9 Ways to Waste Studio Time (And How to Avoid Every One of Them)

Recording studio mistakes cost bands time, money, and momentum. I know because I’ve seen every one of them.

I once had to cancel an album recording session three hours in. Not because of technical problems. Not because the band couldn’t play. Because of a guitar that looked perfect and sounded terrible.

The guitarist had just bought a brand new Gibson Les Paul. Beautiful black finish, heavy as hell, absolutely stunning instrument. He had a great amp, great cabinet, we’d hired nice mics. Everything was set up for a killer session.

We plugged in, he tuned up, and started playing one of the riffs. Open chords sounded fine. Then he moved up the fretboard, even just one or two frets, and it was horrifically out of tune. The intonation was completely cooked.

I spent some time trying to fix it. We had some tools, I know my way around a guitar setup, but I couldn’t get it close. We ended up re-tuning for every chord, cutting takes together note by note. It was a nightmare.

Eventually I just stopped and said: “We’re done. This session is over. Go get your guitar looked at by a tech, get it set up properly, and we’ll reschedule.”

They wanted a tight, fat guitar sound. It was heavy rock, everything needed to be dialled in. And here we were, burning studio time because nobody had checked the intonation before the session.

That’s what this article is about. After 20 years of sessions, these are the recording studio mistakes I see over and over – and the preparation that prevents every one of them.

I’m writing this primarily for bands heading into a professional studio, but most of it applies whether you’re at a big facility or tracking in a bedroom. Good preparation is good preparation.

Here are nine things I recommend to every client before they come to record.

1. Preproduction

Preproduction is the single most important thing a band can do to improve their final recording.

It’s essentially a practice recording in preparation for the real thing. It helps each musician hear how their parts sound and interact with the other instruments. The band can then make decisions on arrangements and musical content from an active listening perspective. Not while they’re mid-performance or in a noisy rehearsal room.

You don’t need fancy gear for this. Someone in the band probably has a basic recording setup. Even a phone recording can work for arrangement decisions. If not, hit up your local audio engineering college and ask if any students want experience recording a band. They’re usually keen, and it’s free.

These days, preproduction often happens remotely. You might be sharing rough recordings with your producer via Dropbox or Google Drive weeks before you set foot in the studio. That’s fine. The point is to get feedback on arrangements and performances before you’re paying for studio time.

If you want to get the most out of preproduction, book time with your producer early. Their input during the formative stage of your songs can save you from expensive fixes later.

2. Performance, Timing and Dynamics

If you write your music in the rehearsal room, start with a live recording. You’ll capture the natural dynamic and flow of the song, which can then be used to map out timing changes and volume dynamics.

When I work with a band, I listen to their live takes to hear the natural ebb and flow of the song’s timings. I then beat-map these tempo changes into Pro Tools. The post-chorus might feel better slightly slower than the chorus, so I’ll map that onto my timeline and have the click track reflect those changes.

Guide tracks are essential. Having solid reference recordings with tempo mapping done in advance saves massive time on tracking day. Your options include:

Record a live performance and create a click track around it using Identify Beat. You get real human feel with the benefits of a click.

Use elastic audio to conform a performance to a rigid tempo.

Experiment with fine tempo adjustments throughout your song. Increasing the chorus tempo by 1-3 BPM can give it extra energy without a perceptible speed change.

Unless you’re making dance music, keeping a song at a single tempo can feel bland. Try subtle tempo shifts between sections to breathe life into computerised arrangements.

I also recommend each band member practice their parts alone with the preproduction recordings. Don’t just rehearse together. Solo practice with reference tracks locks in your parts.

3. Demo-itis

Demo-itis is an affliction that affects almost all musicians and many producers. “But it doesn’t sound as good as the demo,” they say. Sometimes that’s true. Quite often it isn’t.

Songwriters become attached to particular arrangements and lose perspective on what actually sounds good. This is one of the dangers of self-production and home recording. An experienced ear can enhance a song in ways the original artist never considered.

Demos and preproduction are a time to explore possibilities and prepare for race day. Not everything will be good. That said, sometimes during preproduction you’ll capture a magic performance that proves difficult to recreate. I’m a firm believer in performance over perfection.

So when it comes to guitars or bass, always record with DIs during preproduction. This might be a Hi-Z input on your interface, or an external preamp or DI box. With a DI, you can send a copy of the signal to your amp and your computer simultaneously.

By capturing the DI for your demos, you have the option to re-amp that performance later if it has something special about it. A simple, high-quality option I recommend is the Radial Passive Direct Box. It runs a split signal and sounds great.

4. Creative Time

Use your preparation time to explore all creative avenues. Sure, creativity can strike during the main session, but experimenting with an idea and getting it down convincingly takes time.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking:

“Oh, I’ll just write all the backing vocals and harmonies when I’m in there.”

“We haven’t written the ending yet, but it’s cool, we’ll wing something.”

Bro please.

Studio time is expensive. Sort the creative decisions before you’re on the clock. This is one of the most expensive recording studio mistakes I see – bands paying studio rates to do work they could have done for free in a rehearsal room.

5. Know Thy Bandmates’ Parts

Know not only your own parts intimately, but your bandmates’ parts too.

There’s a close relationship between drums and bass. An implied understanding between players. But the guitarist should also know where every kick and snare lands. The bassist should know what chords are being played above them.

This understanding yields a more musical result and smooths out discrepancies in timing and harmony. Once everyone has consolidated their parts, it’s simply a matter of regular practice and rehearsal to ensure a confident performance on recording day.

6. Instruments and Equipment

Having the right instrument for the sound you want is essential. Classic sounds require classic instruments. Modern tones need modern equipment.

Ask yourself: do you have the right snare drum for this song? How about those cymbals? Is that guitar suitable for the tone you want?

A Fender Telecaster sounds great on a blues or rock record, but it wouldn’t be my first choice for a metal band.

If you don’t own the gear you need, try to borrow from a friend. Just make sure it’ll be available for the entire recording. Not just the first day.

“Hey mate, I need my bass back this weekend for a gig.” “But we’re booked in the studio that night.”

Uh oh.

If you can’t source equipment yourself, talk to your producer. Most have hire contacts or can point you to local options. A quick search should turn up gear hire services in your area.

7. Intonation

Remember that Gibson Les Paul I mentioned at the start? Beautiful guitar. Unusable in the studio. A poorly set-up instrument can waste hours of time and produce a less musical result.

Once you’ve got your equipment sorted, make sure string instruments are serviced and adjusted for intonation. Get your guitar set up by an experienced luthier or tech, and make sure it’s adjusted for the tuning you’re using on each song.

New strings matter more than you think. I can’t stress enough how great new bass strings sound compared to ones that have been played in, even for just a couple of sessions. Some people prefer broken-in strings, but I’ll take the tuning challenges of new strings over dead strings with no tone. New strings.

Same goes for drum heads. Make sure you have new heads for the recording and that they’re appropriate for the sound you want. Clear heads give you a brighter, more sustained tone. Coated heads are duller with shorter sustain. Different brands sound different – I’m a fan of Evans drum heads.

8. Expectations

I always spend time getting to know a band before we record. I want to hear a performance of the material and understand where they’re coming from creatively. What do they want to achieve with this project?

Then I lay out a realistic vision for the record and make sure everyone’s on the same page.

Some people have unrealistic expectations. Often due to budget, time constraints, or lack of preparation. Being prepared helps manage time, reduce cost, and ensure everyone understands what’s required for a good result.

If you’re working with a producer remotely, this conversation is even more important. Use video calls, share reference tracks, be explicit about the sound you’re going for. Miscommunication costs money.

And while you’re sorting out expectations, sort out the business side too. I learned the hard way that having the money conversation early prevents a lot of pain later.

9. Having Fun

Most importantly, making music should be fun.

That doesn’t mean every session is easy. I’ve worked on records dealing with heavy lyrical content, personal trauma, emotionally difficult material. But even then, there’s satisfaction in capturing something real.

It’s this essence I try to find in an artist and their music, and bring out in performance. If you can find an emotional place to draw a performance from, use it. It can bring real magic to a recording.

Producing a record is a personal experience. There are high stakes, pressure, and the need to perform under stress. Good preparation removes unnecessary friction and makes the whole process more rewarding.

So do the work. And then enjoy the ride.

The Bottom Line

That cancelled session with the Les Paul taught me something I’ve told every band since: the boring preparation is what makes the exciting recording possible.

Check your intonation. Do your preproduction. Know your parts. Sort out the creative decisions before you’re on the clock. Have the conversation about expectations.

Do all that, and you’ll walk into the studio ready to make something great. Instead of wasting the first three hours figuring out why everything sounds wrong.

I’m a mix engineer and audio educator based in Melbourne. If you’re moving into the mixing phase, try my free Compressor Calculator – it’ll give you starting points for attack, release, ratio, and compressor type based on what you’re working on. And if you want to understand why your compression might not sound right, I wrote a diagnostic guide on why compression sounds bad that covers the nine most common problems and their fixes.