recording is something I will have to live with as a permanent representation of that song out in the public domain so in that version, I want it to be right for that version. Also, as producer Dan has advised, if I play exactly to tempo, he can make sure any reverb's, oscillations, or other types of cyclical doodars that I don't understand he puts into the sound will fit exactly too and sound better in the final track.

In the age of smart-phones getting hold of a metronome to give you a click-track is easier than ever. No longer would you have to go hawking around music shops to look for one (although those old wooden swingy ones are lovely) nor would you need to buy recording software, there's just loads of free metronome apps to choose from.

c). Practice, practice, practice with my headphones on and the beeps filling my head! The trick is being really used to it, playing perfectly in time, while not allowing the "beeps" to detract from your own percussive effects you make on the guitar while still playing emotionally - which is the most important thing of all!

Traditional metronome (clip-art image).