These are taken from years of seeing the same mistakes make over and over and over. Plans made can always go astray, but having no plan leads to chaos for sure.

Before the show

1) Provide a stage plot to the mobile truck & live sound companies. A stage plot is simply a drawing of the building where the concert is to be performed, with indications where the various instruments are to be placed. It needn’t be fancy. A stage plot is important so that when the mobile truck and live sound crews arrive, they can begin doing their jobs immediately the FIRST time. What inevitably happens is the people who know where the instruments will be set up arrives many hours later, and everything has to be moved twice (or three or four times...it's happened!). Providing a stage plot will improve the quality of the recording and reduce stress!

Position the instruments & the choir (if there is one) so that they are as far apart as is practical. In no event should the choir be in front of the rhythm section. The drums should be in front of or off to the side of the choir so that their sounds aren’t picked up by the choir mics. Frequently the organ leslie is way off to the side as well. Ideally you should rehearse this way so if feels normal the day of the performance.

2) Provide the mobile truck with a EXACT list of instruments to be perfomed that day. I can’t overstate the importance of this in reducing chaos, and allowing the sound professionals you’ve hired to do their jobs! It WILL reduce headaches for you and improve the quality of the recording and reduce stress!.

3) By the day of the show, have a list of the songs that are going to be performed (called a set list) ready for the recording truck. Ideally, have some sort of idea how long each song is. This will aid in figuring out when to change tapes.

4) Avoid rehearsals the night before or day of show - Don’t zap the life out of your live recording by showing up pooped!

5) Don’t rely on ticket sales or the offering to pay for the recording - The cost of your recording has no relationship to how many tickets are sold. Ideally, ticket sales should cover your costs relating to the actual concert,and perhaps a bit more, but you should have all the money for your recording at the beginning of the night. Most PA companies want to be paid in full before the performance starts, some even before they will unload their truck.

6) Free will offerings get a larger audience turnout - Gospel shows in particular should have all their money set aside ahead of time, and should give a free concert. I’ve done SO many gospel shows that have high ticket prices, and nobody shows up. Then you have a live recording without an audience! The most successful live gospel recordings I’ve done have been free, with an offering.

7) Make sure the instruments are maintained - Instruments that require batteries should have fresh batteries the day of the show, guitars & basses should have new strings several rehearsals before the show, and drums should get new heads several rehearsal before the show as well to let them break in. Make sure all guitar, bass & keyboard cords are in working order. I've seen keyboards with one output bad, known beforehand, and they still choose to use it. Not good.

8) Hire outside PA Company - It’s tempting to save money, but an outside company will work hard for your money, and will have the skills and equipment to handle a music event, both of which are usually lacking in the church’s sound engineer who is probably used to dealing only with vocals.

9) Instruments Set Night Before - ...or at least before the truck gets there. Waiting for musicians to arrive and moving drums around at the last minute are two ways to guarantee a late start.

10) Minimal Instrumentation - Consider leaving out excessive number of keyboards, horns, percussion, etc during the live show, and add them in the studio as overdubs. Horns & percussion pose leakage concerns, and because of that are difficult to re-do in the studio because the original playing has leaked onto many other tracks.

Day of the show

1) Be available to answer questions on the day of the show, or have somebody available who can. There are always lots of logistical questions that inevitably crop up on a live recording session. If no one is available, valuable time is wasted trying to track down the person with the answer. If you’re providing the answers, let the sound crews know if you leave. THERE IS NO MORE IMPORTANT PLACE IN THE WORLD FOR YOU TO BE THAN AT THE RECORDING SITE.

2) Arrive early - The earlier you’re there the better! Really....I’ve had so many clients who say 1pm,then show up at 3:30pm. Musicians arrive at 6pm for a 3pm soundcheck! Do whatever you have to, say whatever you have to, just get everybody there on time. Have someone responsible pick them up if need be.

3) Tune instruments before going on - Sounds simple, but people do forget and have to do it over again in the studio afterwards.

4) Avoid Wireless Microphones - Despite advances in wireless microphones, they still can’t capture all the dynamics of a live show very well. They may be fine for an average show, but the lack of quality will be noticeable in the recording. Wireless mics can also pick up radio stations.

5) Keep the live sound levels as low as practical - It’s funny how the sound levels inside a concert venue just keep creeping up and up. The louder it is inside the hall, the more leakage there will be between instruments. Leakage is when one instruments sound is captured by another instrument’s microphone, and degrades the quality of both for the recording. Many will ask you to turn it up, and it will test your resolve. If you can resist it will save you $$$ later in the studio because you won’t have to re-do vocal parts.

6) A Quieter Drummer? - As the loudest instrument in the room, the drummer really controls the overall sound level in the church. If he/she plays loudly, other musicians will have to turn up just to hear themselves. If you can (and I know it’s a big if), try to coax the drummer to take it down a notch. This simple step will do more to improve overall sound quality than anything else.

7) No Wireless Mics - Wireless microphones can’t begin to handle the volumes in a gospel show without distorting and will sound just awful. This is a real dealbreaker with me. Plus there’s the risk of radio interference. If I find them in the church I usually remove the batteries and hide them just so they aren't picked up by accident.

8) Record Applause By Itself - This is usually done pre-show and is used in the studio in case the audience isn’t as enthusiastic during the later songs. Try recording different levels from a quiet clap to bringin’ down the house level.

9) No Cell Phones - You should make the announcement preshow. Somebody will forget and it will be loud and clear.

After the show

1) Overdub Key Choir Parts In Studio - Called “Stacking” or “Double Tracking” the choir, key choir members re-sing their parts along with the original. This effectively reduces leakage because the choir will be a mix of performance sound (with leakage) and studio sound (without leakage). Some big-time record labels strip the entire live choir tracks out and re-record them all. While this does create a cleaner sound, it also strips it of feel, but that is a decision you have to make.

2) Listen carefully to the rough mix you received from the recording - After listening carefully, decide which songs you want to work with, and which (if any) are not worth working on. This is totally up to you. After choosing what songs to work with, decide what, if any, changes need to be made. You may have to re-do a part. You may want to add an additional keyboard part. What you can do is limited only by your time and budget! In short, you should have a good idea of what direction you want to take in the studio before you even get there. The studio is a VERY expensive place to just “listen”.